Gifts for Family

[ShiYi]

Hi again,

I've got another gift idea question for you guys.

I'm leaving for Kunming in 16 days and I wanted to pick up a few gifts for family members there. I've been looking through a few of the older threads about gift giving and have a basic idea of what they might like and what they definitely won't like (clocks, red ink pens, knives...).

I know alcohol is a popular gift but I don't know if I can bring any because I wouldn't trust a bottle of wine (or anything else) to not break in my check-in luggage and I'm not old enough to buy it from the airport.

I've got a lot of family who live in Kunming, and I've met only a few "cousins, uncles and aunts". So far, I've met:

Cousin 1: She's in her early 20's and wants to improve her written English. I was thinking that I could bring her a few magazines or English language books. We've been emailing for a few weeks now and she seems very interested in American culture.

Cousin 2: She is also in her early 20's and is pregnant... or has already given birth. For her, I would buy something for her baby and maybe a souvenir from my home state (either Virginia or D.C.).

I've heard that the "I Love New York" t-shirts are pretty popular, so I'm guessing that t-shirts from D.C. and Virginia would be alright as well.

Parents of Cousin 2: They are pretty young for grandparents, probably in their 40's. Uncle was sort of a quiet guy and Auntie was pretty loud. I don't really know what to get them.

Older Auntie who housed us while we were there: She's probably in her 50's or early 60's. She lives on the sixth or seventh floor of her apartment building and has to walk up and down all those stairs each day. I was thinking of bringing her a few reusable grocery bags and maybe some vitamins, I've heard that vitamins were good to bring.

Daughter of Auntie who housed us: She is in her 30's and has a young daughter who is around 6 or 7 years old. I think the mother likes to draw since I spotted a "How to Draw Manga" book on her desk that she seemed to have been studying. For the young daughter, some stationery with an American theme to it or maybe a small bag for school.

There are a few other family members who I met briefly, but I have no idea what to get them. I think I'll bring a supply of t-shirts, small souvenirs (like the other threads have suggested) and vitamins because I can think of maybe... 10 or more family members I'm going to meet while staying in Kunming.

My head is spinning thinking of all of the family members I have over there.

They sent my mother and I home with bags and bags of tea and they were so kind to us while we visited, so I want to do something nice for them.

Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read my giant post. I appreciate any ideas and gift giving experiences you have to share.

Thank you!

[Lu]

Roll a wine bottle in a piece of clothing (or several pieces of clothing) and put it in the middle of your check-in suitcase, so that the rest of your stuff is also around it. It should be safe then. I've brought bottles of wine and other drinks over like that several times and it always worked perfectly.

The supply of t-shirts and small souvenirs sound like an excellent idea. As was suggested in other threads, just bring something that's especially of your home town.

[ShiYi]

Thank you, Lu!

I will try to think of a gift to bring my cousin 2's parents, but if I can't, I will use your wine tip.

I'll visit a few souvenir shops when I get the time. We've had a pretty bad snow, so hopefully I can finish my gift buying on time.

Hope you have a Happy New Year!