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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Christmas present recommendations
I'm heading home for christmas and need to bring presents for my family. I want to give them something Chinese that isnt just touristy crap...
Any recommendations will be appreciated?
I don't really do xmas presents (only for my sisters children), but we always bring a little something for people.
A high school friend who remotely did some big favor for me gets a pack of un-ground organic Yunnan coffee beans. I couldn't find un-roasted so this is the second best thing for him. A small thing, a thing not typically associated with China, but also a thing he as a coffee lover cannot buy at home.
Spider-Man costume. Make sure to check the label for assurance of its Chinese authenticity.
An overpriced Christmas apple, now this is very Chinese.
Hard to say... anything that's "Chinese-y" is also kinda touristy. Maybe a tea set, like the fancy ceramic one, with the wee table, and some of those little cups? If they're not into tea, maybe something from the Youth Olympic Games... I know, still touristy, but not quit so crappy. I've brought back some Chinese calligraphy, like the wall-scrolls. Paintings might be good too. They're Chinese, but not so toursity that Chinese people themselves don't use them for decoration. A calligraphy set could be good to, if they want to try their hand at making the stuff.
Packaged tea from the supermarket, any food specialty from your area if it can be packaged and not go bad during transport, PM2.5 stylish facemasks, knockoff designer labels or electronics to give as gag gifts.
I would go with some of the better teas you can find in the tea houses (real ones, not scams) if they like Chinese teas at all. These are a little touristic but the Chinese buy it as well and you can find some nice traditional style boxes for them.
Some favourites from when I went back last year otherwise included white rabbit candies (fudge) from the supermarket, fruit candies and the more touristic paper fans.
other posters above have made some good suggestions such as tea, but getting good presents for the adult members of my family is something i only did once as it was quite challenging.
However, for the children in my family i gave small Chinese novelty gifts like small paintings of the Chinese animal for the year they were born.
Last year i sent them their names - translated into Chinese by a local friend, and painted on a scroll by a street calligrapher who included animals in the design.
they were so excited by this that they brought them into school.
I also had to think about the size and weight of the gifts, as well as the number
SwedKiwi1:
Translating names into Chinese calligraphy sounds interesting. I will have to try that sometime myself
Thanks everyone, good suggestions all round! I definitely went down the tea route in the end, and I also found a really cool Shanghai design shop for more grown up, round the house-y things!
I like to buy Jade carvings, and Russian dolls from Harbin.