Any suggestions on what to take as far as gifts to Spain ?

[This message has been edited by ilovemadrid (edited 06-28-2000).]

This is a really difficult question to answer, and one I've struggled with for the past few years, when I've had to come up with as many as 23 presents at a time to give to people in Spain! Do you know the people you are giving gifts to? Are they old or young? Male or female? Do they travel? Do they live in a big city, or in a pueblo? You'll have to decide what's best, but here are a few ideas.

Handmade crafts from the area you live in
Little wooden birdhouses
Packages of brownie or chocolate chip cookie mix (Very American!)
Fancy boxes of chocolates or candy bars (but not Hershey's kisses - even though they are American chocolates, they taste like cardboard compared to the European chocolate they eat every day there.)
CDs of popular music for young people
Small framed pictures of typical American sights, like a red barn, or a Currier and Ives scene.

I wish I could make the list longer, but it's hard, especially since Spain joined the EEC. You can get just about anything you heart desires in Madrid now.

Hope this is helpful!

Thanks Diana, those were good ideas, the friends range in age from 26-36, I am sure they will like any of those things!! Thank you for your suggestions.

These ARE great suggestions! I often have a stressful few days before leaving for Spain while SEARCHING AND SEARCHING for appropriate gifts for ALL those friends. It can get quite expensive not to mention stressful on the luggage. It's always difficult finding small yet personal items for everyone.

I'll sometimes take t-shirts that have an image of something from my part of the US (NOTE: I'm not trying to "Americanize" the Spanish with T-shirts! HEAVEN FORBID!! hehehe) or audio recordings of something from my area. If one lives in the US southwest or west, American Indian musical/religious recordings or handmade jewelry are always interesting to those in Europe.

Saludos, MadridMan

Purely American stuff like Tennessee Sour Mash or Kentucky straight Bourbon whiskey;
'Logo' t-shirts, preferably from well known US Universities; Levi's (or even 'designer' jeans); and my 'host' in Madrid loves Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese bars (yes, I know it's English, but N.Y and Wisconsin have outdone their British cousins in these products).

When are gifts expected/appropriate? For example, should I plan to give the owner of a Hostal something? What about a local who decides to show us around (I would certainly want to)?

Are there times when it's inappropriate to give gifts? We hosted a japanese man for a year and found many of our American hopitalities to be offensive to him. Good thing he was forgiving and easy-going.

Slightly changing the subject... I want to bring back some Spanish gifts to my friends. Does anyone know if there is anything "Harley" in Spain? Or where the best/cheapest leather products are?

Buying gifts to take over to Spain can be difficult. Most of what we have here is now available there, and not as far behind as it was as little as six years ago.

We opted for "American made" in our most recent trip, and brought Native American items like dream catchers and real peace pipes made by Native Americans. It was fairly costly but was well received. In fact, when we received pictures from our friends we found that they have prominently displayed the items we bought on their walls amongst their Picasso & Goya prints. It was a big hit.

Another item that went over big has been Kool-aid for the little kids. We stumbled on that accidentally, having brought some over for our own usage on days when iced tea wasn't what we wanted. We ended up going to El Corte Ingles and buying some for all the kids. Now when we go over, we pack at least 150 packages of unsweetened kool aid in our bag, and they are as happy as a bug in a rug.

We have also found that things like mens aprons and hats for barbecuing, and things like that were well received as joke gifts. They have actually taken to them and use them when they prepare suckling pig and paella for us (sorry, we have friends who feed us the best of Spain, don't need the restaurants that often).

I think the keywords are "American made." Just like we bring home items that are truly Spanish, they like things that are truly American and that don't mean a Big Mac and fries...... LOL

Wolf

I've given sports team schwag and that has gone over real well with little kids and adults alike. I also gave one of those necklaces they make by gold-plating an aspen leaf and that was a big hit as well. Regional cookbooks are good for adult women. It doesn't have to be too pricey to be a good gift. If you would like to receive it, chances are so would your friends/hosts/etc

I'm from the south, so how about taking peanut brittle and corn nuts?

When we go over, we end up putting it off and then panicking the last few days before we leave becuase it's so hard to think of things to bring our Spanish friends! (UGH! We have to do this again in a few weeks--already stressing over it!!) We always bring all kinds of different American candies and gums. Although they have their own gum, our friends always prefer our big, flavored bubble gum (Bubble Yum, etc) to theirs, they say it tastes better. Also, one time we tossed in to our bags candies like 'gob stoppers' or 'nerds' and they were the biggest hits of all, we can't return without them. They love the pre-made Rice Krispies Treats and peanut butter cups too. If you're going soon, there is all kinds of Easter candy out now, so why not make them mini Easter baskets-you wont find that stuff there! (BUT don't bring stuff like Toberlone or Cadburys bars since you can get anywhere!)

Another item we always have to bring is peanutbutter. Although it is available in Spain now, it doesn't compare to brands like Jif and Skippy, this is another item we must bring to assure our welcome!!

Some other things we have brought in the past are the scented Bath & Body Works type lotions/gels etc, Yankee Candles (very American), pancake mix & maple syrup, Jack Daniels whisky, tshirts of college teams, Levis/Nike/Reebok tshirts/clothes (they are available there but are very expensive), and we even a pair of Nikes once for one of our friends--we guessed at his shoe size & were thankfully correct--again these are available there but VERY expensive. I don't think he took them off the entire time we were there!

As most others have said, look for typically American "Made in America" items. Most of the stuff I listed was candy or food, but as someone before me said, most anything you can buy here is now also available in Spain, so it gets tougher for us to be original! Good luck shopping and have a great time!!