If you have friends or family who has moved abroad, sending them gifts can be a challenge. What are you allowed to send? How much it will cost to ship it? Will it get there safely? There are still some things you can send if you’re trying to level up your gift-giving, that your friends will love.
Image – free for commercial use
- Send flowers. Flowers might not seem like the obvious choice, but you can send flowers abroad if you choose the right company. This will be a great gift, as your friends abroad won’t be expecting flowers from you. You could choose a bouquet made from flowers from home, for something to remind them of where they lived before. Flowers are always well-received, as they’re a great way to brighten up the home.
- Gift cards. If shipping costs are a problem for you, then a gift card is still a thoughtful gift. You could choose a card for a store you know that your friend loves, or choose somewhere more generic like Amazon, where your friend will have a broad range of choices of what they spend their vouchers on. For something a bit different, you could give a gift card for an airline or accommodation, to help with the costs of their next trip home to visit friends and family.
- Skype credit. Skype to Skype calls are free, but to call a landline with Skype, you need credit. If your friend has elderly relatives who aren’t online that they stay in touch with, credit to call them is a very thoughtful gift.
- A care package. Even if your friend is very happy living abroad, there will be some things about home that they miss. Pack up a care package of things that they can’t get where they live now. This could be things like cookies and other snacks, tea bags, local coffee, or candy. Dried goods ship well too. Find out what things they can’t get where they live now and include those. Add a thoughtful note inside.
- Language lessons. If the big move happened recently, then your friend might be trying to learn the local language. You could buy them a subscription to a language learning app or vouchers for a course to help them on their way. This could also be a good gift for a friend who is planning to move abroad but hasn’t done so yet.
- A membership. What does your friend like? Could you buy them a subscription or membership to fit that? For example, buy a subscription for a wine of the month club, or a beer subscription service. There are memberships and subscriptions for just about everything, from magazines to memorabilia. The big advantage is that you don’t have to cover the shipping costs.
- Donate to a cause. You could make a donation in their name to a cause they care about. This could be an animal charity, a children’s charity, or anything else. This is another one that doesn’t need shipping, so is good if restrictions are tight for what you can send to them.