There is no denying – everyone loves receiving gifts and souvenirs from faraway places that they haven’t visited yet. Because of this, you might be thinking about purchasing some gifts and souvenirs for your loved ones if you’ll be traveling to a foreign country this summer.
However, purchasing such items is easier said than done, especially if you don’t know what to purchase and whether or not you can actually carry it back to your country. Fortunately for you, with a little bit of planning, you can make the entire process simpler, and here is what you’ll have to do:
1. First Things First – Decide How Much You’ll Spend
Before you look at the rest of the tips on our list, the very first thing that you’ll have to do is to decide how much money you’ll spend on gifts and souvenirs. By setting a budget, you’ll make the entire process simpler, mostly because you’ll know exactly how much money you can spend on specific presents, and more importantly, you can stop yourself from spending the money you might need for, for example, visiting a museum.
2. You Should Make a List
Source: cnn.com
Besides setting a budget, another thing that you should definitely do is make a list of people whom you want to purchase something for. If you do, you won’t forget about anyone and you could also use the list you make for writing down potential gifts for each individual. Another thing that you might want to do is to ask them what they would like to have from the country you’ll be visiting and by doing so, you could ensure that they actually like the gift you purchase for them.
3. Learn More About What You Can Get
Trust me, you don’t want to buy something that can be bought in your country, which is why you should learn more about what you can get. For instance, if you’ll be visiting Greece you could purchase authentic olive oil or soap made from it, but if you’re in Italy, everyone will love to try their coffee. Hence, you’ll want to thoroughly research what products, food, or drinks are staples of the country you’ll be visiting.
Additionally, researching what you could get will also allow you to ensure that you learn how a product is authentic. What does this mean? Well, for example, if you’ll be visiting Japan, you could choose to buy a kimono for someone. Since there are a lot of fake ones out there, you could search the Internet and learn what to look for in an authentic one. You could also use the Internet for learning where you can buy the goods that you want.
4. Think About What Each Person Would Like
If you choose not to ask each person from your list what they would like to receive from you, you must think about what each of them would like. This can ensure that they like the present you get and that they actually use it at some point. For instance, if someone doesn’t like coffee, you cannot really bring them a bag of coffee beans from Italy. Instead, you should bring them something that they prefer and that they’ll use such as jewelry.
It’s worth mentioning that, if you don’t know an individual well or if you cannot find something that suits their personality, you could get them something that they will definitely like. For instance, a snow globe or a magnet could work, but you can also choose to buy them a gift basket such as the ones offered by Baskits. This will guarantee that the individual likes their gift and that they’ll actually use or display it in their home.
5. Don’t Only Shop at Tourist Hotspots
Source: worldtravelguide.net
If there is one thing that you must remember from this guide, it’s the fact that you shouldn’t only shop at tourist hotspots. Of course, you’ll want to head there if you need to purchase some magnets or snow globes, however, you should know that moving away from these spots can bring you a lot of advantages. For starters, local markets offer more affordable products, and more importantly, the quality of the goods will be better.
6. Think About How You’ll Bring it Back
Yes, it can be tempting to bring back something breakable like a snow globe, however, you should really think about how you’ll protect it. Now, if you’ll be traveling by car, this won’t be an issue, however, everything else will. Hence, once you find something suitable for a loved one, think about whether or not you can get it back without breaking it. Additionally, ask yourself whether or not you have enough space in your luggage, which is especially important if you’ll be flying.
7. Use Your Carry-on Bag!
Larger presents will have to be packed in your luggage, however, if you’re traveling by plane, you could choose to pack the smaller ones in your carry-on bag. Besides making your luggage lighter, you can also pack breakable objects in your carry-on, and by doing so, you can make sure that they remain in one piece. A duffle bag is also suitable if you’re traveling by bus, mostly because it’ll fit under your seat.
8. You Can Opt For Shipping
Source: entrepreneur.com
Last on our list of advice, but definitely, something that can save you a lot of trouble is the fact that you can ship gifts and souvenirs to your home. So, if you’ve purchased something large and heavy or if you simply want to ensure that the presents don’t break, you can ship them by mail. This might turn out to be a little bit expensive, but it’s better to opt for such services than to worry about the present breaking during transportation.
Conclusion
Purchasing gifts and souvenirs when abroad is often a daunting and time-consuming process. However, it doesn’t really have to be like that and if you opt for following the tips and tricks we’ve mentioned above, you won’t only ensure that you buy perfect presents, but you’ll also ensure that you stay within your budget.
Since you’re now well aware of the things you can – and definitely should – do, you really might not want to waste more of your free time reading articles similar to this one. Instead, you might want to start with the first tip we’ve mentioned – which is setting a budget for purchasing gifts.
