My Guide to Gifts & Souvenirs

If you are my family, friends, or anyone close to me, you may not read this post. Thanks :)

Everyone wants a souvenir from where you're studying abroad. And if you go to Switzerland, everyone’s going to ask you to bring them back chocolate. I, personally, think I am a pretty good gift giver and am about to spoil everyone’s gifts in this post for your inspiration, so I hope you enjoy! 

My two best friends studied abroad over January Term and they both brought me back a shot glass with the flag on it from the countries they studied in. This is a little tradition we have started, so I got both of them a Milan shot glass that features the Italian flag. This is easy, it is cute, it is thoughtful because this is a thing we have made a thing. When gift giving and souvenir shopping, I try to stick to little patterns or thoughtful purchases such as this. I like giving meaningful gifts, and although a shot glass may not seem meaningful to everyone, I know my friends are looking forward to this little tradition we have and will appreciate the souvenir. 

I went to Switzerland, but I did not purchase any chocolate for anyone. Instead, I got cute little shelf-stable Christmas sweets for my great grandma and my aunt and uncle who really wanted me to bring them some chocolate. Switzerland chocolate would have been a good idea, but I did not have the time or the space because I did a very short trip there with a very small bag. I will admit, the Italian sweets are kind of taking up a lot of space in my suitcase, but it is another affordable and easy souvenir/Christmas gift that I know my family wanted.

I also went to Paris, and I knew my mom wanted an Eiffel Tower keychain. A keychain is a super fun and easy gift, especially if you know that person has a lot of keychains on their car keys, backpack, or even hung up in their room. When my roommate studied abroad last semester, she got me a keychain so, once again, I am carrying on this theme with her as well. Florence is known for their leather bags, but I was not about to drop that much money at once. Instead of a leather bag, I got my girlfriend a leather keychain. It was much more affordable than a bag but still a really fun and cute gift, and I got her one that really matches her vibe. 

When in Paris, I also got my sister some jewelry. Jewelry is an easy and thoughtful gift, and it’s a lot more fun when you can say, “Oh, I bought that when I was in Paris one weekend!” I got my mom some jewelry in Rome and lost it, which was super sad. But I then bought her some from Milan. 

Finally, magnets! I cannot tell you how many magnets I’ve shoved throughout my suitcase because they are such an easy and cute gift, especially for someone who is difficult to buy for.  My sister and I have started bringing our mom a magnet from the places we go, so I had to carry on this tradition as well. This also shows that you were thinking of someone who may not expect you to get them something from your study abroad trip, so it can also be a really easy, really thoughtful gift. 

A lot of souvenir shops are really generic and even a little cheesy, but you have to know how to work with it and consider what would speak to the people you’re shopping for. Even a shot glass from a souvenir shop can be a meaningful gift to someone if that is a shared prior experience between you two. 

Happy shopping and happy holidays!