As you prepare to leave your school and city to return home, you might be scrambling for souvenir ideas – gifts that will be appreciated by friends and family. You might also want to take home special things for yourself. So – how to choose gifts for you and your loved ones? You want your gifts to be unique, local and, as a student on a budget, inexpensive.

Souvenir Ideas for Friends and Family

All the while that you have been learning English, meeting people from around the world, taking trips and creating fantastic memories, you would have had those moments when your thoughts drifted to home, to family, to loved ones.  Your ties to your native country and the anticipation of seeing family and friends, smelling old smells, seeing familiar sights and hearing beloved voices and sounds are the sweet solace for the sadness of leaving your host country and newfound friends.

On your travels locally and further afield from your host city, make sure to get one or two items that will remind you of the place you visited.  Here are some things to think about when you select a souvenir, for yourself or for others.

1. For souvenirs locally-made items which reflect the culture of the region is always a winning idea. Local crafts and examples of unique regional craft culture are often beautiful and inexpensive and to be found in stores, flea markets and museum stores.
2. Record local music, or a CD by a local musician.
3. Get a cookbook about regional cuisine from an area you visit.
4. Buy locally-made beauty products, soaps, candles or products for which the area is famous.
5. If you know a friend or family member has a specific passion or hobby, seek out something which relates to their area of interest.

You don’t have to break the bank to find souvenirs of your stay abroad, nor for the gifts you bring home for your loved ones.  Always be aware that memories are being created whether you are discovering your new city and life in the course of your everyday routine or witnessing for the first time the skyline of a famous global city.  Souvenirs that reflect the excitement of discoveries great and small are the most treasured kind.

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