10 gifts that can be brought from their homeland to America
'27.11.2018'
Source: I buy.ru
Foreigners prefer as a gift from Russia the most banal things: matryoshka, fur, and caviar. We offer to forget the stereotypes and expand the list!
The closer to the New Year holidays, the more foreign tourists on the streets, reminds Anna Shasheva for I buy.ru. They make acquaintances, establish international contacts, and how can they be fixed as an unsuitable gift? We offer a list of pleasant surprises that invariably cause a storm of emotions in foreigners.
And if you have invited new friends to celebrate the New Year together, here you will find a lot of useful information on how to prepare for the holiday and where to celebrate it.
1. Gingerbread, condensed milk, sweets from Russian factories
Russian sweets are different from foreign ones. Therefore, many people would like to try an exotic Russian snack. An ideal gift for all ages.
2. Copper
Honey is produced in many countries, but in Russia there are unique varieties. For example, lime from Bashkiria. You only need to buy it in proven places or use the help of experts.
3. Hat, but not Ushanka
National Russian hats are recognizable around the world. Almost every tourist on the Arbat considers it his duty to buy a hat with earflaps. But she was not confused with the world.
A good alternative would be, for example, budenovka. My friend, an American, bought ten pieces in Russia and was very proud when he gave to his compatriots. And I took note.
4. Set for a bath
To visit Russia and not to go to the bath? Unthinkable But your new friend has no bath accessories ...
Of course, the gift will be more memorable than practical (where does he find a Russian bath abroad?). But if the broom doesn’t come in handy for him, then a mitten-washcloth, a set of essential oils can be used in the bathroom.
5. Glasses in coasters
Faceted glasses with beautiful patterned cup holders are still sold in stores, but you'll have to run after them. They are especially liked by those foreigners who dream of traveling by train over the Trans-Siberian Railway.
6. Boots and mittens
In winter, they are sold in stores, in the markets and just at grandmothers on the streets. All year round they can be found in the gift shop, if you try.
7. Gzhel, Khokhloma, dishes with Zhostovo painting, tagil trays, icons
A gift for an amateur. Usually, foreign aged aunts or antique lovers delighted with such beauty. All this splendor is sold in souvenir shops or specialized branches of porcelain factories, as well as in the markets.
If you want to surprise a lover of antiquity, take him to the flea market. There you can look for authentic gifts: a rolling pin, a washboard, a mortar, a casket ... There are real rarities!
8. Books
If not the best gift, then certainly not the worst! Foreigners like publications about Russian painting and culture, guidebooks, books about Moscow, St. Petersburg, Siberia, albums with professional photos.
Of particular interest today are books about everything connected with the USSR. They can be easily found abroad (as a gift to the Russians). So my husband and I brought a huge album from Germany from a local publishing house about unusual buildings in the former Soviet republics.
9. Scarves, side shirts, kokoshniki and other attributes of folk costume
Going to foreign friends for a party, bring something like that. These things will be a great gift and center of any holiday. To try on a sundress and not only children and girls, but also some especially brave guys will want to take a picture in it - it is checked!
10. Products with amber, serpentine or malachite
For many years this souvenir will remind a person of an unforgettable trip to Russia.
On a visit to emigrants
Separately, we will talk about gifts to emigrants bored in their homeland. Usually they yearn for the easiest food. Therefore, with them in a suitcase they can put condensed milk, roasted or “Bird's milk” and ordinary buckwheat (green buckwheat is most often sold abroad, and it’s difficult to find the usual dark cereal). One of my friends from Canada specifically went to the Russian store for tens of kilometers from her town to buy an ordinary marshmallow - she does not like marshmallows.
