Gift Ideas For An Exchange

Hey there! Next week I'll be off on a one week exchange trip to Madrid (so exciting!) and of course as a small show of appreciation for them opening their home to me, I'll be bringing a few small gifts. It was quite difficult however to come up with good, transportable and affordable presents therefore I thought it would be a lovely thought to share with you what I came up with-you never know when you may do an exchange!. (Bare in mind these gifts are being divided between different members of the family i.e siblings, parents and my actual exchange student).

To start off, it's good to get traditional things from your country. I'm going to be talking on behalf of people from the UK however. What's the most English thing you can think of? Tea! My sister used to work at Whittard and therefore recommended me two teas called: Blueberry Blaster and Morning Reviver which are good for those who prefer more fruity, as well as caffeine free, drinks. In addition to that, I will also be bringing two small tins of tea that DO have caffeine just in case the parents have a preference (so much thought has gone into this...).

I also bought THIS infuser from amazon which is absolutely adorable however it has not arrived yet due to their company information being misleading. If you plan on ordering this particular one, make sure you do so well in advance!

Next, I bought a tin of shortbread from Marks & Spencer. It's a great place to buy it as their tins were London themed which makes it a real keeper for other use when the biscuits are finished. (Hurray to efficiency!)

As well as that, I bought a 'Cath Kidston' London styled mug. Cath Kidston is very well known (and desired) abroad. I bought it on Amazon HERE.

Along with that, I bought a pack of lemon bonbons (who doesn't like those?!) to put in the Cath Kidston mug. I bought these from Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shop. I will warn you though, do not buy them from Marks & Spencer! They're far too hard and will not give your host family a good impression of sweets sold in the UK.

For my actual host, I bought an adorable Lush gift set called 'Buttercup'. This contained the 'Honey I washed the kids' soap and the 'Butterball' bath bomb. The wrapping is on point and I truly think it's something unique to give someone abroad.

And that's all, I also found a great idea on the internet which was to get them a scratch map, however travel wise, this was not really an option for me. I think a scratch map is a fantastic idea if you know you are going to have plenty of space in your suitcase.
Other than that, I believe that is it! Have a great week and I will see you soon! So long!