Ideas for work friend moving abroad - gift

[purplepandas]

Hello,

A lovely work friend is moving half way across the world. Have contributed to work gift fun but would love to get her something. Any ideas please people? Obv she does not want to take lots with her ( kids too) which is making it tricky.

Only thing I thought about was a pen but not sure.

Any thoughts welcomed!

Thanks

If you know her style well enough, could you get an item of jewellery?

Or something similarly small but that she'll actually use (pen is good idea)

I say this as someone who moved away from the UK and was given a whole load of stuff "to remember people by" that is now in a box in my attic 🙈🙈

Yes something small like jewellery, solid perfume, key ring or something practical she can use on the journey like a luggage tag, packing cubes, compression bags etc.

I have moved countries several times and often by the time I had my last day at work I had already sent my bulky items in advance by seafreight so all I had was 1-2 suitcases and there was zero room for anything bulky. So it's good you're thinking compact!

A gift card for a shop in the country she is moving to? Could be a department store, diy or book shop?

A gift card for a shop in the country she is moving to?
This! She won't want stuff to take with her. Look around where she will be living for a coffee shop/home decoration/restaurant/take-away.

Does she have a favourite very British snack? I have a friend who randomly sends me monster munch. It cost her more to mail than buy but I love her so much for the thought.

If not something small but connected to a mutual interest like a book mark or fridge magnet. One of the nicest gifts I ever got was a man in a kilt Christmas decoration, every year it makes me smile.

When we moved abroad I asked for a specific book. It caused a couple of colleagues to be irritated but like others say, you don't want to travel with lots of bulky things.

I still read the book on a regular basis 25 years later.

When a colleague moved to New Zealand we gave her the money we raised in NZ Dollar to get her to buy something for her new home.

I gave a UK mug to one friend, she collects mugs. Small enough to go into the suitcase and can be used.

When one of my colleagues moved aboard we got him a voucher for a restaurant in the new city he was moving to - a nice way to start his time there and didn't need to pack anything!

When I left my job to move back to Scotland (only from England) my colleagues got me a framed photo of a local landmark. I love it and it still hangs in my kitchen almost 20 years later.

Could you get a small print, not in a frame, of a place that means something to you both or a landscape of her favourite spot? Takes up very little space then she can get a frame at the other end to display in her new home.