Bringing back presents from holidays

[Polly345]

Apart from a couple of days away in the UK, I haven't really been on a 'real' holiday for 11 years.
This year we are going to Paris for a 'big' birthday. I hadn't really thought about this before but a friend announced that as she collects salt and pepper sets - this is the present I WILL bring her back from holiday.
To be honest - the only person I had thought of buying for is MIL. She is bedbound and in very poor health and I think a small souvenir would be appropriate.
If I see things on holiday - I probably will buy some bits and bobs for gifts but I don't intend spending a lot of time gift shopping.
I didn't really think about it before - but my friend made me feel unreasonable when I pointed out a search for a salt and pepper set would not be a priority. If she had said something like 'I hope you bring me back a present' or even something more generic like a fridge magnet - I would probably have felt differently.

I've got a friend who loves fridge magnets and I often bring her one (but she is appreciative and doesn't take them for granted). Otherwise, I only get a little for DH if I travel without him.

We've bought for our DDs if we've been away without them, and got something for family who've looked after the pets. But never just for the sake of it. I'm too busy enjoying being away to spend time in souvenir tat gift shops!

I am 33, have travelled fairly extensively and have never ever bought anyone a present from a holiday! Didn’t even really know it was ‘a thing’...

You do not TELL people to bring you a present, unless you have a very close kind of relationship where you can get away with "oi, I hope I get a pressie"

Rude cunt she is

My DH has to do this for his family everywhere we go. I refuse to waste time and money on tourist crap for mine. If you’re feeling kind and only if you happen to see one, Pylones is a great store (several branches in Paris) that might do one. There’s one on the Isle St Louis on same street as the meaning Berthillon icecream shop.

Just buy a cheap trinket from the 'street sellers' and get the same for everyone :)

My fiance always goes through the rigmarole of taking back tat from holiday for his family. I take my dad honey (because he's developed health issues limiting his diet but can always have honey), or buy a birthday or Christmas present but that's it. Holiday tat only has meaning if you went there yourself.

But then I blame future MIL for gift culture. Fiance and his brother got cash gifts for Halloween and Easter etc, because apparently cultural events have no meaning without a gift included. Grr.

We never buy gifts but have a tradition at work that you bring back some sweets either local or something from duty free.

When my children were little (between 5 & 10) I had to leave them to go aboard for a couple of weeks on a family errand. OH bought some appropriate souvenirs on eBay for me to hand out on my return.

CF! I am not spending my hard earned holiday looking for presents for other people!
If i see something when i am shopping for myself then i will get it but only for my closest relative. Usually something like an unusual fridge magnet they will actually like.
Otherwise nope.

She is very rude telling you what you are going to get her. Tell her you were too busy having fun with your family to remember anyway.

Another one here who wonders whether she brings you presents when she goes on holiday.

I can't imagine a world where I'd be traipsing around Paris looking for salt and pepper shakers!

what I did a few years back was naughty but certainly saved me any stress. Before I went to Italy I ordered X number of assorted 'I love Italy' type fridge magnets off ebay. Once I returned, there they were. Happy days. x

I think when foreign holidays were a much rarer thing than they are now it was a nice idea. Now, it's utterly pointless and unnecessary. Tell your friend to order her salt and pepper set online.

Thank you so much for all your replies.
She is really into 'presents' but it's been about 20+years since she brought me back a present.
Sadly she goes for 'quantity' over 'quality' which has caused several discussions at Christmas time. She even told her friends what to buy her for her recent birthday - money for a tattoo or adopt a hedgehog.
We both have 'big' birthdays this year - I really wanted to say - lets either have a no present pact or agree an amount and buy ourselves something we would really like and say it was from the other one but as her birthday came along first - it felt like a cop-out.
Ha ha - it's just occurred to me - I am going on holiday FOR my birthday but there was no mention of what she could give me!

p.s. I'm going to Paris - nothing else matters!
p.p.s. The pics of the salt and pepper shakers are brilliant!

How ridiculous! If a member of our household goes anywhere they seek out a fridge magnet to bring home.

PIL were obsessed with holiday presents. That's because they spent the same 2 weeks every year in the same resort and shopping was something to do!
We weren't popular as we wouldn't bring tat back with us but we were busy and we went away a lot. If we saw something that was good for someone we would buy it though, but not buy for sake of it.

I bought my friend a leather ankle bracelet from my family holiday as I knew she loved hers and it snapped and there was a very similar one in the shop my 6 year old DD spent pretty much the whole holiday in anyway. No way would I have trailed around all the shops for holiday tat for a CF

We used to bring 'nice' gifts for our sons, our DiL, my brother, and my mum (and vice versa) but it started getting stupid expensive and a bit out of hand. So now it's devolved into 'token' gifts, usually something silly or something to eat. Two years ago we brought them each a Junior Natl Park Ranger badge with their name on it from Yellowstone and a small jar of bread and butter pickles from The Badlands.

We certainly don't buy anything extravagant or something we'd really have to 'shop' for, unless the place we're visiting is somehow especially 'meaningful' to the recipient. My mum and dad had their honeymoon in Yellowstone in 1947 so we also bought Mum (Dad died years ago) a cute little handmade figurine of two bears cuddling.

Your friend is a CF, unless she specifically brings you holiday gifts and is simply expecting you to reciprocate. Which you don't have to do.

www.amazon.co.uk/French-Chefs-Salt-Pepper-Set/dp/B01HIG5Q98/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=french+salt+and+pepper+set&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1519482946&sr=8-5

we bring stuff back for US when we go on hols, fridge magnets etc, not for others though!

I think it's be fine for her to say that she collects the things, and if you remember and happen to see them would you mind buying them for her and she'll pay you back?

But that;s quite far from what she's done!

We only bring them back for people doing us favours to allow us to be away - usually the neighbours who feed our fish and put our bins out, bring our post in (external mail box) etc. Their kids are friends of our kids so the kids choose their counterpart something random and we give the parents a bottle of wine or olive oil or chocolate or other consumable from the area we are in.

If I go away with just one child we'll buy the remaining family members something.

I'd never buy souvenirs for friends though, I think that used to be a thing decades ago but never heard of anyone doing it unless its thanks for a favour or a perishable foodstuff brought back to share if a meeting up straight after the holiday.

I think that years ago ( I’m thinking back to the 70s here) holidays were for most folks a strictly annual event and not all of those were holidays abroad. So yes, we used to get people gifts and I got lots of things from my grandparents from their foreign excursions - Spanish dolls etc. But since holidays have become less “ once a year “ things and more regular and accessible the tradition of buying present has faded out. I agree with others , I only buy for the person who has looked after my dog or house. Now a days when I go on holiday my purchases are strictly for myself !

I don’t get the bringing back souvenirs (I mean, I give friends and dB who go over to the states, a list of what I need but that not a souvenir )

I went away with a friend and her family last year, to Blackpool for 6 days and we spent half a day looking for souvenirs for them to bring back.

It baffles me

She's a CF (unless she always brings you things back from her travels) I might buy some small things for my neighbour who feeds the cat, but other than that it's only if I see something that I know a friend would really love. I always say no to the CF's who ask for duty free fags or booze too!