if you are a Brit living in the States....

[Upinthestars]

Please tell me what you miss!

I want to send a Christmas package to a friend. I will obviously put in chocolate, but what else? I want it to be a surprise so can't ask her...

Thanks for any ideas

To be honest I'm lucky enough to live in a large city where can get everything here except for Percy Pigs and Panadol, they are the only 2 things I ever ask for when people come over. Amazon is fantastic and all the supermarkets here have British aisles. It really depends on where your friend lives as to what is available to her but it sounds like a very kind and thoughtful gesture on your part. If someone was doing this for me, I would like something personal like an album of photos or a long handwritten letter.

My friends - good idea about the letter. We are always discussing sadly the demise of the letter!

She is rather rural and anything English seems a treat. Perhaps I should just get some typically English stuff for her. She can always give it away as a present to others if she, or her family, don't like it.

Mince pies, brown sauce, Marmite, Crunchie bars.

If she doesn't have access to them then: A proper christmas pud (unless she's the sort to make her own), mincemeat, percy pigs, marmite, branston pickle. Prawn cocktail or smokey bacon flavoured crisps if your friend likes them. You can also buy special christmas crackers for international delivery (they don't have a crack as that classes as a firework).

I used to ask for Salad cream, hob nobs, Jelly babies, Jelly tots, chocolate buttons, Sausage casserole mix packets. Foxes biscuits of every kind. Christmas puddings, (little personal ones) and all those little steam puds, Chocolate, syrup etc. Bottles of Golden Syrup, box of ready brek. Cheese and Onion crisps were the only ones I couldn't get that I liked. Jacobs cream crackers, Foxes glacier mints and fruits. PG Tips tea bags.
It would cost a fortune to send all that stuff.

Lovely, some more replies! Might need to ask some random questions to gauge if she likes those things. Thanks

So wait, mrsmortis. They don't have crackers over there? (Instantly adds to list)

To be honest you can get pretty much everything here now (apart from Peperamis, and you're not allowed to send those). But if it were me I would love some English crappy gossip mags, Mr Kiplings French Fancies, Frazzles/quavers/skips and some pick and mix! Maybe an advent calendar if you can get it to her by the 1st of Dec (some shops here do sell them but only the last couple of years). Or one of those Cadburys selection box things? or Quality Street or Roses?

Really good jams, pickles, chutneys.
Can you send stilton? Brandy butter?
Gossip mags, the latest sunday papers.
If she's into that, cosmetics like n.7 range in boots, neal's yard etc....

Rubbish English magazines, monster munch, curly wurly, frazzles, a DVD of a new uk series that's not out in the USA that she may not have heard of...

Crumpets.

I really miss Lemsip but that's probably just me

I send to my son in USA and always pack the spaces with our very local Tayto cheese n opinion crisps. Also Jacobs fig rolls, polo mints, Cadbury' s fruit n nut,, Freddo Bars, Terrys chocolate orange when it's on offer at £1 taking the cardboard wrapper off to cut every gram of weight. M & S shortbread with the least packaging.
You can send up to 2kgs for around £28, not a gram more or the rate jumps massively, better to start a second box.
Also, if you can get away with wrapping in bubble wrap and bin bags with loads of parcel tape you'll save a little on weight compared to a box. A used Amazon box is about the lightest box you'll get. Decent kitchen scales are great to check the weight as you pack.

You can get Christmas Crackers in the US - I have been seeing them all over the place this year - Costco, Wallgreens, William Sonoma's. Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table, World Market.

Oh, how timely. I need to get something off to a friend in the States too (just reminded me!) Any tips on sending? I assume Royal Mail is expensive and couriers (slightly) less so? Are there ever any special offers on?

Thanks

The whole Boots No7 range is available at Target. PG Tips are all over the place too, including in my local supermarket. To be honest, if they have a World Market nearby they will have basically everything, including a huge range of Christmas crackers, English chocolate and real baked beans. We do still have to get our Patak's Lime Pickle from Amazon, though, and supplies of Bitter Lemon can be patchy. Yorkshire Red tea is also harder to come by (Gold is fairly common).

Cheeses - When living there, I would take unavailable ones, like Red Leicester, Gloucester, Caerphilly, Wensleydale.

Managed to find strong chedders ok.

+1 on the pickles - couldn't get piccalilly in California.

Lemsip
Branston Pickle
Walkers
Bacon

Walgreens bought Boots last year so along with Target stocking it, we have no7 on every street corner here.....

Sunday supplements, Time Out, Marmite, random things they might not think of - my brother just sent us a package with cookers dried out with holes drilled in them and two already on shoelaces for my DC

Sorry, conkers

Custard. That's it really. Though I do miss a good pork pie and mustard, but wouldn't eat one if I had the chance because they are so full of fat they'd set off my gallstones!

English clouds are good, but you can't send those, obviously.

For expat family (all be it in canada) we used to send custard creams and galaxy ripples.

When I lived in the states I really missed bread and cheese, but sadly I don't think you can send either of those. Any Brits visiting from the states will probably love good, fresh, non-sweet sliced bread that doesn't crumble to peices when you try to butter it and a hunk of cheese with flavour.

People always bring crisps and biscuits to us here in Brazil. Very appreciated! Especially pickled onion, prawn cocktail and moster munch.

you can get a good strong Irish cheddar or a stinky brie quite easily here now.