What's in your care packages?

[Kuriusoranj]

So I've had another delivery today from the British Corner Shop - saviour of my mental health since I discovered them. I don't even cry so much at their prices any more.

It struck me that the contents are quite interesting and not necessarily what I would buy normally at home: prawn cocktail crisps, pot noodles, jaffa cakes, Aussie haircare products and twining's teabags. (Seasonal extra chocolate oranges, of course.) Basically random crap junkfood for the most part, but they make me happy out of all proportion, especially considering I wouldn't have regularly had most of them when we were living at home.

So - do you get deliveries from home (shops or loved ones)? What's in your care packages?

My local store sell Twinnings, Aussie hair care and chocolate oranges! And I live in the middle of buttfuck nowhere! You can probably get them cheap on Amazon too!

They also sell colmans mustard, duchy biscuits and loads of stuff.

A Scottish guy opened up a pub locally so I get him to buy me flakes, crunchies etc.

One thing I get sent that I've not seen in any shops is Marmite.

Just checked Amazon, you can get three chocolate oranges for $12!

And Aussie stuff cheaper than in Britain.

What I want is crisps. Chicken crisps. Bacon crisps. Frazzles. Scampi fries.

British chocolate.

Marmite, concentrated squash and instant coffee. We've found substitutes (or better) for pretty much everything else here in the US, but I refuse to pay $$$$$s for Marmite (especially as a jar lasts so long, so easy to stock up when we're home or someone comes to visit), and they don't do squash at all and the instant coffee is rank

Why don't they do squash? I've looked for it everywhere. I try and explain it and people look at me like I'm nuts.

With you on instant coffee too. The only jars I've ever bought were so so bad.

We can get most British stuff here, marmite, haggis, shortbread, PG Tips, Yorkshire teabags, steak bakes, chocolate oranges etc.

The only thing we can't get here are the BOGOF pasta deals from sainsburys which I miss so much! But generally I miss all the ready meals and easy access pastas etc from the UK.

Honestly, in the six years I've been here in the US, every year more stuff pops up at my local WorldMarket or Publix. I'm Irish, so finding Barry's Tea was a freaking godsend, PGTips can kiss my arse. Whole Foods even carry proper rashers, and a passable imitiation to a good sausie.

I can make a decent version of nearly everything at home, but I miss takeaways like fresh fish & chips, and a good curry most of all - but that's about it. I will be scoffing a chicken and stuffing sambo with cheese and onion at some point over Christmas when I'm home though

It's weird where I am. Some stuff you can get but pay a fortune for, but a huge number of things you just can't get for love nor money. Have weird Amazon limits too - many's the time I've restricted the search to 'global eligible' then had to swallow my excitement when I get the 'not available for delivery to your address'. It's like they're saying "delivers all over the world, but not to you, sucker!" I do love the BCS for that reason - it's only the stuff that's actually illegal here that they won't ship.

Ah sorry you're not in the States. Don't know why I assumed that!

I really really want crisps now.

Magazines! Preferably cooking magazines - Olive, Delicious, BBC Good Food, I'm not fussy.

In the years I've been here things have become so much easier with Skype, WhatsApp, enough bandwidth to stream BBC radio (4&6 preferably) and even ways to watch TV.

I still find this time of year quite hard even though Worldmarket stocks quite a selection of British Christmas goodies. It just isn't the same as wandering around the local Sainsburys or Tescos!

I'm going back this Christmas and will just sit in Waitrose or Boots and cry a bit.

We have a British shop with eye watering prices but it stocks most stuff. It's frightening - I can pop in for one thing and come out 50 euros down! Decent T bags are most important for me - Twinings earl grey and pg tips. I stock up on visits to uk and my DH has colleague who will sometimes oblige. Other than that, Marmite, roses lime cordial, Wensleydale cheese fudge, hula hoops and gluten free treats like chocolate biscuits or mince pies are high on the list. English products are starting to appear in supermarkets here - can now buy Heinz baked beans! I also always get stuff from chemist when I visit uk like dove anti-perspiration (hard to find one I'm not allergic to) pepto bismol, bonjela, Blisteze and cheap ibuprofen/paracetamol. In fact we are off to uk this weekend I and I have already put in an order to collect from Boots! Oh and magazines - I will buy some foody ones, and have a digital subscription to a couple of women's ones.

Shit, this just reminded me that I'm supposed to send a care package from here in Caribbean to my friend in LA! We've got Tescos and waitrose shit and everything!

If you're reading roomie number #1, I'm gonna hook you up!!

When we were in the turks and Caicos on holiday the local supermarket at waitrose stuff. DH was ok with me spending $200 (usd) on biscuits.

He brings home bacon so I've got that one sorted. It's what holds our marriage together at times.

I miss all pork products, bacon, sausages, scotch eggs. I miss decent sweets. I can buy cadburys giant chocolate buttons but they are so expensive. I miss cheap ready meals and ready made pies. Takeaways are ok here but I'd love fish n chips. Cooking dinner every night gets harder and harder as I feel like there are no choices.

The biggest biggest thing I miss are English pubs.

We have regular drives over the boarder for pork and booze. Such a shame I can't drive here, so always have the choice to be the drinker!!!

Postal service none existent, so don't trust packages. Visas difficult, so maybe a parental visit once a year. My suitcase contains: toothpaste for the kids (I can cope with Colgate here, kids need European Colgate), Bovril, bras, long length trousers, vitamin tablets, Aussie hair care. Winter now, and very delighted when DH brought back European chocolate - it doesn't survive transportation in the summer.

In the UK I was a one supermarket kind of girl. Out here, you need to keep visiting them all, as it depends on who has had a shipment where the imported stuff you want is (cherios, Marmite, vanilla, rice Krispies, British icing sugar, bisto)

Oh, and cheese!!! Decent British (or Irish) cheese, not the sodding American stuff. Some of it comes in a tin shudder

I brought back from England the whole Aussie hair care range, Astral cream, 3 jars of lemon curd, dried fruit bars/sweets for sons lunch box, school uniform such as shirts, PE daps, school bag, lunch bag and drinking bottles. I brought back loads of clothes and Clarks shoes!

School shorts I mean!

Craft cheese. Wtf.......

I'm lucky I can buy the 'seriously strong cheddar' and cathedral city. I would like some branstons pickle though. I saw it once for £6 and didn't but it, boy do I regret that now!

Buster where are you?
Branston pickle in Tamimi and Lulu's KSA. Have occasionally got lemon curd here (Tamimi again), but generally make it.

Cheese goes in fits and starts. Available one month, not the next.

I'm in Qatar, I can get Lemon Curd but it takes time and effort. I've never found pickle since that fateful day! Cheese is easy for me.

Does buying anything in the ME not take time and effort??!!!
Intriguing the differences in import availability so close together. I guess it depends on the expat mix, and hence demands, in each specific area.
Sorry, Kuriu hijack over.