What gifts should I bring to my relatives in the Philippines?

Question

I am going to the Philippines in August and would like to bring things from the US to my relatives there. They are in a very rural area and I'm not sure what to bring. My parents are already preparing boxes of canned food like corned beef, spam, instant coffee, and vienna sausages. Someone had mentioned bringing chocolate. Should I bring other candies? What else could I bring?

I have another question about traveling in general in the Philippines.

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Answer 1

Vitamins....big ones from Costco. (We also bring extra for the roosters--long story). We always bring cling wrap, instant coffee, cherries, strawberries, Honey Baked ham (we freeze it and then put it into the box the day of flight), steaks, makeup, perfume, scented lotions (Victoria's Secret or Bath & Body Works--both are having their sale right now), liquor (Hennessy or Johnnie Walker), cremora (powerded creamer), Hersheys kisses, bag of mixed mini chocolate bars (to give to the kids in the neighborhood), bed sheets, bath and face towels.

Our friends/relatives requested we stop bringing corned beef as apartently the type they can get there from Australia is better than the corned beef here. I do not know if this is true in the provinces however.

Last time we went, Tweety (yellow cartoon bird) was big amongst the girls. May be passe now.

Answer 2

Are you sure you want to bring all those stuff with you? Spam and other canned goods, coffee, and other products from the US, even candy bars (hershey's, mars, babe ruth, milky way -- you name it), are available at the airport's duty free shopping center which you can visit even after two weeks upon arrival. You can shop there rather than taking a big box with you, but if it's already packed, well...

May I suggest something more lightweight and practical to carry? How about clothes? T-shirts that say "I Love NY" or "Hawaii" or whatever state are great giveaways. Both your young and old relatives will like them because they can show off your "imported" gifts to friends and other relatives. Other useful stuff are school supplies -- paper, pencils, pens, crayons -- for the kids (Good quality school supplies are hard to come by in rural areas).

Answer 3

You should take your favourites but make sure they are not available there. (Make sure that it is made in your country) If you like ketchup, take some since I've found the ketchup in other countries does not "taste right". Candy and chocolate is always a good thing to take as long as it's not so hot that it melts all over the place. I took rye whiskey with me when I went to Japan. (good thing too since the only thing available that was even a little bit close to rye was bourbon and I really didn't enjoy that.) Have a wonderful holiday and remember to bring back souvenirs for your family.

Answer 4

I just got back to US on Wednesday! Anything at all you take will be appreciated. Especially in the rural areas. We take lots of soap, shampoo, towels, flashlights. We even get some from the dollar store. Any kind of tools / screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers etc.

The whole idea is that you will be getting A LOT of visitors from cousins, neighbors, friends etc. As long as you can give them anything at all they are very appreciative.

One other thing I usually take is to freeze a spiral honey-baked ham, and pack it right before we leave for the airport. They don't have anything like that there and it really goes over big!

I don't take too much chocolate with me. (Melts in the box, not in the hand!) I get some at the duty free store in manila. I do bring lots of hard candies to pass out to the kids. Also games for kids to play. (They had an absolute blast with water balloons)

Also, good alcohol is a much cheaper here in states than even the duty-free stores. (i.e. Chivas Regal = $30 for 1 liter @ duty-free!)

One other thought while packing... Buy lots of extra toilet paper and ramen noodles. you will almost always max out on weight before you run out of room. Use these items as fillers for your boxes.

Answer 5

Bring candy. And maybe some toys for the young ones. Simple things'll make them happy. Maybe some soccer balls and other sports balls. Deflate them of course. And chocolate is really good. I brought that the last time I went and they ate it all. You should bring those chocolate boxes they sell in Albertsons or any grocery store near you.

Answer 6

Baseball caps with teams like the NY Yankees are popular and T shirts with your states name or a local attraction. Basically anything made in the U.S. is popular. Check out Wall Mart or K mart for inexpensive items to bring back.

Answer 7

are you really going to PI with these heavy stuffs? corned beef, spams in cans? instant coffee? good girl.
well , might be good to bring them chocolates or small stuffs with US logos.. caps, t-shirt, candies, banners, etc.
have a nice trip..
August would be a peak season, make sure to get enough rest before arrival because of that heavy stuffs in your baggage, peak season sometimes takes more time to wait on your luggages to come out..

Answer 8

Sweets I guess. Filipinos loves chocolates but it's very expensive in there. Toblerone is very famous one. At first I thought of bringing them clothes and stuff like that, but it's too much hassle for you traveling so just shop with them when you get there

Answer 9

Chocolates should always be in the list. Bring them anything that is not available in their place. A souvenir from your country.. but please just dont bring them shampoo, soap and stuff like that..

Personally I get a little disappointed if I get such things from people who came from a far away palce to visit. Its not like we don't have shampoo or soap here!Hahah!

That's all.=)

Answer 10

Candies are good, food is a good gift too, but a word of advice, dont overdo it, your relatives might think you are showing off, but you can always take them shopping for what THEY want.