I'm off to Hong Kong this Friday and as this is the first time I will be meeting my boyfriend's extended family, I thought it would be a good idea to share my gift ideas with you. It took a really long time to decide on exactly what was best for specific people in the family, but we managed it in the end. The most important thing to remember is to buy gifts that are useful but not extortionate. Spending a ridiculous amount of money on a gift doesn't result in it being a good gift, but something that the receiver really wants is.
For the Parents:
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| Brita Fill & Go |
We bought Brita Fill & Go for his parents, as his mum is still working and his dad likes hiking. This means that the Brita Fill & Go is practical and easy to carry around, whether you're on a mountain or in the underground. Other things included an ale for the Dad as he enjoys trying out new alcoholic drinks. For the whole family, we bought a lot from Tesco, especially products which are more expensive in Hong Kong as we have a lot of empty space in our suitcases. By filling up the suitcases, it means we aren't wasting spaces in our luggage allowance, and we are buying useful things for the family which they normally wouldn't buy because of the price in Hong Kong.
You can buy the Fill & Go on
Amazon.
For the Grandma:
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| Whole Foods Market Fruit & Nuts |
As grandmas usually have to keep healthy and fit, we decided to buy her a box of dried fruits and nuts. These help ensure iron levels are good, as well as providing essential vitamins. Other ideas could be tea and honey.
The best place to buy these is at
Whole Foods Market or you can buy beautifully packaged ones at
Fortnum & Mason.
For the Wedding Couple:
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| Fortnum & Mason Personalized Champagne |
Weddings are thing to celebrate, and what best to celebrate it with than a bottle of champagne. What makes ours extra special is that we actually wrote a personalized message to the happy couple. As we know one of the couple well and not the other, we wanted to make sure the gift was for the both of them, not just one, hence the choice of champagne.
Fortnum & Mason offers a selection of Champagne and Rose which you can personalize. They also offer gift wrapping, which makes the hassle of ensuring it arrives in one piece a thing of the past.
For Everyone Else:
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| Box of Chocolates from Fortnum & Mason |
For big families, you can always buy something that can be shared between all family members. A box of chocolate is perfect as young and old love it. Biscuits are of course the other obvious choice, or you can go for small boxes of different types of wine or ale for the adults.
At the end of the day, your boyfriend's parents are not your parents, so always ask him as he's the expert. Parents and the elderly usually have a lot of disposable items already, but giving them something that is a bit out of the box and something that they personally like or want is always better than buying a generic gift that could come from anyone. Personally, I like to do all my shopping in one go, so I typically go to large department stores like Fortnum and Mason or Harrods to do the bulk. However, for more specific items, it's usually worth it to pop into a little boutique store in London's shop alleys.
Hopefully this would have helped you a little bit more in your gift hunt for your partner's parents, either for just a visit or for events like Christmas. Let me know what gifts you have considered or given to your partner's family in the comments below!
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