Gifts that travel well?

[truly scrumptious]

We are traveling to India over the holidays and I need ideas for host/hostess gifts that will travel well. We will be staying with various sets of friends - I have ideas for gifts for their kids, but am stuck on lightweight ideas for the adults. So I'm looking for ideas that are:
- Unusual enough to not be available there
- Lightweight and travel well
- Budget friendly
TIA!

[smiles33]

This is a hard one! I think the big challenge is finding something both lightweight and distinctive. My normal go-to hostess gift would be bottles of wine, but they're far too heavy to lug to India. Initially, I thought maybe some nice silk scarves for the women since they're lightweight, but India will have plenty of beautiful silk items. I can't think of something "uniquely" American that is less common in India that would make a nice gift and is lightweight. What about some really good consumable gifts that might be unique for your area of the country? Fancy chocolates? Some other sweet dessert? I don't know where you live, but different regions of the US have some great distinctive desserts (I loved the pralines I had from NOLA). Good luck!

[klwa]

[Along the lines of the PP, I'd probably lean towards food items that aren't common there, but aren't difficult to travel with. My first thought, based on my area & giving/receiving preferences, would be a tin of Moravian Cookie or possibly something like Cheese Straws. https://www.deweys.com/shop/category/d-gift-tins/

[Kestrel]

I'm thinking something like spices, but I have no idea how hard it would be to get something like that through customs. We knew someone who came to Texas for college, and requested tex-mex and cajun spices when she went home. Something uniquely american like that would be my thought.

[Globetrotter]

Saffron would be a big hit. It’s pricey but you just need a tiny box. our Costco had small containers a while back!

otherwise, chocolates with nuts but freeze them here before traveling so they don’t melt in the car over there.
We’ve taken ghiradhelli chocolates with hazelnuts. I wrapped them in organza with a ribbon and it looked nice.

There are tons of other things but that can vary based on individual taste.

[mommy111]

Small perfume sets from Macy’s
Small hand lotion sets
Fancy soap
Fancy candles (Anthropologie)
May sound weird but towels
All big hits when we travel to China

[dhano923]

When we travel to India and SE Asia, I usually get Bath and Body Work lotions and sprays and sometimes hand sanitizers for gifts. Everyone loves them. Also California pistachios from Costco (we live in SoCal) as they are much better than the ones available there. My mother in law (who lives in India) always wants potholders and oven mitts, because the ones sold there are very thin and don’t offer much heat protection.

[truly scrumptious]

Thank you all for the ideas!

[Globetrotter]

If you buy edibles, make sure there are no dietary restrictions on eggs or gelatin etc.