Take advantage of your expat experience and bring some original gifts when you visit home this Christmas! Lights everywhere, shops full and children already singing carols: All these are signs that Christmas is around the corner. Even though the trends are changing, it’s still a must for the vast majority of families to gather all together around the Christmas table, share some home-made food and receive some –hopefully- nice gifts. As an expat, you might be also heading home for a visit and wondering what you could give to your relatives. Here a tip: take advantage of your expat situation and bring some local specialties! If you need ideas, check our suggestions: 1. Traditional sweets Let your family and friends try some sweets from your new country. Sweets are sweets everywhere, so you can rest reassured that the chances they like them are high, really high! 2. Typical clothes Clothes are always tricky items to bring as a present (personal tastes, sizes…), but when you are an expat, clothes aren’t as bad choice as you might think. On one hand, you can give things your relatives cannot find in your home country. On the other hand, you can think about traditional clothes which can be treated as a “souvenir” for your friends and family (the dirndl if you are living in southern Germany, clogs if you are based in the Netherlands…) 3. Unusual products Was there anything that shocked you when you arrived? When we are living abroad we always tend to see things, we have never seen before. Think about those things, as maybe you can find an interesting gift for a family member.