7

Another question has popped up requesting suggestion/s for suitable small presents:

As a Canadian, what are appropriate gifts to bring when travelling to Europe?

There are others of a similar nature that seem to have been quite well received.

In some cases the choice may be obvious (maybe for Brighton a stick of rock?) but there can hardly ever be a single 'right' answer and often there may be many. Lists and answers that are just opinions don't sit comfortably within the Q&A format. I think we have little choice but to consider them off topic.

However that is not my reason for writing this. Tokens of evidence that while away one has not forgotten loved ones seems to be inherent in travel, at least for leisure purposes and for some business ones. I think most of us want to bring back some souvenirs for giving to others (even if in addition to more substantial presents for those close to us) and I rather suspect those 'left behind' often expect us to do so. Equally, when we ourselves are travelling we may wish to show our appreciation for hospitality received with something tangible that has a connection with where we are from.

Combining the temporary dislocation of the donor with the requisite localisation of the gifts does make an argument, IMO, for the issue being one very relevant "for road warriors and seasoned travellers".

Might Meta provide a happy 'compromise' to address what may be a genuine travel concern that does not fit into the main site?

At present I have no interest in details, merely whether even the possibility is worth exploring (we could for example continue to allow such questions on the main site). However I provide some suggestions in case they help to illustrate what I am asking.

I was considering a single wiki canonical answer, perhaps with suggested answers within it each capped at say approximately USD10 each, possibly with each user being limited to a maximum 'spend' of USD50 with suggestions in two groups, (i) take and (ii) bring back, each by country/region or town.

So one entry for (i) might be SCOTLAND/Shortbread biscuits/400gm £2.49 and for (ii) might be FRANCE/Montelimar/Nougat/1oz 3 €.

Suggestions would need to be items that are readily available and have a close connection with the country/region/town, not say the product of just one individual.

(Very happy to delete this post, it may just be that it is my bedtime.)

4
  • 1
    I would be interested in such a post, maybe more than USD 10. Sep 13, 2016 at 16:57
  • I would like it because it would be fun to populate with gifts I given/received. Well, perhaps we have different gift-giving patterns then. I usually only buy one or two things for a couple people than bring home tchotchkes for a lot of people. Sep 13, 2016 at 17:19
  • My $0.02: either decide that "gift examples" posts are appropriate for the main site or decide that they're not appropriate at all. Meta is great for questions like this one, which are about the Travel community and its workings; discussion about the linked question and similar posts would have fit well here. Meta shouldn't become an annex for "anything that's vaguely related to the site topic but doesn't fit the strict Q&A standards," though.
    – Pops
    Oct 21, 2016 at 15:59
  • I would like this feature!
    – Gayot Fow
    Oct 24, 2016 at 16:06

1 Answer 1

1

There is no need for a 'workaround' on TSE.meta as long as such questions are deemed on topic on the main site. I'm not sure how they escape being "primarily opinion based" but it seems they do. Examples include:

What gifts would be welcome for a Swedish host family?
Sweets as gifts in lands untouched by modern dentistry
Japanese homestay gifts?
Gifts for Chinese hosts?

and what was heading for Closure when I posted this, and was Closed:

As a Canadian, what are appropriate gifts to bring when travelling to Europe?

but has since been re-opened.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .