I will be off to Europe soon and was wondering what types of gift's do you get for your work mates. I recently commenced working in a new office and the 10 people in my team have been really good to me, so I was looking at giving them a small token (ie: inexpensive) of my appreciation. What would you recommend?
Also, it will be a bit of a surprise for them, considering I haven't told any of them I'm going to Europe.

Hi Syme,
When I went to Europe I bought back my workmates things like shot glasses, keyrings, xmas ornaments, linen diolies and miniture bottles of schnapps and fridge magnets. Most places have small inexpensive souveniers.

Cheers Denise

I've brought back bookmarks. They are flat and don't weight anything. Found some leather ones in Spain.

Minature masks from Venice- inexpensive and don't weigh much.

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keyrings, xmas ornaments, linen diolies and miniture bottles of schnapps and fridge magnets. Most places have small inexpensive souveniers.

Niece 54 all these gifts sound great for an office present.

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Originally posted by Syme:
I will be off to Europe soon and was wondering what types of gift's do you get for your work mates. I recently commenced working in a new office and the 10 people in my team have been really good to me, so I was looking at giving them a small token (ie: inexpensive) of my appreciation. What would you recommend?
Also, it will be a bit of a surprise for them, considering I haven't told any of them I'm going to Europe.

Hi,

On my last trip most hotels had the free pens in the room, some were generic but others had the name and country eg Westin Zagreb.. some see a pen, I saw a gift for work mates

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Originally posted by Folly32a:
On my last trip most hotels had the free pens in the room, some were generic but others had the name and country eg Westin Zagreb.. some see a pen, I saw a gift for work mates

Folly, were they free for the taking? I'd always thought that they belonged to the hotels.

no they are like the soap, shampoo etc...

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Originally posted by Folly32a:
no they are like the soap, shampoo etc...

<Very Rude Word [about me]!!!> All the opportunites I've wasted! I LOVE collecting pens, too!

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Originally posted by Mallee:

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Originally posted by Folly32a:
no they are like the soap, shampoo etc...

<Very Rude Word [about me]!!!> All the opportunites I've wasted! I LOVE collecting pens, too!

lol

I always buy the charity pens so have lots of Daffodil Day, Red Nose etc.. pens and quite a few hotel pens and, in some, cases pencils from Oz and Europe...

I bought Lavender sachets in France for friends. Quite inexpensive and lightweight. I also bought chocolate Eiffel tower mementoes that everyone liked. Decks of cards are a nice gift with all the pictures on them but they can get heavy if you have a concern for weight. Another much appreciated memento from Italy were scarves. These were sold in kiosks in Sorrento for 1E and were quite lovely, easy to transport and lightweight. Bookmarks and magnets are also neat. Lots of places have neat, colourful necklaces that are not too expensive. Jewelry is easy to pack.
Hope this helps. Where in Europe are you going?
Sandy

I can never resist Christmas decorations. I would avoid things that are wooden or contain any kind of plant material. Nothing more annoying than going to all that trouble and losing it at Customs when you get back.

Lemon soap from Capri is always a nice gift & remember to keep a couple for yourself.

Lapel pins are great little gifts. I bought Eiffel Tower pins in both gold and silver, they had fake stones, but were quite sparkly. They were only a couple of Euro each and weighed next to nothing. I also bought other types of lapel pins, some silk scarves, coasters, a few leather keyrings from Florence. I put everything on a tray when I went back to work and let the girls pick what they wanted. The Eiffel Tower lapel pins went quick as a flash. I didn't even manage to save one for myself, but did purchase some more last year, I wear a silver one all the time and it amazing how many comments I get about it.

JDee

Thanks for the advice everyone.
Sandry : I doing the Breakaway European Focus tour, which I'm really looking forward to as this will be my first time in Europe. The scarves is a good idea since the group I work with are all females, but I would like something with the name of the city or landmark on it.

Folly32a : I usually take the pen's from the hotels as well, but for myself. (I'm still using my Excalibur Hotel pen from Las Vegas that I souvenired 4 years ago).

Jdee : I think I the lapel pin's would definitely do the trick. I might a have to get a few of those. Only 26 more sleeps before I go.

augusta : Would they be selling Christmas decorations in mid September?