PENPAL Part 2: Ideas for Gifts to Send

Tips for sending Gifts:

~ If at all possible send gifts in the mail. This is HUGE!!! It almost takes the relationship from being a penpalship to a friendship. 

~ Here are some suggestions for gifts:

Fist off I am assuming that you will want to send things as cheaply as possible, which means gifts are light, little and (depending on the country) in as small of packages as possible. 

The "normal" things to send are: post cards, pictures, stationary, stickers, etc..

These are fine, but if you want things to stay interesting and if you want to get a bigger variety of things in return then here are some more idea:

Clothes:

~ After you have figured out your penpals height and seen plenty of pictures to determine their body size, and their individual style, you can send clothing!

~ Clothes such as pants, fitted shirts, shoes, and jackets, or anything large are almost entirely out of the question because they might not fit, and are expensive to send, (don't let that stop you if you want to though)so here are some easier items:

scarves 

hats(like beanies)

socks

T-shirts

Dresses that are lose fitting and can be worn with a belt.

Accessories: jewelry (braclets, earings[ask if their ears are pierced first], necleces, anklets)

Cute wallets, small purses, coin purse (very useful in Asian countries), key chains (for purses, backpacks, and phones)

Hair: barrettes, headbands, pony tails, banddanna, clips, chopsticks (very funny for asian countries - they don't wear them in their hair)

Make up (Chapstick) - or if something is cheeper in your country or has more variety. Some examples would be fake eyelashes and fake nails. Japan has AMAZING variety!!!

FOOD: Candy, dried foods, chips and other crushable items sent in a box are fine.

Cough drops (if they are sick)

Tea or Coffee

Books: If your penpals in learning your language, send them small children's books.

Magazines, fashion, cultural, cooking, anything! If cost too much just cut out some pictures and send them.

Calendars, or cut out pictures from them. 

Manga or comics(great for learning another language since they have pictures)

Kitchen utensils such as:

spoons, or any cute/ pretty silverware

napkins, little paper plates

kitchen mitts

Spices

Bathroom: Toothbrush/and or holder/ and or toothpaste even!

Bandaids, Kleenexes(tissues),hand towel

School supplies: pen/pencil holder

pens and pencils

note books

sharpener

erasers

Other: pillow case, just plain fabric (actually, anything cute or pretty)

Hand mirror

comb

perfume

nail polish

fabric water bottle holder

cute baggies, bags (plastic or book bag)

little flashlights

nail file

Stuffed animals

decks of cards

Posters

small photo albums

Cd's and DVD's (just make sure they can be played in the other country)

Seasonal things: Christmas Card, family letter

Stencils

Decorative paper

Ribbon

Craft/art supplies like paint brushes

And probably one of the best gifts is anything you have made yourself. 

Sorry, for the rampage, I could go on forever!

~ More Suggestions:

~ Save money by using the same packages that your penpals sent their stuff to you in. Put tape all over it to cover up the writing and then write in top of that. 

Also, I'm pretty sure that in Japan you are only charged by weight, so the package doesn't matter. But in America, they charge you for weight and then parcel size, so the smaller you can keep it the better. Use that tape!!!

~ Don't think in terms of "I don't know, that seems weird or boring to send" think in terms of "would I like to get this from a foreign county? Yes, I would, even if its weird!!"

~ If you want something in the mail then you have to send something first. It almost always works!:)