What gifts for German teens?
June 5, 2007 7:36 AM Subscribe
What are good gifts from the US for German teenagers?
We're visiting relatives in Germany soon, and have been asked to bring gifts for four kids ranging in age from 19 to 11. The suggestion was to bring t-shirts, but what other gifts might they like? They'd have to be easy to fit in carry-on luggage. We live in Seattle, so we thought it would be fun to bring Starbucks or Microsoft gear, but these kids live way out in the countryside and may not be familiar with those companies. Any other ideas? What do German kids think is cool from the states?
We're visiting relatives in Germany soon, and have been asked to bring gifts for four kids ranging in age from 19 to 11. The suggestion was to bring t-shirts, but what other gifts might they like? They'd have to be easy to fit in carry-on luggage. We live in Seattle, so we thought it would be fun to bring Starbucks or Microsoft gear, but these kids live way out in the countryside and may not be familiar with those companies. Any other ideas? What do German kids think is cool from the states?
I am not sure how helpful this will be, but apparently iPods are much cheaper here than in Germany.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:38 AM on June 5, 2007
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:38 AM on June 5, 2007
Our German friends always asked us to bring Oreos and Mountain Dew for them, but this was almost ten years ago and they might have that stuff readily available now.
posted by sian at 7:44 AM on June 5, 2007
posted by sian at 7:44 AM on June 5, 2007
Response by poster: ChasFile - great idea! Do you know what's new right now that they might not already have? Thanks, Comrade_robot; I wish we could, but I don't know if the older computer they have would even run iTunes (plus, kind of expensive to buy one for each of four kids). Thanks also, sian; I don't think the Mountain Dew would work out in carry-on, though.
More ideas?
posted by TochterAusElysium at 8:01 AM on June 5, 2007
More ideas?
posted by TochterAusElysium at 8:01 AM on June 5, 2007
CDs, seconded, but not necessarily just hiphop. A German girl I knew, flying home, was buying up large quantities of American indie-rock for her brother - apparently because they were unavailable or expensive in Germany. This wasn't super-obscure stuff either, but bands like the Arcade Fire and the Fratellis.
posted by kickingtheground at 8:12 AM on June 5, 2007
posted by kickingtheground at 8:12 AM on June 5, 2007
i dunno if it's still the case, or would work in carry-on either, but when i was in europe ten years ago, it was difficult to impossible to find either peanut butter or beef jerky, and Germans of all ages seemed to crave both.
posted by lonefrontranger at 8:14 AM on June 5, 2007
posted by lonefrontranger at 8:14 AM on June 5, 2007
Okay, please, don't bring hip hop. Exactly the same hip hop bands in the U.S are available in Germany at exactly the same prices. And more likely than not, they have downloaded them already. And in any case, what genre of music do these kids listen to? You have no idea! What if they are rock heads, what do they do with hip hop CDs? Countryside kids being interested in American hip hop when there is perfectly good German hip hop? Awful idea.
T-Shirts is a safe idea. Hooded shirts with Harvard or MIT on them would be popular.
American specific beverages and snacks would be interesting. I have no idea what is american, but one always hears of things like Twinkies. I have no idea what that is, but I'm sure they may find it mildly amusing for a few moments.
Mega sized stuff is typically american. Like mega sized schoolbag. Or mega sized coke cans.
Crumpler bags? Laser tag guns?
I think that you will find that most things that are not available in germany and only in the U.S are not available because there is no interest among germans for these things.
posted by markesh at 8:20 AM on June 5, 2007
T-Shirts is a safe idea. Hooded shirts with Harvard or MIT on them would be popular.
American specific beverages and snacks would be interesting. I have no idea what is american, but one always hears of things like Twinkies. I have no idea what that is, but I'm sure they may find it mildly amusing for a few moments.
Mega sized stuff is typically american. Like mega sized schoolbag. Or mega sized coke cans.
Crumpler bags? Laser tag guns?
I think that you will find that most things that are not available in germany and only in the U.S are not available because there is no interest among germans for these things.
posted by markesh at 8:20 AM on June 5, 2007
Yeah I agree with Markesh; hip-hop is globally popular amongst teenagers. Unless you are bringing "off the street" mixes from local Seattle artists, skip the CDs.
Try and think of something uniquely American that would simply be unavailable in Germany. When I am travelling back and forth between various countries I often find that local food/snacks are easy to carry, and often are amusing to people who have never been to those places.
posted by modernnomad at 8:31 AM on June 5, 2007
Try and think of something uniquely American that would simply be unavailable in Germany. When I am travelling back and forth between various countries I often find that local food/snacks are easy to carry, and often are amusing to people who have never been to those places.
posted by modernnomad at 8:31 AM on June 5, 2007
Having both hosted a German foreign exchange student and been to German to visit him and other teenager/young adults several times, I promise that I am not making this up.
"How do you know what they like! Maybe they are into rock! But ALL Germans love MIT!" riiiiight...
But do what you like.
posted by ChasFile at 8:38 AM on June 5, 2007
"How do you know what they like! Maybe they are into rock! But ALL Germans love MIT!" riiiiight...
But do what you like.
posted by ChasFile at 8:38 AM on June 5, 2007
And obviously there are as many good answers to this question as there are teenagers in Germany, so take everything you read here with a pretty big grain of salt. But that's what many, many German teens asked me to bring them from the states.
posted by ChasFile at 8:43 AM on June 5, 2007
posted by ChasFile at 8:43 AM on June 5, 2007
Best answer: How about comic books? It isn't that easy to get untranslated American comic books in Germany. When I was a teenager in Germany, I always asked people to bring me MAD oder Simpsons comics.
posted by Herr Fahrstuhl at 8:47 AM on June 5, 2007
posted by Herr Fahrstuhl at 8:47 AM on June 5, 2007
When I spent a semester studying in Germany, I made my friends some cornbread and it blew their freaking minds.
So maybe those kids would like some Jiffy?
I think some kitchy American brands on T's would be good for them... like Dr. Pepper shirts, or Oscar Mayer shirts... those are funny... As an American, I wish I had some weird German brands on T-shirts. That being said, I'm off to eBay.
posted by cusack at 9:41 AM on June 5, 2007
So maybe those kids would like some Jiffy?
I think some kitchy American brands on T's would be good for them... like Dr. Pepper shirts, or Oscar Mayer shirts... those are funny... As an American, I wish I had some weird German brands on T-shirts. That being said, I'm off to eBay.
posted by cusack at 9:41 AM on June 5, 2007
My German host family was addicted to American television shows... bad ones, too, like Laguna Beach, the OC, Desperate Housewives, and stuff on MTV.
I realize these things are downloadable and stuff, but since things come out so late in Germany, maybe some kind of DVD box set?
Even rock-heads in Germany seemed to like American hip-hop... if not like it, at least identify it as something "cool" from America.
I got my exchange sister a huge bag of Skittles and Starburst (guess they're not the same over there?) and flip-flops with the American flag print on them from Old Navy, which she wore into the ground.
posted by rhoticity at 9:48 AM on June 5, 2007
I realize these things are downloadable and stuff, but since things come out so late in Germany, maybe some kind of DVD box set?
Even rock-heads in Germany seemed to like American hip-hop... if not like it, at least identify it as something "cool" from America.
I got my exchange sister a huge bag of Skittles and Starburst (guess they're not the same over there?) and flip-flops with the American flag print on them from Old Navy, which she wore into the ground.
posted by rhoticity at 9:48 AM on June 5, 2007
We live in Seattle, so we thought it would be fun to bring Starbucks or Microsoft gear, but these kids live way out in the countryside and may not be familiar with those companies.
Being German and being a highschool teacher in the countryside, I can assure you that 100% of the kids will know Microsoft, and I'm sure that they have heard of Starbucks too - there are nearly 80 Starbucks in Germany, according to their website. I'm not sure if they are popular with kids, though; their target group are (youngish) adults, no?
You can assume that German kids are familiar with many brands, TV shows, snacks, fast food, music, clothes etc. from the US, since they all are ubiquitous in Germany, but food or snacks are sometimes different here.
By the way, not all that many Germans like peanut butter in my experience. I only know a few besides myself; however, you can get peanut butter in most supermarkets in Germany.
Why don't you try to find something that's typical for the area you're from, maybe food or drinks, besides merchandise with big company logos. Also, anything with the stars and stripes on it would be a hit, I'd guess.
If you know that the kids are into reading books or comics in English, why not get them some? You can order books in English via Amazon.de, but they're more expensive than in the UK or the US here, and some can be hard to find. I know I would have liked books as an older kid, and some of my fairly young students were so enthusiastic about Harry Potter that they read it in English (after learning it for only about two years) because they didn't want to wait for the German translation, but make sure that the kids in question would like that. Comics may be better because you can understand them more easily even if you're not that fluent yet.
posted by amf at 10:48 AM on June 5, 2007
Being German and being a highschool teacher in the countryside, I can assure you that 100% of the kids will know Microsoft, and I'm sure that they have heard of Starbucks too - there are nearly 80 Starbucks in Germany, according to their website. I'm not sure if they are popular with kids, though; their target group are (youngish) adults, no?
You can assume that German kids are familiar with many brands, TV shows, snacks, fast food, music, clothes etc. from the US, since they all are ubiquitous in Germany, but food or snacks are sometimes different here.
By the way, not all that many Germans like peanut butter in my experience. I only know a few besides myself; however, you can get peanut butter in most supermarkets in Germany.
Why don't you try to find something that's typical for the area you're from, maybe food or drinks, besides merchandise with big company logos. Also, anything with the stars and stripes on it would be a hit, I'd guess.
If you know that the kids are into reading books or comics in English, why not get them some? You can order books in English via Amazon.de, but they're more expensive than in the UK or the US here, and some can be hard to find. I know I would have liked books as an older kid, and some of my fairly young students were so enthusiastic about Harry Potter that they read it in English (after learning it for only about two years) because they didn't want to wait for the German translation, but make sure that the kids in question would like that. Comics may be better because you can understand them more easily even if you're not that fluent yet.
posted by amf at 10:48 AM on June 5, 2007
maybe some kind of DVD box set
DVDs from the US (NTSC) won't work in Germany (PAL).
posted by hydrophonic at 11:00 AM on June 5, 2007
DVDs from the US (NTSC) won't work in Germany (PAL).
posted by hydrophonic at 11:00 AM on June 5, 2007
Oh yeah, how about baseball caps?
Depending on their politics, what about the caps that say "1/20/09" (last day of Bush presidency). From what I hear, he's not very popular over there, and I'd bet this is an item that NO one there would no of or think of.
posted by nax at 1:13 PM on June 5, 2007
Depending on their politics, what about the caps that say "1/20/09" (last day of Bush presidency). From what I hear, he's not very popular over there, and I'd bet this is an item that NO one there would no of or think of.
posted by nax at 1:13 PM on June 5, 2007
know of (I have been informed that correcting mistakes is anal, but I just can't let it go)
posted by nax at 1:14 PM on June 5, 2007
posted by nax at 1:14 PM on June 5, 2007
Don't think Teens in that age are interested in US-american politics.
Btw, is Bush popular anywhere outside of the USA? ;-)
posted by donut at 1:44 PM on June 5, 2007
Btw, is Bush popular anywhere outside of the USA? ;-)
posted by donut at 1:44 PM on June 5, 2007
Depending on their politics, what about the caps that say "1/20/09" (last day of Bush presidency).That’ll be super-obscure, since it doesn’t even look like a date outside the US.
posted by Aidan Kehoe at 1:45 PM on June 5, 2007
Best answer: I'd lean towards slightly-obscure sportswear, especially of the varsity variety.
I'd also say that most parts of the former West Germany have plenty of exposure to American culture, not least because of US military bases there during the post-WW2 years.
posted by holgate at 2:28 PM on June 5, 2007
I'd also say that most parts of the former West Germany have plenty of exposure to American culture, not least because of US military bases there during the post-WW2 years.
posted by holgate at 2:28 PM on June 5, 2007
Ipods are definitely more expensive in Germany than the USA, not even counting for the exchange rate, and judging by the kids ages that might be the best gift.
My German friends always ask me to bring Kraft Mac & Cheese and Dr. Pepper, and in return I bring home candies & Mezzomix :)
posted by starscream at 4:20 PM on June 5, 2007
My German friends always ask me to bring Kraft Mac & Cheese and Dr. Pepper, and in return I bring home candies & Mezzomix :)
posted by starscream at 4:20 PM on June 5, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks all. These days, you're restricted to whatever liquids (and gels) you can bring in a quart-sized baggie, in 3 oz increments, so most food and all beverages are out. And yes, unfortunately DVDs aren't usually region-free (if they even have a player). But the clothes, caps and comic books are great ideas. Thanks!
posted by TochterAusElysium at 6:07 PM on June 5, 2007
posted by TochterAusElysium at 6:07 PM on June 5, 2007
These days, you're restricted to whatever liquids (and gels) you can bring in a quart-sized baggie, in 3 oz increments, so most food and all beverages are out.
You do know this is the rule only for carry-on right? You can bring whatever size food/drinks you want in your checked-in luggage (which, if you are going to Germany for any period of time, I presume you will have).
posted by modernnomad at 7:17 PM on June 5, 2007
You do know this is the rule only for carry-on right? You can bring whatever size food/drinks you want in your checked-in luggage (which, if you are going to Germany for any period of time, I presume you will have).
posted by modernnomad at 7:17 PM on June 5, 2007
I've only seen plain/peanut m&m's and regular Oreo's in Germany. Get them the myriad other varieties available in the states.
posted by brujita at 10:09 PM on June 5, 2007
posted by brujita at 10:09 PM on June 5, 2007
And yes, unfortunately DVDs aren't usually region-free (if they even have a player).
I would be extremely surprised if any family in Germany with kids did not have a DVD player (cheap Chinese ones are $30) and almost every cheap player will play any region DVD, NTSC or PAL.
...cue the angry DE resident carping about the evils of TV/DVD and why they will never buy a DVD player for their children ;-)
posted by bystander at 10:15 PM on June 5, 2007
I would be extremely surprised if any family in Germany with kids did not have a DVD player (cheap Chinese ones are $30) and almost every cheap player will play any region DVD, NTSC or PAL.
...cue the angry DE resident carping about the evils of TV/DVD and why they will never buy a DVD player for their children ;-)
posted by bystander at 10:15 PM on June 5, 2007
Tochter, the three ounce rule is for carry-on only. You can pack anything you want in your check-in luggage.
http://www.tsa.gov/311/
posted by UnclePlayground at 11:49 AM on June 6, 2007
http://www.tsa.gov/311/
posted by UnclePlayground at 11:49 AM on June 6, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks; yes, I know about the carry-on vs. checked luggage rules (and that's why I specified that in my question). We are in fact doing carry-on only, thank you Rick Steves.
I did solve the problem today, if anyone cares, by going to a local army surplus store and buying four different canvas messenger bags (with non-military logos, like a caduceus or the Red Cross logo). I hope they like them! They're pretty popular with kids around here (I even have one).
Thanks again for the answers, all!
posted by TochterAusElysium at 1:10 PM on June 6, 2007
I did solve the problem today, if anyone cares, by going to a local army surplus store and buying four different canvas messenger bags (with non-military logos, like a caduceus or the Red Cross logo). I hope they like them! They're pretty popular with kids around here (I even have one).
Thanks again for the answers, all!
posted by TochterAusElysium at 1:10 PM on June 6, 2007
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posted by ChasFile at 7:37 AM on June 5, 2007