Cool Souvenirs in Vancouver?

April 5, 2012 2:08 PM

My mother went to Vancouver a few years ago and loved it. Her birthday is coming up, I'm visiting in a week, and I want to get a souvenir as a gift - something she'll like, around $40 or so, that's definitely evocative of Vancouver but without being a dumb t-shirt. I'll have a couple hours to go get something in downtown on a Tuesday afternoon. Ideas?
posted by Apropos of Something to Travel & Transportation around Vancouver, BC (12 answers total)

I would go for a coffee table book, for sure. Ask a the staff at local bookstore which one they recommend, or leaf through a few and pick the one you think she will like the best.
posted by halogen at 2:20 PM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Maybe a tote bag or notebook from the Vancouver Public Library Store? The Emily Carr University Store at Granville Island might have something cool. Granville Island itself has a fair amount of unique stores specializing in the arts and local foods.

The UBC Museum of Anthropology is an excellent place to spend a couple of hours, and also has a shop.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:22 PM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's terribly cliched, but people do like smoked salmon.
posted by Keith Talent at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

When I was there I bought a beautiful umbrella (from the Department shop on the main street, the Bay?) for $50 for my mum. I figured Vancouver is best known For the weather.
posted by saucysault at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2012

Murchie's tea or coffee? May not evoke much of anything if she didn't have it when she was in Vancouver, but they're something of an institution in BC. Two locations downtown, plus a couple of suburban malls.
posted by Quietgal at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Was there any food she had in Vancouver that stuck out to her, that she really enjoyed, which could be said to be unique or at least well-made in that city? How about scones, for example? When my mum came to Seattle, she loved the donuts at a local donut shop and totally squeed when I overnighted her a dozen for her birthday last week. Delicious local food is tough to turn down, especially when it can evoke lovely memories.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:27 PM on April 5, 2012

Seconding the UBC MoA. Great little things on sale there.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:27 PM on April 5, 2012

Best answer: The Vancouver Art Gallery also has a great gift shop, and it's actually downtown.

There is also the Umbrella Shop and Vancouverites know their umbrellas.
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 6:21 PM on April 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

We bought a small watercolor of the city from a street painter in Gastown.
posted by GaelFC at 6:38 PM on April 5, 2012

Seconding the Gastown shops and Granville Island. Like this sort of place: Hill's Native Art, although it is above your price range.
posted by acheekymonkey at 7:14 PM on April 5, 2012

Another food suggestion: Nanaimo bars. I've tried 'em, and don't care for, but they're quite common in BC, somebody must like them.
posted by Rash at 8:50 AM on April 6, 2012

I'm not a serious numismatist, but I love foreign coins; The Loonie and Toonie are lovely coins, especially the toonie for being bi-metallic. Call your local bank branch and see if they have any Canuck coins they'd like to unload.

Also, I totally second the Naniamo Bars (official recipe, including an ingredient that might by Canadian-only). They contain nuts and coconut, so they're a bit divisive, flavor-wise (and, I suppose, allergy-wise), but you can make the different layers on different days if you want, and each layer is itself easy.

And then put the Canadian Maple leaf on everything you send.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:11 AM on April 6, 2012