gift ideas for long-distance care package
April 10, 2024 11:01 AM Subscribe
I'm putting together a care package for my partner. Despite knowing him well, since we come from different cultures (and have a bit of an age gap), I was wondering if the hive mind can give me some recommendations.
We've been in a long-distance relationship for four years; I'm in Asia, and he's in the Caribbean. It's our first time exchanging physical gifts. We come from different cultures: I'm Asian in my late 30s, and he's Black in his late 20s.
I'm considering items like handwritten letters, shirts, boxers/shorts, a plushie, a blanket, possibly a Kindle preloaded with his favourite light novels (though he's been into audiobooks lately), earbuds, a duffel bag, a pen with his name engraved, and a bead bracelet with a Morse code message.
He enjoys anime, the NBA, is a teacher and a graphic designer, likes hip hop, and his favorite color is green. He likes to eat but I don't know if I can send food.
Given this, do you have any thoughtful or simply must-have gift ideas for someone with these interests? Also, given his shift towards audiobooks (actually he uses the text to speech function on his phone or listens to a book on YouTube), is the Kindle still a good idea?
Looking for input from those who've navigated similar gift-giving challenges. Thank you!
We've been in a long-distance relationship for four years; I'm in Asia, and he's in the Caribbean. It's our first time exchanging physical gifts. We come from different cultures: I'm Asian in my late 30s, and he's Black in his late 20s.
I'm considering items like handwritten letters, shirts, boxers/shorts, a plushie, a blanket, possibly a Kindle preloaded with his favourite light novels (though he's been into audiobooks lately), earbuds, a duffel bag, a pen with his name engraved, and a bead bracelet with a Morse code message.
He enjoys anime, the NBA, is a teacher and a graphic designer, likes hip hop, and his favorite color is green. He likes to eat but I don't know if I can send food.
Given this, do you have any thoughtful or simply must-have gift ideas for someone with these interests? Also, given his shift towards audiobooks (actually he uses the text to speech function on his phone or listens to a book on YouTube), is the Kindle still a good idea?
Looking for input from those who've navigated similar gift-giving challenges. Thank you!
Body spray or cologne
If you do decide to send food, he might enjoy a local-to-you condiment, like hot sauce, spicy mustard, or chili crisp. Also, anything with spiced fruit, like hot mango snacks or a mango chutney or hot sauce. These are foods that are also common in the Caribbean so trying a new flavour profile might be fun.
And most people like trying new kinds of candy and salty snacks (just double check for allergies to things like seafood or sesame if you're sending anything savoury).
posted by nouvelle-personne at 1:21 PM on April 10
If you do decide to send food, he might enjoy a local-to-you condiment, like hot sauce, spicy mustard, or chili crisp. Also, anything with spiced fruit, like hot mango snacks or a mango chutney or hot sauce. These are foods that are also common in the Caribbean so trying a new flavour profile might be fun.
And most people like trying new kinds of candy and salty snacks (just double check for allergies to things like seafood or sesame if you're sending anything savoury).
posted by nouvelle-personne at 1:21 PM on April 10
I would not buy him a Kindle. The idea of an Audible subscription is a great one, though.
As for other gifts, Japan has such a great variety of pens, pencils, and stationery. Seems like a great place to shop for someone who is graphically inclined. I'd send him tons of interesting writing implements.
Also, check out interesting items at Hands (Tokyu Hands). I always buy things for people there when I want a gift that is unusual and distinctly modern Japanese.
posted by yellowcandy at 1:33 PM on April 10 [2 favorites]
As for other gifts, Japan has such a great variety of pens, pencils, and stationery. Seems like a great place to shop for someone who is graphically inclined. I'd send him tons of interesting writing implements.
Also, check out interesting items at Hands (Tokyu Hands). I always buy things for people there when I want a gift that is unusual and distinctly modern Japanese.
posted by yellowcandy at 1:33 PM on April 10 [2 favorites]
I think I might try to get him some things that are meaningful to you, that are available to you locally and wouldn't be available to him at his home.
posted by bluedaisy at 2:14 PM on April 10
posted by bluedaisy at 2:14 PM on April 10
The gifts I've really appreciated from my long-distance partner are all things that have some personal meaning, show they were thinking of me, and are physical things that remind me of them and the good times we have together, which helps when I am missing being near them.
Some examples:
- Photographs of them alone or us together, especially physical ones I can put up somewhere to look at often. An Instax or Polaroid camera is a fun and easy way to generate physical photos, but you can also print pics from your phone. Putting it in a frame is a nice touch, too.
- Something to wear to remind me of them. My partner buys me jewelry (usually fairly inexpensive, but he knows my style well so it's still meaningful) for this. If liked perfume, that would work, too, but I don't.
- Something I can cuddle with that will provide comfort when I miss them. I like your idea of a plushie and/or blanket for this!
- Something they've made with their own hands, especially if they made it for me especially. I like your bracelet idea for this, and I assume the Morse code is something meaningful between you two, which makes it even more special
- Art (like a print or a small sculpture) they saw that made them think of me. Or a souvenir of a place we've been together, or have talked about going together.
- Books and comics they know I want or think I'd like
- Handwritten cards and letters
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:24 PM on April 10
Some examples:
- Photographs of them alone or us together, especially physical ones I can put up somewhere to look at often. An Instax or Polaroid camera is a fun and easy way to generate physical photos, but you can also print pics from your phone. Putting it in a frame is a nice touch, too.
- Something to wear to remind me of them. My partner buys me jewelry (usually fairly inexpensive, but he knows my style well so it's still meaningful) for this. If liked perfume, that would work, too, but I don't.
- Something I can cuddle with that will provide comfort when I miss them. I like your idea of a plushie and/or blanket for this!
- Something they've made with their own hands, especially if they made it for me especially. I like your bracelet idea for this, and I assume the Morse code is something meaningful between you two, which makes it even more special
- Art (like a print or a small sculpture) they saw that made them think of me. Or a souvenir of a place we've been together, or have talked about going together.
- Books and comics they know I want or think I'd like
- Handwritten cards and letters
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:24 PM on April 10
Remember to spritz your handwritten letters with your daily scent/perfume/cologne.
posted by cocoagirl at 2:48 PM on April 10
posted by cocoagirl at 2:48 PM on April 10
One of the sweetest/most-interesting gestures I've seen was to curate a matching set of daily-use items that they'd both reliably interact with constantly, so it was like:
- cup to hold toothbrush in the bathroom
- really excellent spatula
- salt cellar
- fridge whiteboard
- keychain
- "pocket bowl" - as in the landing spot for the contents of your pockets when you come in the front door
- nightstand trinket tray
So that every time one of them was sautéing, they could think of the other person also reaching for the same spatula at the stove, etc. They would also do stuff like buy a pair of pillowcases or kitchen towels and split them, there was also a whole thing with socks that I am assuming was a matching thing and not a splitting thing, because they had very different size feet.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:47 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
- cup to hold toothbrush in the bathroom
- really excellent spatula
- salt cellar
- fridge whiteboard
- keychain
- "pocket bowl" - as in the landing spot for the contents of your pockets when you come in the front door
- nightstand trinket tray
So that every time one of them was sautéing, they could think of the other person also reaching for the same spatula at the stove, etc. They would also do stuff like buy a pair of pillowcases or kitchen towels and split them, there was also a whole thing with socks that I am assuming was a matching thing and not a splitting thing, because they had very different size feet.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:47 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
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Maybe instead, a subscription to Audible?
Plushies--maybe a favorite animal or anime character?
posted by luckynerd at 11:35 AM on April 10