Appropriate Gifts for Home Visits in Argentina

[ilovhywd]

Our land tour includes two home visits with families - one in Buenos Aires and one in Ushuaia. I'm trying to think of something appropriate to bring them. At first I thought of picture books of Florida or the USA, but they would use up too much of my allowed baggage weight. Can anyone think of something that would be small, useful, and appreciated?

 

Second question: We have E-mailed some cousins in Buenos Aires whom we have never met. If they invite us to dinner at their home, we know to bring a nice bottle of wine that we can buy locally. But what if they invite us to dinner at a restaurant? What would be appropriate to bring to them?

 

Any help would be very much appreciated!! Thanks!

[Peregrina651]

I think the person to answer this question is Cruise Critic member "Pocho." He is from Buenos Aires and works in the tourism industry. I think that he will give you some guidance on bridging the cultural gap. He started a thread about Buenos Aires so you shouldn't have much trouble getting in contact with him.

 

If you are visiting family, I hope that you planning on bringing old family pictures, especially anything that might have come with the family when they emigrated from Europe.

[dr__dawggy]

Our land tour includes two home visits with families - one in Buenos Aires and one in Ushuaia. I'm trying to think of something appropriate to bring them. At first I thought of picture books of Florida or the USA, but they would use up too much of my allowed baggage weight. Can anyone think of something that would be small, useful, and appreciated?

 

Second question: We have E-mailed some cousins in Buenos Aires whom we have never met. If they invite us to dinner at their home, we know to bring a nice bottle of wine that we can buy locally. But what if they invite us to dinner at a restaurant? What would be appropriate to bring to them?

 

Any help would be very much appreciated!! Thanks!

 

Coffee mugs from your home state or city or a local landmark near your home would be appreciated by most locals. On a more practical level, nice towels would be welcomed. Good towels are very expensive in Argentina.

 

A nice bottle of wine: The best wines in Argentina are Malbec varietels and blends that include Malbec. There are excellent wines in a variety of price points available in Argentina. If you are looking for a mainstream, midpriced wine...Luigi Bosca DOC Malbec is a good choice. (price about 85 pesos. 1 dollar=3.8 pesos).

 

On another board, Gaucho100k recently posted a list of his favorite less expensive reds:

 

Benegas Juan Benegas Malbec, AR$40

Universo Austral Finca Roja Malbec, AR$22

Benegas Don Tiburcio Blend, AR$52

Calafate Reserva Malbec, AR$44

Calafate Reserva Pinot Noir, AR$44

Benegas Luna Benegas Cabernet, AR$40

Durigutti Malbec, AR$45

 

 

I have personally tried the Durigutti Malbec not in Buenos Aires but at the 21 Club in New York City.

[owl61]

Not sure how much you want to spend for either the land tour families or the cousins, but whiskey is expensive in AR so a good bottle of scotch would make a nice gift if any of them imbibes. You might be able to buy a bottle (s) at the duty free shop on board and arrange to disembark with it. That would eliminate concerns about space in your suitcase. Ditto for perfumes, colognes and just about anything you could acquire at the ship's duty free. especailly for the Portenos (Ushuaia has some duty free shops I believe so whiskey and perfume might be more widely available there).

 

Electrical appliances are comparatively expensive so maybe a small coffee bean grinder, a fancy pepper mill, or nice corkscrew, utensils for barbequing if, as most Argentines, they are into that. I have family in AR that plays tennis. Good tennis balls are considerably more expensive in AR than at duty free shops in the airport. If there are small kids involved stuffed animals also from duty free would be a hit.

[pocho]

Our land tour includes two home visits with families - one in Buenos Aires and one in Ushuaia. I'm trying to think of something appropriate to bring them. At first I thought of picture books of Florida or the USA, but they would use up too much of my allowed baggage weight. Can anyone think of something that would be small, useful, and appreciated?

 

Second question: We have E-mailed some cousins in Buenos Aires whom we have never met. If they invite us to dinner at their home, we know to bring a nice bottle of wine that we can buy locally. But what if they invite us to dinner at a restaurant? What would be appropriate to bring to them?

 

Any help would be very much appreciated!! Thanks!

a) A nice bottle of perfume

b) An I-pod

c) A pendrive

 

Second Question hard to answer, maybe a nice box of chocolates, like Godiva or something similar, Iam sure they will love it.