Our friends throwing a "going away party" leaving the country. I have no idea if I should show up with the present or not. And if yes, what to bring? I am sure they already packed and shipped most of their stuff, the rest they are bringing with them so I would not want to bring anything bulky or heavy to begin with. More than 40 people will be attending. Any ideas on this?
IF you're up for the commitment offer to mail them things they CAN'T get in their new country. They will MISS something!
My friend lives in England and can't get the "basics" like M & M's, Kraft Mac 'n Cheese, Crystal Light, NFL t-shirts and Star Wars coloring books.
I send her stuff about twice a year and she sends me cool British stuff for my son.
I would bring a gift. A giftcard to snapfish, shutterfly, or iTunes is always a win.
I am assuming they are flying (because they are leaving the country unless they are going to Mexico or Canada they would have to) Maybe pack a bag for the plane? LIttle travel snacks and games, crossword or soduko books, pens, pencils, crayons, paper. I'm guessing they have kids. I don't know you can customize it for them. Maybe a little scavenger hunt for the kids to do on the plane and airport to keep them occupied.
Good luck and enjoy the party with your friends!
I would bring a card.
If I really wanted to bring a gift, it might be something like a little interesting book about where they are moving to, or a memento from where they are leaving - like a tiny touristy thing.... a shot glass, pen... You can even make it - some framed pressed foliage, shells...
If you are a close friend (sounds like you are not) a framed photo from some wonderful shared outing would be appropriate.
A dish for the party or a little basket of travel snacks. That's what I'd bring.
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Our neighbors moved and we put together a little photo album of some neighborhhod events we were all at. We also put some money together and purchased a few locally relevant things to remind them of their time here.
How about a thumb drive, or a CD-ROM, full of photos of stuff around chicago, or wherever they are from. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. pics of sunday morning activities, i.e. ball games, people mowing their lawns, people running through sprinklers, raking leaves, the greeter at your walmart, candy, the bakery store, their curb, mailbox, house numbers, everyone at the party, of people fighting, laughing, license plates, ambulances, the ice cream truck, the metro, the turnstyle, a neighborhood pizzaria. etc.etc. kids at the mall, kids at the skate park, kids sneaking a smoke at the back of the movie theater, used cars salesmen.
I could go on and on. I think the point I am trying to make, is that we have all these really seemingly mundane things which help to color the feel of a place. All of them seem unimportant, until they are out of reach. if you could snap pics of the everyday, it might do down very well.
Bring something that they can use for the night but not have to pack up. Bring some wine and tasty treats.
Then later, after you get their new address send them a card with something thoughtful and maybe a picture of you and your friends all together so they remember what fun they had at the party.
I would bring a card with a gift card or cash. Moving is expensive, and like you said, they probably don't want to have a bunch of bigger items to send over. If you want, you could maybe do a picture in a frame or some small token of remembrance..
If you are going to send things to them in their new country, be sure to check out what can be imported. My BIL lives in the UK and we can't send anything chocolate or coffee UNLESS we have an importers license. To top it off they have to pay taxes/tariffs on everything else we send including homemade gifts. It got so that everything we sent they had to pay more taxes on than it was worth. We don't exchange gifts anymore due to the expense, plus it isn't cheap to mail items overseas. Take pictures at the party and gather pictures from earlier events and either make them a photo album or burn them to a disc for them. They will enjoy the pictures from home. Another note, CD's and DVD's from the US are not compatible with the "players" in the UK. Just remember that just about anything you send will need to packed up and shipped home when that time comes, so keep it small.
How about a visa or american express gift card in a card with a nice note that they can keep to remind them of you.
if you did give something I would suggest something that they can do on the plane ride, or an address book for people at the party to sign with email addresses but usually these are purely to say good bye so go and enjoy yourselves
