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I will be leaving on a 22-day trip around Europe pretty soon and will be visiting six or seven homes through CouchSurfing. I want to bring them a small gift or souvenir from Sweden as a return for their generous hospitality.

As I'm going to be staying with a lot of people, have limited space in my backpack, and have a limited budget, I'm looking for something not too expensive (let's say around €5-7) and fairly small.

As an immigrant to Sweden who has also never really visited like a tourist, I have no idea at all about what to bring.

Suggestions?

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  • I recently got port wine from cs guest from Porto. For Sweden, a bottle of Absolut Vodka springs to mind :) (A really small one might even fit your requirements.)
    – Jonik
    Sep 24 '11 at 13:39
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Pepparkakor!

Try to find a brand that is not in every Ikea store, though:

enter image description here

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  • 2
    Pepparkakor! OK, that's smart. Goes for all age groups/lifestyles/etc. I don't know if these are in IKEA, but they are by far my favourite brand, and it's too far from Christmas to be able to buy locally baked ones, so I'll take these: scandinavianstuff.com/shop/blog/58/images/pepparkakor.jpg
    – victoriah
    Sep 26 '11 at 18:50
  • Lightweight, cheap and tasty. So smart.
    – victoriah
    Sep 26 '11 at 18:50
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You probably already noticed that Swedes love them candles, so a small candle holder might be a good idea. Here's a very typical Swedish design:

enter image description here

These things run around 100-130 SEK (12-15 EUR) a pop -- not quite in your price range, but close. These are not very fragile and they'd stuff it with paper for you, so it's quite durable.

If you want something especially nice (and want to spend some extra cash), Swedish crystal is very stylish (but unfortunately outside your budget constraints). Look for it around Gamla Stan in Stockholm (avoid brand-name shops -- you probably won't be able to afford even the smallest of their wares) and also on Arlanda airport. Smallest items should be around 200 SEK.

Concrete shopping recommendations are off-topic, but drop me a note in chat if you need some help.

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You probably already took your trip, but for the benefit of others who may come along here are some addtions:

For drinkers: Some variety of punsch, of which the Carlhamn's Flaggpunsch is probably the most common and recognizable variety. Can't miss its yellow color. A far more intriguing gift than Swedish vodka, which is easily found everywhere. Legendary among cocktail buffs because it's an ingredient in many classic cocktails. You can get quite small bottles of the stuff at Systembolaget that would squeeze in at the top of your budget range.

For sweet lovers: A punschrulle, a pastry made with the aforementioned punsch, plus chocolate and marzipan and other good stuff. Also known within Sweden as dammsugare.

For foodies: A little jar of preserved herring. Or a little jar of lingonberry jam.

For book-lovers: One of Astrid Lindgren's beloved children's books (e.g. Pippi Longstocking) in the original Swedish.

Also, for the aforementioned dala horses there are little gift shops (especially in Stockholm's Gamla Stan) that carry little keychain dala horses. Obviously not of the same high quality as the genuine hand-painted ones, but still a charming and colorful gift.

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The first that comes to mind are the amazing ciders made in Sweden. The problem with liquor in general, is the weight of the bottles. The same could be said for the amazing Swedish jams. You would make me happy with something food related. Things like dried fruit, candy, dried sausages, or knackebrod comes to mind. Unfortunately for you, lakerol candy is now available worldwide, but something a little bit more unknown would work.

Another thing quite popular abroad, is any item with the swedish triangular trafic sign with a moose on it. You have them as stickers, pens, or mouse pads. Many people love them.

So my general advise would be to go to a large supermarket and look for the above items.

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The gift that to me would be most expressive of Sweden is the delahast, the little horse figurine. The advantage is that it's not edible, which is say that it is "durable."

Here are some being made, the photo is from Wikipedia: delahast production

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  • There's no way this fits into my budget. Even the smallest costs around twenty euros.
    – victoriah
    Oct 16 '11 at 16:01

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