11 best British gifts to give Americans (and anybody else)

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about the 8 best British gifts to get Americans (that I would never give to a Brit). Whoa! People went crazy for this post. It was the hit record of posts. Styles and tastes move on, so I’ve updated my (modestly) blockbuster post, featuring the best budget and luxury gifts from London, England and the rest of the UK.

These days it can be hard to find gifts that feel truly unique and related to the place you’re visiting. But as an American living in London, I’ve seen a whole different range of gifts that feel novel and different and also highlight an aspect of English or British life. British folk might give you a funny look if you handed over these gifts from the UK, but they will wow everyone else.

Want to give specifically best summer-themed British gifts? Check out my list of 10 best British gifts to give in summer.

1. Confectionery

Brits do not eat candy. They eat confectionery or sweets — words that sound quaintly old-fashioned to my American-born ears. But there is a great array of confectionery that’s unique to the UK  These are on my brother’s Christmas list every year. I once forgot them and he pouted for a week. British chocolate is different from the American kind. I think it’s something to do with the sweeteners and pasteurised milk. In the UK, it says, ‘I got three packets of these for £2.’ But in America, a gift of Revels — or just about any chocolate — says, ‘This is the way Brits eat sweets.’ (Be sure to call them sweets or confectionery when you hand them over. We never use the word ‘candy’.)

2. Beach hut artwork

These sweet/twee/pastel images on this side of the pond sometimes bring up uncomfortable observations about the people who buy eye-poppingly expensive ones and commute to them via their vintage style VW vans. Yet for the vast majority of Americans, they are incredibly exotic. In the U.S. you have mere beaches, but in the UK you have the seaside, which is full of charm, 99 Flakes and these little beach huts. Also for Americans, the idea of a tiny hut on the beach, sitting check by jowl with a bunch of nearly nude people is utterly incomprehensible. Especially if it sits on a beach where cold weather and rain is a given for most of the year. Only the British would do this kind of thing, and do it with aplomb. Images available in posters, trays, tea towels, bird houses and other things they’ll find absolutely essential.

3. British-style toiletries

There’s nothing quite so lovely on a dressing table or in a well-appointed bathroom than an elegant bottle or container with olde worlde style writing that harkens back to the heyday of the British Empire. For real hardcore lovers of the English image, I’d love to give Penhaligon’s Maduro Leaf Candle, which fills the home with “a scent reminiscent of a smoking room in an elegant gentlemen’s club… wood panelled walls, soft leather armchairs, a fire burning in the grate and the heady scent of cigars.” This kind of present would only suit a small number of Brits, but I’d give it to almost any American I know. That whiff of privilege, a country estate and old money are sold separately.

4. Keep Calm and Carry On gifts

The simple design and duo-chrome palette is ubiquitous over here – posters, tea towels, mugs, cringe-making versions that say Keep Calm and Carry On Shopping – it makes you want to invade Poland. But in the US, Keep Calm reacquires its stiff-upper-lip charm. The simple graphic design has widespread appeal. And these gifts come with an interesting backstory about how the slogan was mostly unknown until recently rediscovered. It wasn’t until I moved here that I realised how much WWII continues to affect the British mentality.

5. Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston’s ominpresence has just expanded to a whopping big flagship store in Piccadilly this Christmas season. People were lined up down the street for a chance to buy flowery wash bags and sweet homewares that you can get without a wait, oh, just about everywhere else in the country. Cath *owns* us in a way, but sometimes you just need a retro Christmas jumper, dog-shaped salt & pepper shakers, or a classic rose-adorned satchel. Great for kids and a true homegrown brand. Resistance is futile.

6. Liberty of London prints

This upscale department store in middle of London, just a few minutes from Oxford Circus tube, is known for its collection of fabrics and prints. They are richly coloured, distinctive, soft and beautiful: delicate roses on a vivid teal background, densely patterned flowers on a field of black silk, eye-catching stripes of orange and turquoise. Pick up one of their scarves or head to the haberdashery department for several bolts of fabric to recover furniture or sew your own piece. Give yourself time to wander the floors of the store, which is a warren of rooms and displays, each more beautiful than the last. Liberty of London

7. Tunnock’s Tea Cake cushions

I’ve written before about my deep and abiding love of Tunnock’s Tea Cakes. I’ve never tasted marshmallow so soft, never experienced elsewhere the perfect proportions of biscuit and chocolate. Nobody in America knows what a teacake is — that’s how exotic they are. To emulate their pillowy deliciousness, I’d love to give these cushions that look like giant Tunnock’s Tea Cakes. If you’re feeling particularly generous, you can throw in a box of the real thing. Other “cookie” cushions sure to delight: the custard cream, the caramel wafer, and a motto that Brits live by.

8. Celebrity magazines

UK footballers, British Love Islanders, Coronation Street actors: these are exotic and unusual creatures that inspiration fascination among your American friends. ‘Who ARE these people?’ they want to know, ‘and why are they acting this way?’ Whenever I see girlfriends in the U.S. straight off the plane, they fall upon my collection of magazines: British Vogue, Grazia, OK! and Hello, even the full-on celeb mags, the ones with lots of colours and exclamation points on their covers. They don’t have to be avid star-gazers or fashionistas to enjoy a peek at our fashion and fascination with certain C list celebrities. Roll one up, tie with a bow and lovingly hand to the pop culture hound in your life.

9. Hunter Wellies

A few years ago these were all the rage in New York City, where everyone takes a taxi when it rains. Having been adopted by the fashion establishment, they are celebrated across the US as the classic Scottish-based solution to rain, mud and fashion dilemmas in advance of pheasant shooting. All your British friends have a pair already; the Americans are just learning.

10. The Union Jack

The UK flag — which features elements from the English, Scottish and Welsh flags — is a design classic. Many of the things decorated with the British flag these days are a bit naff. But in America, a Union Jack scatter cushion references Blow-up, RP, the BBC, the Empire and the Royal Family.

11. Old-style parlour games

The British are particularly good at games, what with all those house parties and weekends with time to fill between fox-hunting and sherry-drinking. The Lost Art of Having Fun: 286 Games to Games to Enjoy with Family and Friends is one of the best sources of fantastic classic games for car, with kids, and, ahem, drunken evenings. Still need convincing? It’s written by a former MP and founder of the National Scrabble Championship and his daughter, named Saethryd, who come from a long line of fun seekers. Anyone up for a game of Parson’s Cat?

Have you acquired any great souvenirs or gifts in the UK? Leave a comment or message me on social — I’d love to hear about them!