Christmas care package for sister in China - ideas needed!

sarahtrg · November 2013

My younger sister, a recent college graduate, will be spending her first Christmas away from home in China where she is teaching English. They don't celebrate Christmas nor do they decorate/have decorations available so I wanted to send her some decorations and goodies for Christmas this year so she doesn't feel too homesick. They have to be pretty small and light since postage is horrendously expensive so I was hoping for some ideas of lightweight/compact Christmas decorations I could send her. I have some paper garlands so far but that's it.

Any ideas/thoughts?

Wife Kitty · November 2013

I wonder if you'd be able to send her a small enough fake tree with the garlands, and for the rest of her decorations she might be able to improvise. Surely there are shops near her that sell beautiful, delicate little things that - while not originally made for this purpose - could be lovely makeshift tree ornaments. She'd have a fun, unique themed tree that also has the homemade touch from you, thanks to the garland. This way she'd have the reminders of home, but she'd also be gathering gorgeous small souvenirs from her time in China that she might never see anywhere else. Pretty cool, I'd think!

pastalady · November 2013

I would do something like a philosophy bath set in one of the holiday themes, like candy cane or gingerbread. Then a box of her favourite chocolates. Maybe a package of sugar cookie mix. For sure some Christmas movies!

MariaBend25 · November 2013

Be careful with religious gifts, China does not tolerate anything that can be seen as prostletizing, and christians have to practice their religion discreetly, so don't send a nativity or things to that nature. Send her some pictures made into a garland, and include typical care-package items, like the movies @pastalady mentioned. Things like powdered drinks (tea, lemonade, hot coco ect), baked goods, and condiments would all be nice especially since they won't have the comfort foods that she is used to back home. Ketchup, favorite BBQ sauce, chips, holiday cookie ect are always appreciated. At least this is the avenue I take when sending gifts to my friends in Afghanistan.

OtterJ · December 2013

MariaBend25 is right, religious things should be discreet, as the chances of her mail being opened and inspected are quite high. Although, considering she is a foreigner, she will have a little more leeway to celebrate the holiday of her homeland more-so than the locals.

I am curious, did she say that there were no decorations anywhere? I spent a Christmas in China a few years ago, and Santa decorations were up everywhere! Since Christmas was nothing more than a Western Holiday for getting gifts to them, Santa was the main decoration. I think there were some snowflake decorations, and north pole/candy cane type stuff too, but no nativities (that I can remember). I also came across an ornament store. I was in a large city, though. I'm sure that availability will depend on the area.

I know I'm seeing this post late, so you might not have enough time to pull it off, but I would ask her loved ones (family, friends, church, school groups, whatever) to write her Christmas cards. Collect the cards, box them up, and send them to her. She would have fun reading the cards, and she can string them up like garland for decoration. I know they're not decorations, but I like the idea of sending classic Christmas movies, or books. I read the original A Christmas Carol this year....it's a very small, light book!

I would ask her what she wants/needs. You might be surprised what she misses, or what she has access to. I hope she enjoys China!

afox007 · December 2013

Not sure if the Charlie Brown Xmas special was as big apart of you childhood as it was mine, but if it was this could be a cute lightwight version of a tree since shipping a whole fake tree might be hard. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Peanuts-24-in-Charlie-Brown-Musical-Christmas-Tree-14211/202675858?cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-202675858&skwcid&kwd=&ci_sku=202675858&ci_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969#.Uqj2B_RDvbM FI bought me one last year and I love it!

Not decoration related but if she happens to like brownies I would send a few boxes of her favorite brownie mix. A former coworker of mine taught in China and still complains that she could not get brownie mix over there at all.

Christmas care package for sister in China - ideas needed!

Re: Christmas care package for sister in China - ideas needed!

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