Sending gifts

Since shipping gifts was often cost prohibitive and slow, we had to come up with options for special events.

Flowers

Every year on her birthday, her father gives our daughter one rose for each year. When she was one, she received one rose; when she turned 16, she received 16 roses, etc. We didn't want to lose a year, so we had to figure out how to send flowers internationally for her 17th birthday. I wasn't impressed by the price or options with FTD, so I did some internet searching. As we discovered, there are a lot of options for sending flowers all over Europe.

For our first floral delivery, I used Flora Queen. For about $37, the flowers were delivered to her home, on time, with a vase, and in excellent condition. From the company, I received frequent updates in English with a tracking number and an opportunity to rate my experience.

I would recommend Flora Queen, but I did not use them a second time. The first time I placed my order, the price was in Euros. Once they realized I was ordering from the USA, the price rose dramatically. The prices were listed in American dollars, and there were several extra fees tacked on at checkout (for example, a $12 "local florist" fee). I learned to look for companies that listed the prices in Euros.

The second time I sent flowers, it was for her host family, and I used Euroflorist. Again, the experience was very good, with flowers delivered promptly and in good condition. I do not have a photo of this bouquet, but my daughter assures me they were beautiful. The prices on Euroflorist are even better than Flora Queen, and the selection is just as good. I have not ordered a second time from them, but when I check their prices, everything is still in Euros. As an added bonus, you will receive newsletters in German on a weekly basis. I have no idea what they say, but the pictures are stunning.

Gifts

Perhaps the best resource for sending gifts is German Amazon. It has everything the American version has and then some. Is your child craving American peanut butter? They have several options. Does your child want to make pumpkin pie for his host family? German Amazon has measuring spoons, measuring cups, and canned pumpkin. Need American candy? It's there. The shipping is much faster and cheaper than shipping from the USA. Even if you don't speak German, it is fairly easy to navigate as all the searches can be done in English, and the format is identical to American Amazon. To make it even easier, you can have the website in English. Just choose the English version in the drop down menu at the top right of the screen.

If your child is not in Germany, do a search for Amazon in other countries.I can only imagine that Amazon exists in quite a few other locations. I found one for the United Kingdom and one for China; however, I have never used those companies.