For guys, you could go anywhere from colognes to shirts and jeans.

For children, like someone said…crayons, sketch pads, comic books…something colorful and INDIGENOUS to canada.

Chocolates at Duty free.

They usually are not the stuff you see everywhere and are always well appreciated.

Remember to give me a buzz when u are in town. I will be very glad to host you.

Walmart is the place 2 go babes. Try those cheap watches. They cost between $6 to $12. In fact Walmart has lotsa stuff to choose from…..apart from the key chains. lol

YAH!

Good to hear that…..

I hope you have a great experience… and pray tell all.

Don't keep us waiting till you leave.

We have affordable internet access here oh!

I wish I could help you with the gift ideas thingy but, I'm a guy. I would definitely not buy anything for any league of relations I have.

HELL NO!

electronics and even wrist watches are a no-no, cuz its easy to spot lower quality things and u dont want to insult someone – these nigerians are SO sensitive!

you can do toiletries, the cute little accessory sets and stuff that everybody's siad already.

practically, you know u cant get stuff for everybody except u split them up btw u and ur sis. even then, do you HAVE to?

u might want to look into who and who is likely to appreciate what more, people that just want tokens and people who might need something more specific…

i say, if all else fails, buy loads of chocolate/candy – like the massive Celebrations packs – and give a pack to each family. that always works.

And pls remember whatever u buy big or small, people will still complain and say stuff..so just block ur mind.

all the best o!

wow that is a lot

okay i would say divide them up into groups

the inner circle and the young and the outer circle

for the inner circle: anything works: find cheap things of quality that you would appreciate, spend like 5-10 max on shirts, shoes, perfume stuff like that. burlington and discound shoe places would work

for the young circle: by this i mean kids under the age of 10 or so it doesn't really matter to them, they just want to feel special so shopping at dollar stores or buying in bulk would work

outer circle: i have no clue, you don't want to break the bank but you don't want them to hate you GOOD LUCK

@Sugabelly

Oooh, nice PR work o! I've looked your tees longingly more than once but first I need to get into shape so I can fit into the women's ones!

I have too many cousins to be able to afford to get them all tees though, unfortunately.

@Nolimit

Thanks for these fantastic ideas. I'm going to get the names and ages from my mother this weekend and go out. I'll share pics of what I get!

@Femi B

Do you think they'd look down on the Calgon brand? Mariah sang about it sha…that must mean something. We don't have VS in Canada or Bath and Body Works (we have the Body Shop though, so I can look into that and see). Ooooh, Canadian souvenirs, great idea. Lol alafia! When all else fails I'll try that.

@bumight

Oh, that's a tough one. I'm still trying to get the actual number of people I have to buy for from my mom, and I'm also now thinking that perhaps I could split the list of cousins with my sister so that instead of each of us buying a gift for each cousin, we each buy for half the list. My budget is pretty small though, so electronics are out. I'm afraid to put an actual dollar amount to it.

@Nikki

You and your hubby did well! Thanks for the ideas. I'd like more info on these gift bags—do you just mean the ones you can get at Hallmark or a card store (or even some dollar stores)?

@Bibi

Thanks for the variety in suggestions. I know a couple of my cousins who'd love a digital camera but I'm afraid to buy it for one and have the others look at me and think their own gifts are worthless in comparison. I like the character watch idea too—thanks!

@YNC

Thanks for the advice. I'm afraid to look at my credit card already (and I haven't even started buying gifts!) so your words are definitely being taken to heart. I'm going to go to bargain stores and see if I can get some quality items.

@sting

And speaking of bargain type stores, Walmart is on the list in a big way! I personally love keychains so maybe some cousins will too. Thanks girl!

@Favoured Girl

Thanks a bunch for your suggestions too! I love your last line. I tend to hand out gifts (speaking in general) almost apologetically as if to say "I'm sorry I didn't get you something bigger and better", even when I spend a lot of time and money selecting the perfect gift. Instead I'm going to be more of the attitude of "Here is what I chose/bought for you; I hope you like it" and smile my heart out.

Your suggestions are great (especially the girly stuff) because they won't take up much space in the luggage. I'll make sure to stock up on toiletries too.

@dat1orikagirlie

Where have you been mademoiselle?

Ugh…what you say is SO TRUE. My sister had the exact same situation as your mom (only the slippers weren't from Old Navy, but they were slippers, and I think she found them under the bed of the person who stole them). When I was last in Nigeria, I ended up bringing none of my costume jewelry back with me. It makes me afraid to take some of my favourite pieces with me (it's not that they're particularly expensive, just that I can't get a replacement if I wanted one).