what to give as a gift?

I'm moving to Japan after 5 months. I thought about doing a home stay program for the first few months so I can search for an apartment in no rush. When I talked about it with my best friend (a japanese woman, aged 23), she suddenly suggested I should come live with her family (mom and younger sister). Also, her mom approved. If this was only for a few weeks, I'd have no problems finding appropriate gifts. The problem is that they are willing to acommodate me for 2 MONTHS. I know she's not asking just to be polite and expecting me to refuse. We are way past that phase in our friendship (and I have asked her a thousand times if she's completely sure)...

Also, I asked her what to bring for her mom and sister, but she insisted I shouldn't bring anything. Again, I know she's not saying it just to be polite. She told me her mom wouldn't mind if I don't bring anything at all (which sounds strange to me).

2 months is a long time, so I'm at loss what to do.. Of course, I accepted her offer. I can't wait to see her and live with her as she's like a sister to me. But I have no idea what to give as a gift! And how much money should I use? To make it even worse, her family seems really unconventional, so I don't know if they would appreciate anything traditional.

I'm from Finland, btw. And the only Finnish things/brands I can think of are Moomin, Santa Claus and Marimekko...

Your host family truly value your friendship to their daughter and having you stay with them is a blessing. Here is a suggestion - leave a thank you gift on a bed you slepy as you are leaving their home (I do that so they can't protest).

stanfordgal,

i don't think i can do that...

my friend already knows i'm bringing gifts (because i insisted), so it would be weird to wait 2 months before giving them.

Unless you know the family members well that you can choose things like scarves, accessories, cosmetics/perfume or other fashion items for each of them, bringing the usual food gift sounds safe to begin with :)

For such a big favor like that, I would maybe try to take them out to dinner some time during your stay in Japan - tell them clearly that you would like to treat them to dinner, you can ask them for their recommendation, etc. Or you can offer to cook food for them...

darine,

O you did? I understand why you did insist. Very important to make a best impression first time! Well, you and I have something in common. I am like you. In that case something representing your heritage, culture, or your country.First time when I visited my cousin's home, I gave them a baseball hat to the youngsters and a box set of California dried fruits to the family; second time, my mom explained only one gift for the entire family would suffice, so I gave a miniature replica of the Golden Gate bridge ; third time was box of California cheese; fourth time it was a box set of Starbuck coffees; and my last trip it was a box set of California dried almonds & cashews. Best advise I can offer you is, something very from your country.
Finland? Sound very nice.

I'm afraid they wouldn't let me treat them dinner. I'm a student so they probably assume I can't afford it. About cooking.. I'm going to do that anyway. Her mom works long hours and can't always cook for us (and i don't even expect her to). So cooking for them wouldn't be such a big deal.

I don't know them well, but I just talked with my friend and got some ideas..

she told me her mom likes things made of glass and one of the things I strongly associate with Finland is Aalto design:
http://www.iittalahomeshopping.com/epages/iittala.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shop...

Another one is Mariskooli:
http://www.iittalahomeshopping.com/epages/iittala.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shop...

Prices for these vary from 6000 yen to 12000 yen.
I'm also thinking of bying a picture book about Finland. One that has natural phenomenons (aurora borealis/northern lights), beautiful places, snowy Lapland in winter etc.
I was also thinking of bringing a fruit basket (fruits are considerably cheaper here in Finland) but that might be a little difficult... Not sure if it's even legal to bring fruits to Japan.

I know I'll give lots of Marimekko stuff for my friend because she loves it (and again, it's a lot cheaper in Finland than in Japan).

My friend said I should just bring some cute pencils and notebooks for her 18-year-old sister as she's still a high school student and probably likes that kind of stuff. But more cuter things can be found in Japan so any Finnish cute thing would be just lame compared to Japanese stuff.