An important part of my travel to the US is finding time for some shopping! I'm not after designer clothes or trainers, instead I like to visit the supermarkets like Target and Walmart and the large craft stores. I like to browse the homewares, crafts, stationery, pharmacy and snacks.
On our visit a few weeks ago the first thing that we noticed was how much prices have increased since our last visit pre-Covid in autumn 2019. A trip to the US is definitely no longer a chance to pick up bargains! Most of the prices were comparable to home, and were in many cases more expensive, especially with the current poor exchange rate.
However it is a chance to get hold of some things which aren't available at home, and these are the things that I always look for:
Craft supplies - I've already blogged about my holiday craft shop purchases so I won't repeat myself, but I always like to look for things which are a bit different to what we can get at home, and also to look for seasonal things and special offers.
Nestle crunch chocolate bars - I've seen them in the UK, but they aren't as easy to find and also tend to just be the larger bars. I like to bring home a multipack bag of the tiny bars, especially if we are visiting around Halloween when they are on offer.
Ghirardelli Brownie Mix - whenever we go to Costco I pick up a box of Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate brownie mix as it's so delicious and easy to make. But in the US there are so many different flavours available! The only trouble is that they can end up being quite heavy so you have to be restrained. This time I also bought some Betty Crocker mug cake mixes which were very tasty.
Pharmacy things - I like to get some antibiotic cream as we can't buy that over the counter here. I also usually get a bottle of melatonin tablets as they are useful when travelling, to help with jet lag and adjusting to new time zones. There are also a few other things which are much cheaper and available in larger quantities, like hydrocortisone cream and antihistamines. I find that nail varnish is cheaper too!
Chips Ahoy - I love Chips Ahoy cookies! They are much sweeter at first but you soon get used to them. This time I discovered the Red Velvet flavour which were really tasty.
A jigsaw - I often like to buy a jigsaw as a souvenir, and this time I came back with a jigsaw showing the map of the Magic Kingdom park. The only trouble that I've found is that US jigsaws tend to be a different size to the ones we get here. This one is square, and it won't fit on my jigsaw mat!
A mug - I don't drink many hot drinks but I do like a morning hot chocolate and I love drinking from a mug which reminds me of my travels. We visited a discount gift store near our accommodation and I picked up a Mickey Mouse mug with images from across the years.
Do you visit the US? What are the things you buy that aren't as easy to get hold of here?
Ohh! I think I would be bringing all of these things back as well especially the sweet treats. x
ReplyDelete