Are you traveling back home for Christmas and looking to bring some special gifts from Norway? Here are 15 suggestions from your fellow expats:

Norwegian Chocolate

Norwegian chocolate tastes delicious and many expats bring several bars/packets home to the request of family and friends. Freia and Nidar are popular brands.

Cheese Slicers

Invented in Norway, cheese slicers make great gifts for folks who are cheese fans. Many variants can be found, from simple ones to those with elaborate designs on the handles. Cheese slicers are also great for slicing cold butter, aubergines/eggplants and cucumbers.

Norwegian Aquavit (Akevitt)

Aquavit (also spelled Aquavite or Akvavit and also known as Snaps)  is a potato-based liquor and said to be the Norwegian national drink. It is served at Christmas and Easter, as well as other celebrations. It is a flavoured, distilled liquor, clear to pale yellow in colour, dry in flavour, and ranging in alcohol content from about 42 to 45% by volume. It is distilled from a fermented potato mash, redistilled in the presence of flavouring agents, filtered with charcoal, and usually bottled without aging. Various aromatic flavourings are employed, usually including caraway or cumin seed; lemon or orange peel, cardamom, aniseed, and fennel also may be used.

Aquavit is said to be a digestive, and goes well with heavy meals, like Christmas dinners. Aquavit is usually served chilled and unmixed, in small glasses.

Books and Calendars

Books about Norway, its history, cities and scenery, are popular gifts, as are Norwegian cookbooks and calendars.

Norwegian Porcelain

Norwegian Porcelain are usually very tastefully designed with new collections coming in regularly. Brands like Porsgrund offers online shopping. If you live in the Stavanger area, you can check out the factory outlet in Figgjo.

Norwegian Wool

Norwegian Wool is of excellent quality and one can find many beautiful designs from Dale of Norway and Marius Kids. Woolen gloves, socks and slippers are also popular as gifts.

Food Baskets

Making a food basket for your family and friends can be fun and exciting. Items such as Norwegian chocolate, yellow cheese, brown cheese, sardines, herring, caviar, marzipan, licorice and aquavit can be added in the food basket.

Norwegian Pewter

Norwegian Pewter make for exquisite gifts.

Viking Memorabilia

Seeing as Vikings came from Norway, Viking memorabilia might be interesting gifts for your loved ones.

Home Decor

Norwegians are big on making their homes as cosy and warm as possible. As a results, one can find an abundance of home decoration stores in Norway. Many of these stores sell pretty and exquisite items which might please your family and friends back home.

Gnomes and Trolls

Step into any souvenir store in Norway and you will see figurines of gnomes and trolls. A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. Perhaps your family and friends might like a little troll on their mantelpiece? Or a larger one for their garden?

Handmade Gifts

In many of the Christmas markets around Norway, you can find unique and special handmade gifts such as cards, candles, candle holders, jewellery, lamps, decorative ornaments and more. Take a walk through the Christmas markets near you and you might be pleasantly surprised!

Norwegian Music

Your musically inclined loved ones might appreciate a sampling of Norwegian music – examples of artistes and composers include Edvard Greig, Knut Reiersrud, Röyksopp, Madcon, Kings of Convenience and many more.

Outdoor Wear and Equipment

You can find a wide range of clothing for hiking, expeditions, hunting, camping, mountaineering and skiing here in Norway, many of which are of extremely good quality. You can check out Bergans of Norway and Stormberg.

Rosemaling

Rosemaling (Norwegian for “decorative/flower painting”) is the name of a form of decorative folk art that originated in the rural valleys of Norway. Designs include stylized flower ornamentation, scrollwork, lining and geometric elements, often in flowing patterns. Landscape and architectural elements are also common.

Hopefully this article has given you some useful tips and ideas on what to get for your loved ones. Have a very Merry Christmas!