Need help with gift ideas for recent VN immigrants

[Teacher Mark 53]

Do the boys have bikes yet? Skateboards? Medical Insurance? Baseballs and gloves? Maybe you have the next Danny Graves there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Graves

In line with the Raiders gear, how about a football? I'd start with a Nerf, if it were me. Dat Nguyen has represented Vietnam in the NFL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dat_Nguyen

I'm currently researching Vietnamese Christmas traditions and gifts. You may get an idea from one of these links:

http://www.vietnam-beauty.com/vietnamese-culture/festivals-and-ceremonies/15-festivals-and-ceremonies/239-christmas-in-vietnam.html

http://www.christmasgifts.net/Christmasblog/2008/09/26/how-to-celebrate-christmas-and-new-year-in-vietnam-style/

Following in the footsteps of 1HappyGuy, here's the California Taxpayers Bill of Rights in Vietnamese.:

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/misc/4058CVIET.pdf

I've seen quite a few statues of Jesus (aka Kito),and The Virgin Mary, in homes since I've been here. I know 2 adult Catholics and have had at least 5 students tell me they were Catholic. I still wouldn't give a statue of either as a gift though, unless it was to the guy down on Pham Ngu Lao that walks around spreading the good news. Don't know his name, but he certainly loves Jesus. Turns out he was in a re-education camp for 4 years. I suspect that's were he found him.

[luckytxn 2,263]

Do the boys have bikes yet? Skateboards? Medical Insurance? Baseballs and gloves? Maybe you have the next Danny Graves there.

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Danny_Graves

In line with the Raiders gear, how about a football? I'd start with a Nerf, if it were me. Dat Nguyen has represented Vietnam in the NFL.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Dat_Nguyen

I'm currently researching Vietnamese Christmas traditions and gifts. You may get an idea from one of these links:

http://www.vietnam-b...in-vietnam.html

http://www.christmas...-vietnam-style/

Following in the footsteps of 1HappyGuy, here's the California Taxpayers Bill of Rights in Vietnamese.:

http://www.ftb.ca.go...c/4058CVIET.pdf

I've seen quite a few statues of Jesus (aka Kito),and The Virgin Mary, in homes since I've been here. I know 2 adult Catholics and have had at least 5 students tell me they were Catholic. I still wouldn't give a statue of either as a gift though, unless it was to the guy down on Pham Ngu Lao that walks around spreading the good news. Don't know his name, but he certainly loves Jesus. Turns out he was in a re-education camp for 4 years. I suspect that's were he found him.

I am married to a VN Catholic babe and am surrounded by them and trust me it is more than fine to give the statues and gifts of that nature. We just spent a small fortune at a store that specializes in that merchandise called Mardels. I do know that it is not normal or usual to give gifts of BHuddhas and was joking earlier. I had just finished buying many statues and other Christian gifts for many we know though.

[sachinky 464]

Sounds fun! Good choices on the gifts. Happy Holidays to you and yours, Jim.

[lindal24 1]

In Vietnam, they don't traditionally exchange christmas gifts so it wouldn't be a big deal if you didn't get them anything. It's more of a western tradition that's slowly growing on them. It's always a nice surprise to recieve something though, even if it's just a small token of appreciation.

[vietazn 1]

In Vietnam, they don't traditionally exchange christmas gifts so it wouldn't be a big deal if you didn't get them anything. It's more of a western tradition that's slowly growing on them. It's always a nice surprise to recieve something though, even if it's just a small token of appreciation.

Right. Why give Christmas gifts to people who are not Christians? It'll make them spend the next year worrying about having to give back for such an unexpected gift. There's always Tet...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Right. Why give Christmas gifts to people who are not Christians? It'll make them spend the next year worrying about having to give back for such an unexpected gift. There's always Tet...

You don't have to be a Christian to celebrate Christmas any more than you have to be a descendant of slaves to celebrate Lincoln's birthday. Even if you don't believe Jesus was divine in any way, his life was worth celebrating, by all accounts. We've always celebrated Christmas in my house, although we're not practicing Christians. Personally, I'm agnostic.

Anyway, since my wife and step-kids have come to the US we've adopted a lot of Vietnamese traditions, as well as keeping many of our American traditions. There are a total of six of us - three Americans and three Vietnamese. There is a Buddhist altar on one side of the living room where my wife prays for an hour every day. There is now also a Christmas tree on the other side of the living room. In our house, Christmas is a family event and not a religious event. I didn't have to ask anyone to get involved. They were all excited and anxious to get involved. I took a nap this afternoon, and when I woke up and walked into the living room I found my wife, daughter, and step daughter having a blast decorating the Christmas tree. I also showed my wife the gift suggestions in this thread, and she chose what she thought were the best ideas. When we went to the mall she took charge. She spent two hours wandering around to find the absolute best jackets at the best price for her cousins. She either chose or approved of every gift we bought. She's also taken charge of the Vietnamese half of the menu for Christmas dinner.

All three of them have already had Christmas parties and exchanged gifts with people in their ESL classes.

This will be my third year celebrating Christmas with my wife and step-kids. The first year was at her house in Hue. I thought it would be one-sided, with me handing out the gifts I brought, but they had already bought gifts for me before I arrived. Last year we had a small celebration at our house, and then the big party at her uncle's house. We're inviting her uncle to our house this year to return the favor.

And yes, we will be celebrating Tet, just like we did last year!

[NQT1976 1]

buy them a used car about $1000-$2000, they will love it

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

buy them a used car about $1000-$2000, they will love it

Let's see if any of them can pass the driving test first. So far, two have tried and failed.

[Joe&Diane 0]

Ok, here's the scoop:

My wife's uncle petitioned for his brother years ago. His priority date became current, he got his visa, and he arrived with his wife and two teenage boys a couple of weeks ago. By the way, this is the same uncle who introduced me and my wife.

Last year, we returned from Vietnam two days before Christmas. Obviously, I didn't have much time to do any Christmas shopping, so Phuong's uncle arranged a little get together at his house on Christmas night. He had gifts for everyone.

Well, her uncle has had a rough year. Add to that the expense of getting his brother and family to the US, plus adding four more mouths to feed to his household, and he's completely tapped out. So, as a gesture of reciprocal good will, we're going to invite the families of both uncles to our house on Christmas, and we're going to get gifts for everyone.

And that's the dilemma...

They literally arrived just weeks ago with whatever they could pack. I don't know what exactly they brought with them, but I suspect it wasn't much more than some clothes and personal items. I want to get them something that will be useful, but I am also limited in the amount of cash I can spend. I already spent a huge chunk of my Christmas budget getting two new Kim Tu Dien GD7000's for my step-kids.

Also, they are all Buddhists. Christmas is more of a fun thing for them - no spiritual connection.

My unfilled gift list consists of:

The US citizen uncle (mid 40's)

The US citizen uncle's wife (early 40's)

The US citizen uncle's daughter (3rd grade, I think)

The US citizen uncle's son (1st grade, I think)

The new immigrant uncle (mid 40's, I suspect)

The new immigrant uncle's wife (also mid 40's)

The new immigrant uncle's two sons (early teens)

I also got my mother and daughter, but I can figure them out myself.

Any ideas?

Jim, my mom's younger brother and his family (his wife, and 4 children (ages from 14-20)

came to the States last year and what we bought are the following:

3 teenage kids and 1 elder children - sons = boxer shorts, backpack for school, jeans and tshirts

daughters = perfume under $25 from Ross or Marshalls, backpack, jeans (they had plenty of shirts from vn that they didn't want to get rid of)

dad (uncle mid 50's)= carton of cigerettes (i know it's bad but he asked for it),jockey undies

aunt (mid 40's) = lotion,perfume, and makeup kit

[luckytxn 2,263]

Let's see if any of them can pass the driving test first. So far, two have tried and failed.

Took my babe 3 tries before she passed.

[NQT1976 1]

does your state have Vietnamese driver license test ?

my state ( Michigan ) allow people take test in Vietnamese, everyone if not the most stupid can pass on the first try.

[ScottThuy 140]

there are only 18 states that do that.. Florida discriminates against VN by only providing it in Spanish and Creole.. CA where Jim is does have it avail.

[luckytxn 2,263]

does your state have Vietnamese driver license test ?

my state ( Michigan ) allow people take test in Vietnamese, everyone if not the most stupid can pass on the first try.

Since you are a little slow we will say it slower. It is not the written test but the DRIVING test . How do YOU think the driving test can be taken in Vietnamese ?

Edited December 23, 2010 by luckytxn

[ScottThuy 140]

Since you are a little slow we will say it slower. It is not the written test but the DRIVING test . How do YOU think the driving test can be taken in Vietnamese ?

on a motorbike?

[What's next 1]

Ok, here's the scoop:

My wife's uncle petitioned for his brother years ago. His priority date became current, he got his visa, and he arrived with his wife and two teenage boys a couple of weeks ago. By the way, this is the same uncle who introduced me and my wife.

Last year, we returned from Vietnam two days before Christmas. Obviously, I didn't have much time to do any Christmas shopping, so Phuong's uncle arranged a little get together at his house on Christmas night. He had gifts for everyone.

Well, her uncle has had a rough year. Add to that the expense of getting his brother and family to the US, plus adding four more mouths to feed to his household, and he's completely tapped out. So, as a gesture of reciprocal good will, we're going to invite the families of both uncles to our house on Christmas, and we're going to get gifts for everyone.

And that's the dilemma...

They literally arrived just weeks ago with whatever they could pack. I don't know what exactly they brought with them, but I suspect it wasn't much more than some clothes and personal items. I want to get them something that will be useful, but I am also limited in the amount of cash I can spend. I already spent a huge chunk of my Christmas budget getting two new Kim Tu Dien GD7000's for my step-kids.

Also, they are all Buddhists. Christmas is more of a fun thing for them - no spiritual connection.

My unfilled gift list consists of:

The US citizen uncle (mid 40's)

The US citizen uncle's wife (early 40's)

The US citizen uncle's daughter (3rd grade, I think)

The US citizen uncle's son (1st grade, I think)

The new immigrant uncle (mid 40's, I suspect)

The new immigrant uncle's wife (also mid 40's)

The new immigrant uncle's two sons (early teens)

I also got my mother and daughter, but I can figure them out myself.

Any ideas?

Group Gift!!! Get them a TV. 500 for a decent set. or a computer.

I would not give cash now. Tet is around the corner, you can give cash then.

Edited December 23, 2010 by What's next