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I want to buy a gift for my lovely Ph.D. supervisor for Christmas. But as I am a foreigner and we don't celebrate Christmas in our country, I have no idea. Could somebody please help me?

Marco
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    It would be more appropriate to do something like bring in a plate of biscuits for the entire group to share (assuming your group is more than you and your supervisor, and assuming you have some sort of shared workspace) rather than getting anything for your supervisor. From my own experience, I've also seen for example a student who brought in some of their favorite Chinese treats to share - it was a fun cultural exchange and didn't have to relate to the local holiday traditions, just the general custom of celebration. – Bryan Krause Dec 06 '19 at 17:59
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    Don't bring anything valuable. In the UK, gifts have to be declared (rightly so!), and it can create some headaches. Homemade biscuits for the group as in previous comment may be ok. – Captain Emacs Dec 06 '19 at 18:13
  • You could ask if the department is planning on running a “Secret Santa” event where everyone brings a gift worth about a certain value and they’re given out to random people that have participated. – nick012000 Dec 07 '19 at 23:02

1 Answers1

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A card will be sufficient - presents are more common for personal friends.

However, perhaps you might consider a bottle of wine (only if it does not offend on any level)...

Solar Mike
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    British wine? ;-) – Nate Eldredge Dec 06 '19 at 17:37
  • @NateEldredge and why not? It’s getting very good if you know where to look... and back in the 17th C. The French were looking to ban British wine ´cos it was too good then the clinate changed a bit and the French had it easy... – Solar Mike Dec 06 '19 at 17:40
  • Give him a gift from your country; he can already easily get British wine if he wants it. – GEdgar Dec 06 '19 at 17:43