Are you looking for unique Australian gifts to send overseas for Christmas to family and friends?
I’ve been sending Christmas gifts from Australia overseas using Australia Post for decades now and am happy to share my best Australian gift ideas for overseas friends, colleagues and family with you.
I’ve listed my decision making criteria for choosing the best uniquely Australian gifts to send and have included a quick browse chart of the best gifts from Australia with convenient links that you can use to make your Christmas gift shopping experience easier.
I hope this guide helps you find the best Australian products to send overseas that your family and friends will love.
Criteria For Choosing Unique Australian Gifts To Send Overseas
My criteria for choosing the best Australian gifts to send overseas is that the gifts need to be:
- uniquely Australian – a unique souvenir from Australia not available elsewhere in the world
- lightweight – so postage costs do not become more expensive than the gift itself
- useful & practical – so the gift doesn’t become a dust collector or get thrown into a cupboard never to be seen again, and
- match the interests and/or personality of the gift recipient.
My criteria for the best Australian gifts to take overseas if you are travelling overseas this Christmas is similar with the additional criteria of the gift not taking up too much space in your luggage.
Best Australian Gifts Ideas To Send Overseas Chart
Scan this chart to quickly see my list of the best Australian items to send overseas as Christmas gifts based on the criteria listed above. More information is detailed below about each item.
For your convenience this chart of the best Australian gifts for overseas friends and family members includes links you can click on to purchase them to make your Christmas gift shopping that little bit easier this year.
Australian Gifts To Send Overseas For Christmas
Australiana Tea Towels
Australiana tea towels are perfect Australian presents to send overseas for Christmas.
The advantages of gifting Australian tea towels include the fact that tea towels are one of the most lightweight gifts to send overseas and are thus very affordable to post. They are affordable to buy and unique to Australia with beautiful Australiana designs available.
Tea towels are also a practical gift that the recipient will use often and be reminded of their Aussie friend or family member each time they use it.
I love this range of Aussie Tea Towels.
Australian Boardgames
Another of my best Australian gift ideas for overseas is Australian board games. One of the most popular board games Australia wide is Monopoly and the Australian editions of Monopoly are such cool gifts from Australia to send to overseas families.
There is the Monopoly Australia version featuring iconic Aussie locations, quintessential Aussie themed tokens like a meat pie, surfer, BBQ and kookaburra, and Aussie gameboard. I love all the Australian references in the Community Chest and Chance Cards like selling State Of Origin tickets and lamingtons at the school fete.
There are also Monopoly Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Hobart and Wollongong versions available. These are fabulous Australian themed gifts to send overseas. Choosing the version from the city in which you live makes the gift even more personalised and special.
Click HERE now to see all the different Australian city Monopoly editions available.
Australia’s Deadly Animal Bingo is another fun Australian game. It is family friendly and features 64 weird, wonderful and terrifying Australian animals that will fascinate overseas friends and family for hours of play.
Australian Animal Menagerie Game Price HERE is an awesome game for overseas friends enabling them to learn more about Australian animals, their habitats and threats. Suitable for ages 6+ the level of difficulty can be adjusted to suit kids as well as adults.
Aussie Trivia Challenge (suitable for ages 12 years+) and Cooked Aussies, a drinking game suitable for ages 18 years+, are also unique Australian games to consider.
Best Australian Kids Books
Children love reading books and there are so many iconic Australian children’s books to choose to send as unique Christmas gifts for overseas children.
The best Australian children’s books to gift to friends and family overseas in my opinion are the delightful Australian children’s classics such as:
- The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs
- The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall
- The Magic Pudding by Normal Lindsay
- One Woolly Wombat by Kerry Argent
- Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan
- Possum Magic by Mem Fox
- Magic Beach by Alison Lester
- Baby Australian Animals by Frane Lessac
Whether you choose a paperback or hardcover version of the book to send overseas comes down to your personal preference and budget. Paperback books are light gifts to send overseas and thus cheaper to post while hardcover books are beautiful enduring gifts. Wherever possible, for your convenience, I have linked to both the paperback and hardcover versions of the recommended books.
Best Australian Non Fiction Books
Non fiction books about Australia are perfect Australian gifts for overseas adults.
While travel is restricted, books like Australia’s Ultimate Bucket List and Loving Country – A Guide To Sacred Australia, will whet your gift recipient’s desire to travel to Australia once borders reopen.
Overseas males can sometimes be difficult to buy Australian gifts for but I have found them to be fascinated by humorous Australian books and books about Australia’s deadly wildlife.
If your gift recipient loves baking they will love the creative Bake Australia Great cook book which will enable them to make their own kitsch, cute and stylish edible Australiana cakes including a Sydney Opera House Pavlova, Flamin’ Galah Cupcakes, Koala cakes and a spectacular Priscilla Queen Of The Desserts cake. I have actually bought this cookbook not only for overseas friends but for myself too.
- Australia’s Ultimate Bucket List by Jennifer Adams
- Bake Australia Great by Katherine Sabbath
- Loving Country – A Guide To Sacred Australia by Bruce Pascoe & Vicky Shukuroglou
- Mount Buggery To Nowhere Else – The Stories Behind Australia’s Weird and Wonderful Place Names by Eamon Evans
- Australia’s Most Unbelievable True Stories by Jim Haynes
- Australia’s Most Dangerous Animals by Karen McGhee & Kathy Riley
Australian Animal Soft Toys
Australian animal soft toys are wonderful unique Australian gifts for overseas family and friends both children and adults, that they can’t buy overseas.
Australian soft toys are lightweight to post and thanks to our world renowned unique wildlife, they are a totally unique and fun home decor item too. Plus they’re a great conversation starter.
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II has an Australian animal soft toy? She and her dresser have both publicly referred to her Australian Kookaburra soft toy that she has on display in her private living room.
Australian animal toys are especially popular Australian gift ideas for American friends. Americans are fascinated by our Australian animals.
Click HERE to see a selection of Australian plush animals including crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas, platypus and cockatoo.
Best Australian Tea & Mugs
Australian teas are fabulous Australian Christmas gifts to send overseas. They are great light presents to send overseas. Teas are also easy to pack, affordable to buy and depending on the tea you choose, uniquely Australian.
Christmas can be a hectic time and there is nothing better than the gift of relaxation, encouraging the gift recipient to just relax on the couch and savour an exquisite and relaxing cup of tea.
T2 is an iconic Australian tea brand. Melbourne Breakfast Tea is a great Aussie Tea to send overseas and why not add the Iconic Melbourne Mug With Infuser to the gift, featuring Melbourne trams, Melbourne Luna Park and Flinders Street Station, especially if you live in Melbourne or the gift recipient has visited Melbourne.
Alternatively if you live in Sydney you could gift some Sydney tea in a reusable Sydney tin and the T2 iconic Sydney breakfast mug with infuser featuring the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Ferries and more.
T2 also have amazing tea advent calendars which make great gifts too.
Best Australian Chocolate
Cadbury Furry Friends are iconic Australian treats to send overseas. These little chocolate bars are loved by kids everywhere with their cute and unique Australian native animal wrappings and delicious Cadbury milk chocolate.
Weighing 20g per bar they are one of the lightest Australian chocolate bars to send overseas. By sending a box of 72 of these delicious Australian treats overseas your friends can enjoy them over a longer timeframe or share them with their friends. These bars will also educate your overseas friends’ kids about Australian animals.
You can buy these chocolates from your local supermarket or you can click HERE now to buy them online.
Other favourite Aussie treats to send overseas are Cadbury Caramello Koalas. Cadbury Caramello
Koalas contain gooey caramel encased in thick milk chocolate and are absolutely delicious.
This is one of the best Australian gift ideas for American friends with kids as Americans adore our cute koalas.
These chocolates are readily available in your local supermarket or you can click HERE now to buy a 36 pack of Caramello Koalas online.
Australian UGG Boots, Slides & Slippers
Other iconic Aussie gifts to send overseas are UGG boots, UGG slides and UGG slippers.
UGG boots in particular are mega popular overseas where they are often worn by movie stars on film sets and when out and about.
As it is Winter in the Northern hemisphere at Christmas time UGGs are perfect for sending overseas to countries such as England for Christmas.
UGG boots are Aussie made with sheepskin lining and a beautiful suede finish. They are comfortable to wear and durable, and come in a selection of colours in men’s, women’s and children’s styles. They are also relatively lightweight so posting them won’t be too expensive.
UGG boots are one of my favourite gifts to send overseas from Australia. They are always excitedly received and appreciated.
Click HERE to check out all the varieties of UGG currently available.
Australian Soap
The Australian bush has unique and distinctive scents not found anywhere else in the world such as eucalyptus and lemon myrtle. One of my favourite Australian gift ideas to send overseas as an additional little gift to family and friends is Australian scented soaps. By sending some Australian scented soaps overseas you are not only sending a useful and practical gift, which is also compact and lightweight, but also a bit of Australian ambiance to your overseas family or friends.
Click HERE now to buy Australian natural eucalyptus and lemon myrtle soaps.
I hope the above buying guide full of Australian gifts for overseas ideas has provided you with the inspiration you need to complete your Christmas shopping for overseas friends and family this year.
After all this shopping for family and friends you deserve a treat yourself too. Why not indulge and treat yourself to an alcohol advent calendar (I’ve bought a gin advent calendar for myself) or otherwise a pampering beauty advent calendar would be an amazing self treat too!
Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas.
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Ingrid is a lover of all things Christmas who has been helping make Christmas time easier and less stressful for her family and friends all her life with Christmas tips, Christmas gift suggestions, Christmas recipe inspiration and Christmas event planning.
Ingrid now shares all this Christmas information here on her Christmas Time Made Easy website. She also shares information about the best Christmas events and activities happening in her home town of Sydney, Australia.