What is a good Christmas present for someone who is going to the Middle East soon?
Asked by
Haleth (
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December 15th, 2009
My sister is in the military and in a month or two she’ll be deploying to Qatar. She seems excited to go and from what I gather the work she’ll be doing will be pretty safe. I’m trying to think of a gift that will be uniquely useful for her when she goes over there and doesn’t take up too much space, because I’m sure she won’t be able to pack much. One of my friends has been over there and says that there are nice beaches, fun nightlife, and lots of expats. I’m hoping she’ll have some time to get out and have fun while she’s there, because she’s really party-hearty. I’m thinking of getting her an infinity dress, a dress that wraps different ways for different looks, because I doubt she’ll have much space to pack a lot of different clothes. My other idea is getting her a lonely planet book or a travel guide. I’m guessing she’ll get trained in Arabic and proper etiquette, so I’m hoping to find something that will tell her how to get around or give some more informal information. Do you guys have any other ideas, insights into Qatar, or military experience? What would you want? Thanks!
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24 Answers
How long will she be over there? Maybe get her an iPhone or Blackberry to make it easier to communicate. Obviously, I have no idea how much you want to spend…
I like the “infinity dress” idea (but maybe include a little pamphlet of all the ways it could be wrapped—if it were me the dress would be useless without one, I’m hopeless with that kind of thing), but I don’t like the travel guide idea. She’ll have training and people around her, a community—the travel guide might just be redundant.
Another idea could be a grab bag of Western-type items she especially likes that aren’t available over there. Like if she has a favourite toothpaste, etc.
music always helps dvd something to remind them of home my husband has a pic of me and my son in his front pocket on his deployments.
music always helps dvd something to remind them of home my husband has a pic of me and my son in his front pocket on his deployments.
Not all that unique, but, whatever you get, toss in a lovely framed picture of the fam in there. I know that if it were me, that’s one thing that I’d want.
Something for self defense.
When those horny boys try to take advantage of her.
A neat bathing suit? Qatar is the appendix of Arabia. There should be good beaches.
@Jacket That’s what I heard. That’s a nice idea, or maybe some cool sunglasses or other beachy stuff.
Do the evenings get cool? Maybe a fleece jacket or a pashmina shawl? A shawl might be nice anyway if there are places she has to cover bare shoulders, i.e., mosques.
@janbb I’m not sure she should be going into mosques anyway.
@Jacket It just doesn’t seem appropriate to me. Unless you are Muslim and going there to worship, or have been invited there by a Muslim, I don’t think you should be in a mosque. And her being there as an American soldier further complicates the issue. I know many people see the American presence in the Middle East as occupation, so for a foreign occupier to enter a building of worship sounds like an insult to me. But I’m not Muslim nor am I from or in the Middle East, nor am I American or a soldier: I’m just saying what I suspect as a total outsider.
@nicobanks I wondered about the protocol of that myself and don’t really know, but my main point is that there may be places where she would need to cover up, just like going into a church in Italy.
@janbb Yes, that’s a good point.
I used to live in Dubai which is realli close to Qatar, and well, i am currently away from my family too… my brothers got me a charm bracelet, just so that i can always remember them no matter what i am doing or where i am…
Good Luck
@janbb Last time I was in the Persian Gulf, the coldest it got was 93 degrees and that was in the fall/winter. Of course, that was on the water; it might get cooler inland.
Spend time with her as much as you can?
Nix the dress. Women in the Middle East need to be covered up. Even Americans.
@jerv I don’t think there’s much inland in Qatar. It looks like a tiny peninsula.
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