Send-off gifts for someone relocating abroad

What makes a good send-off gift

Someone who is moving abroad is already fighting with their baggage allowance. A heavy or bulky present, however kind, is something they will have to leave behind or pay to take. Before you buy, ask yourself three questions:

• Will it fit in a hand luggage bag without taking much space?
• Will they use it in the first months, not only keep it?
• Does it have something of them, or of home, in it?

A gift that passes all three is hard to get wrong.

Something for the trip itself

A personalised passport cover is a gift they start using at the airport on the day they leave. You choose the colour, three gold charms and their name, which can be pressed into the cover or stamped on a small leather name strip. It goes with them on every trip home after that, and it makes their passport easy to find in a bag full of documents.

If they will be flying with a power bank or other electronics, our guide to hand luggage at Accra International Airport explains what goes in the cabin.

Charms that suit a send-off

Each charm tends to mean something to the people who choose it. For someone moving abroad, these are the ones people pick most:

• Compass for finding your way. People often choose it for a first big move abroad.
• Airplane for someone who will be on a flight home every chance they get.
• Globe for someone who wants to see the whole world, one stamp at a time.
• Love from a partner, or from a family that will miss them.

Our guide to what each charm means has the full list and some sets of three.

Something from home

• Printed photos of family and friends, small enough to slip into a book or a wallet.
• A letter or a card that they open when they arrive. It means more in the first lonely week than on the day you hand it over.
• A voice note or a short video from the people who could not come to the send-off.
• Sealed, shop-bought snacks from home, if they have room. Many countries limit what food travellers can bring in, so let them check their destination's rules before they pack it.

Something for the first weeks

If they are getting a new phone, or their old one needs it, a case with a screen protector is a useful gift for a new start. Our kickstand cases with MagSafe are made for the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and every case comes with a free screen protector.

When to order

If they have already left, we deliver abroad too, in about 7 to 14 working days. At checkout, enter their name and address as the delivery details. For anyone still in Ghana, delivery takes 2 to 4 working days.

What to write in the card

Keep it short and specific. Say what you will miss about them, one thing you are proud of, and when you expect to see them next. "Come back with stories" or "Call your mother" will make them laugh at the airport, and that helps.