I think specialty chocolates like Godiva and maybe a silk scarf or pashmina would be welcome gifts and somewhat easy to pack.

When my daughter's did this, we bought gifts that represented the town. We live in an historical sea side town and a local pharmacy has local gifts such as an historical book on the town, mugs with the high school on it, a tile that can be used as a hotplate etc. All nicely done by local artists, not kitchy,

Other than actual bourbon, are there other easily traveled products made with bourbon, like hard candies or cookies?

Ruth Hunt Bourbon Balls?

Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, homemade. And when they're baking and puffed up a bit, take the pan out and carefully "slam" it on the counter to make the cookies drop. That will give you chewy cookies.

I always travel light with just a carry-on unless it is a ski trip. The family will have a laundry system so clothing may be laundered half way through her holiday. As far as gifts I always use to bring maple syrup to foreign hosts but that too is now banned. I think chocolates are a great thought.

When students have stayed with us, we appreciated their gifts. The Dutch boy brought a lovely slim book on Holland and a grantedly souvenir type of thing--a little wooden shoe that holds a clothes brush similarly painted, windmill and all--but it hangs in our mudroom and we use it. A French boy brought a bottle of wine, but it's from the year France hosted the World Cup, so the bottle is the Eiffel Tower on a soccer ball. We've never opened it, and it reigns over our dining room. He also brought a couple of small items from his family's restaurant. The other French boy's mom worked for a high end clothing designer and brought two adorable outfits for our boys (who were 4 and in utero at the time).

All this to say, bring something local or something useful, and they will remember your daughter forever.

As to packing, well, my son is spending about 5 weeks traveling in Europe and Africa with a small rolling carryon and a backpack (which he packed in the suitcase). I hope he finds a laundromat. DH and I spent two weeks on Europe with rolling carryons (they were just at the limit, size-wise) and it makes life so easy, especially if your dd will have access to laundry.

If she's only doing carry-on, she's not going to have a lot of extra room! I hate to think how smooshed cookies might end up! Maybe a tea towel/dish towel with a print of something that refers to your area? I just bought some beautiful dish towels in Iceland, that's why I'm thinking of it! Candy that wouldn't melt, like hard candy or lollipops? (See's candies has some neat square-shaped lollipops.)

When we adopted ds, it was common to take gifts for the children's caregivers. Crane stationary was often suggested because it is made in the US, easy to transport, and quality paper is expensive in China. Another common suggestion was locally made soap. It's easy to find most places and easy to transport.

I can't imagine flying that far for that long with just a carry-on. But, I always overpack. Sometimes, if a flight is particularly full they'll make slightly larger carry-ons go into the hold (no charge), so whatever advantage unchecked luggage has goes out the window, figuratively.

I'll bet they would dig some local bourbon, a nice change of pace from all that vodka. I took a fifth of Irish whisky on my last trip to Israel in its little Liquor Barn flight bag. I was the most popular person on my floor.

I think something from home is always appropriate. What could be more personal and connecting than food or drink?

Tibb, my cookies always drop on their own, chewy indeed.

No ideas here - what if any, are the items in short supply there, or especially prized? Might be more appreciated than a "souvenir"? Sorry to hijack, but Tib,Thabks! I'll have to try that tip for creating chewy cookies - never knew that!!!

For packing, get those travel space bags where you put clothes inside, close it, and roll it up. Saves a lot of space. Also she can probably buy anything she needs toiletry-wise, and then discard it when she comes home.

grama, my sister taught me that trick. A couple of minutes before they're done, drop it as flat as you can on the counter, then back into the oven.

DH's company has a Russian office, and when the men came to visit, they wanted "meat", so they'd take them out for steak. Maybe you could freeze a couple of steaks and they'll be all ready to cook when she gets there. I'm kidding.

They always brought chocolate as a gift, which wasn't really that good.

Maybe a nice print of a local landmark? If it's small enough you could send it framed, otherwise let them frame it (we have three nice hand-colored prints of Vienna from Austrian friends for our wedding that we framed) or perhaps something from a local artist?

My husbands family lives in Moscow, most homes are small and shared by many, so depending on where they live, they may not have easy access to laundry but they do have malls, so buying clothes if she runs out would be fairly simple. If you are doing a family gift, I would suggest a nice photo book of hollywood, the beaches, the mountains or New York. If there are kids anything disney. My SIL comes to visit now and then, shops the entire time to get clothes for her daughter, a quilt for her bed and electronics for her DH; but the rest of the family always asks about hollywood and disney.

Thank you all for the ideas, I knew you'd be the ladies to ask. I feel better now with a list of options. I really like the tea towel idea because they will pack easily, they are useful, and I just love the ones I have myself. Let the search begin!

Thanks for the follow-up post. I always like to hear the rest of the story! :-)