12 Perfect New England Gifts for the Homesick Yankee
Know someone who’s missing home? From classic foods to “made in New England” essentials, this collection of New England gifts will ease the pain.
By Aimee Tucker|Jun 17 2022|
New England hot dog buns | 12 Perfect New England Gifts for the Homesick Yankee
Photo Credit: Aimee TuckerHere at Yankee and NewEngland.com, we often hear from homesick New Englanders. Sometimes they’ve been living in another state or country for decades, sometimes for only a few months, but the sentiment is always the same. New England — with its rocky coastline, majestic mountains, quiet corners, and hardworking small towns — is the kind of place that sticks in the soul. Our former New Englanders write letters to us about how a story in Yankee magazine has conjured up a special memory, they reply to posts on Yankee’s Facebook page describing the places and dishes they miss the most, and they comment on our Instagram photos. Do you know a homesick Yankee? Are you one yourself? We’ve put together a list of distinctive New England gifts that we think will help. We tried hard to think of things that have a special connection to New England or can only be found within our six beautiful states (which explains why there’s no Tom Brady jersey or Good Will Hunting DVD).
Have a look and be sure to let us know what you’d add to the list!
12 Perfect New England Gifts for the Homesick Yankee
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Marshmallow Fluff
Sending a fluffernutter sandwich by mail would be too messy, but a jar of Marshmallow Fluff is just right. The Massachusetts-made marshmallow creme has been a New England childhood favorite since 1917. Your loved one can either spread it with peanut butter on white sandwich bread or use it to make a batch of whoopie pies. Both get our seal of approval.
Seafood By Mail
Know someone who is craving lobster, steamers, or mussels? It may be a bit of a splurge, but there is a light at the end of their sad seafood tunnel (and we think it’s totally worth it). Many New England–based companies and restaurants will ship fresh lobsters, oysters, mussels, chowder, and even lobster roll kits and complete lobster dinners (including dessert) directly to your door. Try Legal Sea Foods, Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, Cousins Maine Lobster, and Island Creek Oysters for fast, fresh seafood home delivery.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Regional Ice Cream
New England’s regional ice cream flavors are all delicious, but the only problem with falling in love with them is having to live without them if you move away. Herrell’s Ice Cream in Northampton, Massachusetts, sells coffee ice cream and other classic regional flavors online, so you can ship a few pints to anyone, anywhere.
Beach Sand
Whether it’s from Cape Cod, Acadia National Park, Block Island, or the shores of Lake Champlain, collecting a bit of beach sand is an easy way to deliver a handful of home — especially when presented in a pretty antique vial or made into wearable art.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
B&M Brown Bread
Nothing says New England like a Saturday-night dish of franks and baked beans served with brown bread. Baked and sold in a can, B&M Brown Bread is one of the items that homesick New Englanders on our Facebook page seem to miss the most. If you’re never tried it, we promise that it tastes better than it looks!
Moxie Soda
Does it taste like home or does it taste like medicine? True, it’s not for everyone (even here in New England), but experiencing the bold and distinct flavor of Moxie soda is a New England rite of passage.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Quintessential Cookbooks
If your homesick New Englander is comfortable in the kitchen, how about sending them a New England culinary classic such as The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (any edition will do), Maine retro favorite Cooking Down East by Marjorie Standish (snag a midcentury edition on eBay if you can), or the more modern but no less comforting New England Home Cooking by Brooke Dojny or The Vermont Country Store Cookbook by Ellen Ecker Ogden and Andrea Diehl? Nothing can heal the homesick heart like a bowl of hot chowder or slice of wild Maine blueberry pie.
Wearable New England
Give your loved one some wearable hometown pride with something made in New England that they can slip on or carry. For the classics, we suggest a cozy flannel shirt from Johnson Woolen Mills in Vermont, a crisp dress shirt from the New England Shirt Company in Massachusetts, a nautical leather belt from Leather Man Ltd. in Connecticut, or (probably the most famous of all) a pair of sturdy Bean Boots or a colorful Boat and Tote from L.L. Bean in Maine. The virtual shelves of Etsy are also overflowing with thoughtful and creative New England–made gifts.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
The “Right” Hot Dog Buns
Another Yankee Facebook page favorite, the New England hot dog bun — split down the top rather than along the side — is an edible reminder of home whose absence is especially mourned during the summer, when backyard barbecues and DIY lobster rolls are at their peak.
Anything Dunkin’ Donuts
Founded in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950, Dunkin’ Donuts is a New England coffee-and-doughnuts institution. In recent decades, the chain has expanded throughout the world, but believe it or not, there are a handful of states (like Oregon and Alaska) without a single Dunkin’ Donuts (that we could find — let us know if we’re wrong!) and some with so few you’d have to drive for hours to find one. Know someone currently not “running on Dunkin’” who wishes they were? Send them a Munchkins care package, bag of coffee, or travel mug to help ease their withdrawal.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Autumn Leaves
A few years ago, Ship Foliage made a splash with its “New England Maple Leaves by Mail” service that (you guessed it) shipped out fresh autumn leaves to fall-foliage-strapped friends and family. Eliminate the middle man and send your own autumn New England gift baskets or care packages stuffed with leaves. For best results, follow our tips for preserving leaves to have them looking their best for years to come.
Yankee Magazine
What can we say? In our humble opinion, there’s nothing like the pages of Yankee to satisfy the homesick New Englander. Whether it’s stories about memorable New Englanders, in-depth travel features, or the perfect seasonal recipe, we deliver the best of New England, making a Yankee subscription the New England gift that truly keeps on giving.
Are you a homesick New Englander? Know someone who is? What New England gifts would you add to the list? Let us know!
This post was first published in 2017 and has been updated.
SEE MORE:
75 Classic New England Foods
6 Favorite New England Sandwiches
Memorable New England Film Locations
The thing I miss the most in my 30+ years away are the lilacs in Spring. They can’t grow here in South Georgia, it’s too hot. What I wouldn’t give to smell one again!
get a candle from KRINGLE candle,bernardston,ma, or YANKEE candle, deerfield, ma. lilac candles and other lilac scentmakers are juse like the real thing.
Where is the Indian Pudding? I live in south Florida and have my family either send it or bring it when they visit.
That was my dad’s favorite, he always loved it at a restaurant in Ipswich, MA. I think it was called the Village?
What about red hotdogs??!!
https://www.beansmeats.com source to online order red hot dogs. 🙂 You’re welcome.
I grew up in Tiverton, RI and have been away for more than 30 yrs. What I wouldn’t give for just the smell of a simmering New England Clamboil……steamers, potatoes, onions, chourico, sausage, corn on the cob and a lobster on top. A dream come true !!
Ohhhh……..forgot to mention the hot dogs in the clamboil…….best ever !!
Cain’s mayonaise could not live with out it! Miss the milk cracker’s!
Love all the gift suggestions! I especially miss the seafood! I currently live in Texas and even though they can fly it in from New England, it just isn’t the same. Also, I love Fluffernutter sandwiches! Grew up on them as well as brown bread.
I was born and raised in Maine but live in Australia now. I would love any one of those gifts! Good choices.
I lived in Georgia for 18 years and I missed Cain’s Mayonnaise, Nissan Canadian Brown Bread and Bell’s Seasoning. I had no problem finding Fluff as that is a common ingredients in fudge recipes. Also, no problem finding B&M beans and bread. Yes, Monique, lilac was also missed. We lived in the Northwest Georgia Mountains and it wouldn’t grow there either.
Over the years, I’ve found New England staples infiltrating new territories as I’ve lived from as far west as Alaska and as far south as North Carolina. You just have to look closely. Here in West Virginia, Fluff and black raspberry ice cream (sometimes adulterated with chocolate chips, sometimes not) are more common than previously. And Dunkin’ Donuts now has 3 locations within 10 miles of me. Now if we could start convincing locals of the wonderfulness of chorico, I wouldn’t have to bring a freezerfull of it every time I go back to Providence.
Just a comment… There is no such thing as a former New Englander. If you’re a New Englander, you’re one for life. Just like you’re always a Marine, a career Military person retired or not, a Texas Aggie, etc. Once a Yankee, always a Yankee. My husband was a career Military officer (which is why we now live in Texas), and although retired, he’s still a colonel. We’ve been in South Texas 43 years but I’m still a New Englander and identify as such. Every issue of Yankee brings back so many memories. We can get live lobster at an upscale grocery store for about $12/pound, as well as steamer clams (at a horrendous price). When I make clam chowder, it’s with the canned ones. I miss the fall the most with the changing leaves and the smell of the burning ones, crisp air and a smell that’s uniquely New England.
I agree with everything except the “beachsand”. We are always told to “Take nothing and leave only footprints “.
25 years this month since I left MA for Colorado. Colorado is a wonderful place…mountains and plains, no blackflies, and no 128 traffic jams! But you take the boy out of New England but cannot take the New England out of the boy. I pine for the summer days spent on the sailboat or the fall hikes through the beautiful forests!
Virginia has one Dunkin’ Donuts. I looked far and wide to find it. It’s located on one of the truck stops on I 85 south.
I loved the suggestions. Some would be welcomed in PA. Got me to thinkin I just might think of some different things for my Southern friends.
I MISS LOBESTER ROLLS, FRIED CLAMS, SPENCER, MA.
I throughly agree with this Cain’s mayonnaise! I keep “adequate quantities” of it in my home 365 days a year and manage to buy it at sale prices and stock up on it. I find it indispensable with “my homemade lobster rolls”, made with “copious quantities” of this delightful product. Before I met my husband I used Hellmanns’s, which is “gloppy” and has preservatives. Cain’s is nice and smooth and preserved naturally with vinegar.
How could you leave out maple syrup and MacIntosh apples???!!
FRIED CLAMS!!!!!
Lilac’s in spring
Yankee food I can cook here in TExas but I miss the hills and mountains, the lakes and the people, the shoreline and the cool lovely Summers. I just miss it all.
Coffee milk was a special treat growing up in Massachusetts….
I am from NH originally and loved in Maine for 30 years. Jobs took me around and we ended up in Memphis. I too miss lilacs, fried clams, Moxie, lobster and crab meat. I did find a mayo better than Cain’s, in my opinion. It is Duke’s, made in Richmond, VA and sold in the south. What I miss most are Yankee people.
Miss the weiners.. and chello’s steak sandwich..
All of this sounds good to me and I’m Southern,if I wasn’t from the south my second home would be New England,love everything about it.
What about Cains Mayonnaise. The absolute best. Really miss it.
Love these ideas, but there is a little mistake in the Dunkin’ Donut section. There IS a Dunkin’ Donuts in West Virginia. It’s in Morgantown. I’ve stopped there many times myself recently.
Hi Nancy! Thanks for the update! The Dunkin’ Donuts website now lists one DD location in West Virgina, but it’s in Sutton. Google, on the other hand, shows two Dunkin’ locations in Morgantown! Either way, we’ll remove West Virginia from our list of “no DD” states. 🙂
Since I moved South, my family regularly brings me maple products and Fluff. But I truly miss Lilacs in the Spring!
Oh yes! There is nothing like that fresh smell….
I’ve been away for 30 years now, but my heart is still in Maine–my home state. I miss Bell’s seasoning–I can’t find it out here in Oklahoma!
Walmart carries Bell Seasoning. I finally found it in Illinois. You can order from Walmart as well.
Actually, Utah now has two Dunkin’ Donuts: one in Ogden and one in Salt Lake City.
Hi Jack! Thanks for the update! We originally built our list using the Dunkin’ Donuts website, which still lists zero DD location in Utah, but Google (and you) tell a different story, so we’ll update our list.
I am enjoying all the reminders of things I miss. Years ago while living in Indonesia, my husband was in the diplomatic corps, my mother sent fall leaves to me. My cook asked if she had painted them!
Sledding down Bragdons hill at midnight in Amherst ,N.H.
Moved from Portland, ME in 1974 as a 17 year old. Have only been back once, in 1976. I get Fluff here in Tucson, AZ at Cost Plus World Market and Basha’s. My grandson loves a spoonful in his hot chocolate. Clam cakes at Old Orchard Beach. My brother looked up the manufacturer on the fritter batter to see about ordering a case, but never ordered it. Italian sandwiches from Amato’s. The rolls they use, unlike any rolls here. A spongier dough that hold all the oil and vinegar. And lilacs! We had 2 lilac bushes at our house. When my stepmom cut them and brought them in the house, the smell was amazing! I saw lilacs in downtown San Diego one time when I lived there. They might be able to grow in the mountains of Northern Arizona, where it snows. But I do not miss shoveling snow!
I miss New Hampshire and Greenfield MA where I grew up. Washington State is beautiful but will never be home to me. For the people missing Bell’s Seasoning, it may be available at Safeway Stores. Also, Indian pudding is easy to make.
As one person mentioned, you are forever a New Englander. I lived in multiple New England states and loved the sites and sounds and smells of each. Now I am in Florida and truly miss the ocean off NH and the mountains, the views, the overlooks, the food, the people, the history, Boston, Portland, the Berkshires, Watch Hill, Killington. Thanks Yankee!
I have been gone from living in New England for 54 years and still miss half of those things. In VA we have foliage but not the sugar maples for red color. Also good lobster, fried clams (clam strips??? be serious!!), scallops, etc. Being born and raised in New England is like being born into the Red Sox Nation (some times they are one and the same) — you never get away from it……….it’s a lifelong treasure!!
With internet shopping, I can find many items, but it is with special love that my family sends me “NH Care Packages” which include the staples: Marshmallow fluff, B&M Brown Bread, Moxie, navy pea beans, REAL maple syrup and my favorite treat–Maple Sugar Candy!!! (Yup, you can take the gurl outta New Hampsha, but you can’t take New Hampsha outta the gurl! lol!)
Amen, sistah! Born in Portsmouth, lived in Hampton til my dad got a job at IBM and we were sentences to move to the Southern Tier region of New York. Still stuck here 50 years later. Miss home every day. ❤️
I’m a New Englander living in “extended exile” in Springfield, Illinois. I manage to make it back for visits to see family, most of whom still live in the region (most recently this past holiday season), but can’t wait until the day when I can return for good. Some of the things mentioned I can get here, such as Marshmallow Fluff, coffee ice cream, brown bread, NE-style hot dog rolls and Dunkin’ Donuts. I like some better than others, but all of the items mentioned, I can find here. And of course, I subscribe to Yankee and love Weekends with Yankee. Now if I could just find whole-belly fried clams here. There’s no shortage of places offering clam strips, and they’ll do in a pinch, but I miss the whole clam. No one out here in Lincoln Land knows what I’m talking about when I mention whole-belly clams! They don’t know what they’re missing!
On visits ‘back home’ with my husband, he can fit ‘4 meals of whole belly clams’ into one week. He’s tried to make it 5, but enough is enough….
Through a quirk of fate, I and three yankee siblings ended up in Wisconsin. We challenge each other to find the goods on this fun list. Oddly enough, right now I have most of them in my pantry, along with Devil Dogs, boiled cider and Maine wild blueberries! Does it count that I named my black cat Moxie? Finally, as someone else mentioned, freshly-pressed cider made with 100% Macintosh apples is the best. And sadly, about the only thing I haven’t been able to source here in the heartland.
I spent decades – summers – in The Lakes Region/NH – and went to boarding school in western Massachusetts. Sooo – I consider myself a New Englander.
My local grocery store chain – Kroger- did have the split top hot dog rolls until about a year and a half ago … I was almost in tears. They do carry Pepperidge Farm split top (but they are a tad outside my budget).
To me – a lobstah roll (chicken or tuna salad) is NOT proper unless it’s served on a split top !!
Fried Clams, my dad owned a restaurant near the beach in MA and was brought up on fresh NE fish. We live in NC now, have a Dunkin nearby, can buy Marshmallow Fluff, no Cain
I know the feeling, l lived about 10 minutes from Downtown Plymouth Ma. fresh seafood all the time and nothing like whole belly clams, Fluff and the southshore bar style pizza. live in NC now for past 3 yrs and well dont have to tell you how much l miss the seafood and other food items from New England
God bless New England. I live in the Berkshires, beautiful, cultural, friendly.
So enjoyed the comments. Here in CT I can enjoy all the New England goodies.
Whole Belly Fried Clams!!!!