Giving Gift Etiquette

In Serbia, no gifts are exchanged during initial business meetings. Consider gifting after establishing a long-term relationship with a business partner. If you are invited to a home, you may bring flowers for the lady host. You will bring a bottle of drink for your male host, usually rakija or wine - these are the most common. If you know what your host likes to drink, that’s what you’ll bring.

If there are children, you can bring them chocolate or sweets, but nowadays there are more and more conscious parents who don't like giving sugar to their children, so they will prefer to get fruit: voe - banane, jabuke, mandarine, or any other type of fruit. Fruit is another common gift given to a sick friend by Serbians. If you're going to see an ailing friend, bring a lot of fruit with you. If you're visiting elderly people, such as grandmas and grandpas, you can bring ratluk, a soft jelly confection dusted with powdered sugar and flavored, in addition to coffee and chocolate.