Search for the perfect gift

Gift giving is an important part of Japanese culture. I needed to find a small gift for when I arrive to give to my host family and a more substantial gift for the family when I leave. I don't know why but this has been so difficult for me, maybe the most difficult in all my preparations for the trip. I wanted to find something thoughtful, possibly representative of my community, and uniquely American. To make matters a bit more challenging I don't know the makeup of my family. I only have the name of my host mom. She may be married and/or have children. And I'm not totally sure what things are uniquely American which could be another whole conversation. I ended up with a number of items and finally told myself I have to be done; I have nice gifts and I have to stop obsessing about this. I have purchased the following items:

• Funks Grove maple syrup
• Canister of Beer Nuts
• Candle
• Set of kitchen towels
• Hand soap from Bath & Body Works
• Candy
• St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap
• Stationary set
• Some kind of string toy thing

Yeah, I think I have enough gifts.