Companies and friends

Going away book for a year abroad: a piece of home in the suitcase

A going away book for a year abroad sends someone off with everything their class, team and friends want to tell them: as in a Freundebuch, the German book in which friends each fill in a page, everyone gets their own double-page spread with two photos and answers, printed as a hardcover. It is a shared book rather than a book just for the person leaving: everyone in it can get a copy, and the minimum order is 10 books. It suits a school exchange, an au pair year or work and travel. A book costs €24.90 including design, printing and shipping, and the books arrive 5 to 7 working days after the last answers and payments.

The book, the questionnaire and our WhatsApp support are in German. Other languages and shipping to other countries on request.

What goes into a going away book?

Every spread is a message to the person who is leaving. Each spread also has a name, a signature and four short details with icons. We adapt the title and questions to your group. For a Mila who is off to New Zealand, the questionnaire might include these prompts:

• What must go in your suitcase
• What you will miss
• My tip for homesickness
• What you will bring back for me
• What will happen here while you are away
• Read this when you feel homesick

“Read this when you feel homesick” is one of the four questions with a wide line for an answer of about one sentence, because the book will be read during the year abroad or after coming home. You will find more ideas on what to write in our friendship book questions.

The pages for everyone staying at home

Everyone who wrote in the book is on the cover: the photos are cut out and combined into one cover image. You choose the background, for example your town or the destination. Inside, you also get:

• a group photo
• four awards, for which everyone nominates someone from the group back home, such as “sends the most messages” or “picks you up from the airport”
• a double-page spread for special moments
• two double-page spreads for signatures and messages
• at least 4 blank double-page spreads for new friends and the host family to write in abroad

The book is a landscape A5 hardcover on 170 g/m² paper that you can write on with a ballpoint pen. The cover says “Abschiedsbuch” (farewell book) or a title of your own, such as “Mila in Neuseeland” (Mila in New Zealand).

A shared book: everyone keeps the same memento

A Flashbook is a shared book. It holds 8 to 42 people, everyone in it can get a copy, and the minimum order is 10 books. It isn't meant to be a single copy just for the person who is leaving. For other quantities and special requests, just send us an enquiry.

For a year abroad that works well: the person leaving takes their book along, and the class, team or family keep the same book at home. Not everyone in the book has to buy one.

It is not the right choice if only a few people are writing or you definitely only want a single book. Other options are covered in Make your own friendship book or have one made?

For school exchanges, au pairs and work and travel

School exchange. Usually the class writes, often joined by the sports team or the band. Many of them are still under 18. Photos and answers are only used for the book; find out more under children's photos and data protection.

Au pair and work and travel. Here friends, family and perhaps colleagues from a part-time job write in the book.

The other way round: a goodbye gift for an exchange student. If someone is going home after a year in Germany, turn the questions around: “what you are taking with you from Germany” instead of “what must go in your suitcase”.

For a group of friends without a trip, there is the friendship book for adults.

Going away book for a year abroad: how it works

One person needs to organise it. If the book is meant to go in the suitcase, plan backwards from the departure date and start a few weeks beforehand. Whether it arrives by then depends on how quickly everyone answers and pays; there is no fixed delivery date.

1. Enquiring takes 2 minutes. You then get the link via WhatsApp.
2. You share the link in a group without the person who is leaving. Everyone answers the questions on their phone in about 5 minutes and uploads two photos. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays you get an overview via WhatsApp of who is still missing.
3. Once all the answers are in and all the books are paid for, we design and print. The books reach you 5 to 7 working days later.

How much does a going away book cost?

A book costs €24.90 including design, printing and shipping to Germany and Austria. The lower prices apply when several groups order together.

1 to 2 groups

€24.90

from 3 groups

€22.90

from 5 groups

€19.90

Everyone pays for their book by payment link, or one person pays for everyone by invoice within 14 days. Nobody has to pay up front. Because each book is designed individually, orders cannot be cancelled.

Frequently asked questions about the going away book

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