November 23, 2001, Newsletter Issue #53: Travel Gift Ideas
Tip of the Week
* If you have someone planning a trip to a major city, purchase a guidebook to that city or a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant there.
* Theatre or art exhibit packages
* An "Entertainment" book for a visiting city or even for your hometown.
* A travel diary
* If you travel a lot, give a homemade certificate for travel using your accumulated frequent flyer miles
* A pre-paid calling card
* Personalized luggage tags
* A monogrammed passport wallet
* Currency converter
* A travel clock or dual-time-zone watch
* A frame
* A gift certificate -- most travel agencies will sell gift certificates in any amount towards their services within a year of purchase. This is a great way for a number of people, like siblings, to go together on a gift. (Use an established agency, and use a credit card.)
* Don`t forget "presentation"- I gave my 9-year old niece a ticket to Orlando for an Aunt/Niece trip. Knowing that unwrapping an envelope is no fun, I put the ticket in a roller-board suitcase, then wrapped that. So, besides having lasting memories of a wonderful trip, she has a suitcase that will last for years!
* Wheels...once you have some you`ll never go without
* Starbuck`s gift certificates....they`re in almost every airport.
GIFTS FOR THE "ARMCHAIR TRAVELER"
Subscriptions- National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel and Leisure, & Smithsonian are just a few of the many quality magazines out there.
Candy/delicacies/exportable food products...chocolate from Switzerland/Belgium/Holland....saffron from Spain...Scotch whiskeys...pineapples shipped from the fields of Hawaii... English teas...(make sure you have an understanding of what US Customs will allow into the US- no turtle soup!)
Anything "fine"- crystal, silver, antique or sentimental - from their home country.
Most large record stores (Tower/Virgin/Blockbuster) have imported music sections where you can find the most esoteric selections...Gregorian chants to sea chanties, with folk and orchestras thrown in from around the globe.
Tickets to driveable ethnic or folk celebrations, festivals or demonstrations.
Novels that remove the reader to another place or time...suggested authors: James Michener (historical, multigenerational), Maeve Binchy (English, romance oriented), or Edward Rutherford (especially "Sarum" about England, or "Russka" about Russia) Racier, but with valuable cultural insights: "The Journeyer," by Gary Jennings--not for children--about the "untold adventures" of Marco Polo.
TRAVEL GIFTS FOR CHILDREN:
* A globe or map game to strengthen geography skills
* Subscription to National Geographic`s children`s edition
* Computer programs that feature foreign adventures
* A collection of stamps from around the world
* A flag and map of where their ancestors came from, then tell them the story of your family`s history.
* Ask your local travel agency to donate or order beautiful destination posters, which are free to them.
* Find a pen-pal of an appropriate age through the internet
* If your child is old enough to read, rent a foreign kid`s movie with subtitles.
* Take your children to Chinese/Italian/Mexican/Japanese restaurants...teach that cultural diversity if wonderful!
* If you can afford to give travel as a gift, read this tip:
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Lost kids-protection
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When I took my little niece to Disneyworld, I took a polaroid picture of each of us (separately) right before we left, then trimmed the pictures to fit into plastic luggage tags, to which I added a clip-on. I told her that if we get separated, to go to a security guard or other employee, and have them take her to the lost-children area. I then told her to show them my picture and not to release her to anyone else but me. I had her picture with me for easy identification. We could wear our ID at the waistband of our shorts under our shirts so they were not visible. She felt a little silly, but secure knowing IŽd get her.
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My Recommended Site of the Week
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Orvis
http://www.orvis.com
For high quality semi-extravagant travel gifts: clothes, luggage, gimmicks.
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