Since Thanksgiving and Black Friday are almost upon us, I decided to compile a list of the greatest ideas to get that travel-loving person in your life for Christmas (or maybe come up with some ideas for yourself). When I tell people I love traveling, they assume I automatically need really exotic or expensive gifts, which is definitely not true. In fact, traveling helps me understand the importance of items that are thrifty and offbeat. There are several ways to shop for someone who loves traveling without destroying your budget and still getting them something they will treasure.
1. Try the World Subscription
Was this on my Christmas list? Yes. Am I getting this for someone else for Christmas? Yes. I am so obsessed with this idea. After purchase a Try the World subscription, they send you a new box every two months filled with foods from a new place. It's like traveling from home, and eating food at the same time. It just can't get any better.
2. Scratch-Off Map
I bought one of these from Urban Outfitters awhile ago, and they are super awesome for tracking your traveling progress and seeing the world laid out before you in your home. It inspires new ideas, and shows off where you've been. Get it here ($24-34).
3. Travel Decor
I have to keep myself from buying more globes on a regular basis. But you can find travel decor for just about anyone. Lamps? Pillows? This Eiffel Tower marquee light? The possibilities are endless.
4. Scrapbook/Shadow Box
If you like being creative with your gifts, making a scrapbook or decorative shadow box to remember and display past travels is the perfect gift for a traveler. I have a scrapbook half-finished right now, and it's so fun to have a unique way to display your travels to others (and explain to your grandma who has never been out of the country and doesn't know how to use a smartphone what a faraway country looks like). These memories can be displayed throughout someone's home as a decorative piece to remember their travels.
5. Books/Movies About Traveling
Sometimes I read books or watch movies just for the experience of the setting or the use of a different language. Getting someone a book or movie that allows them to relive the feeling of traveling is an awesome and inexpensive gift.
6. Travel Prints
From watercolor skylines to gold prints of landmarks and maps, framing travel prints is a great (and relatively inexpensive) decorative piece for that one wall that feels awkwardly empty. Etsy is a great place to find prints from different artists, and there are often customizable options for prints.
7. Clothing from Different Places
Do I buy shirts that say Paris on them just becasue they say Paris on them? Of course. I don't need some intensely local can-only-get-it-if-you-go-there gift to show off loving some of the places I've been, and my multiple shirts related to traveling show that. Any clothing item you see that shows off a love for a certain place will be well-worn by a traveler.
8. Framed Pictures
Another more personal idea, framing those trip pictures that still haven't been developed is a great gift for a traveler and allows them to remember all of their amazing adventures.
9. Something from Home
I always say that I don't miss home, but when I am traveling there really are times when I miss more than the 7 X 7 square that is my bed. Giving a traveler something unique to where they are from makes missing home a little easier and reminds them of all the people (you!) waiting for them when they get home.