Annual Gift Guide for Travelers {2020-2021}
UPDATED: 2/5/2023
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Most of us have someone in our lives who loves to travel or is dreaming of taking more trips to explore the world (post-COVID of course). Travel can be as local as sites in your hometown or as far-flung as halfway around the world. Travel can even occur in your own kitchen if you fill it with aromas of a favorite destination.
Here are some ideas to spur gift giving this holiday season for the travelers in your life.
Practical Gifts for Travelers
For the pragmatic travelers in your life…
- Environmentally friendly reusable water bottle - CamelBak Pivot .75L Bottle - Perfect for all those travelers checking out new hiking trails and short get-aways near home (which is what we're doing!)
- Coffee (or tea) travel and ceramic mugs - We have custom designed mugs with inspiring images from our travels so take a warm sip and pretend you're . . . wherever you want to be! Have your own photo you want to use? Shutterfly offers the ability to create your own travel mug using a picture of your choice.
- Passport wallet - After our original wallets bit the dust after years of use, we purchased new, high quality passport wallets a year ago and love them. Check out the deluxe passport wallets from Leatherology and many of their other great products for travel.
- Travel-inspiring wall calendars - Here are great options from spots around the world. Or, check out our two calendar options here.
Literary Gifts for Travelers
For the readers, writers, and thinkers contemplating all the places they’ll go…
- Bucket-List Inspirations like the book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die*. We have the US and Canada version and always flip through it as we start planning trips.
- Fiction and non-fiction books focused on an upcoming travel location or a place someone wants to go. There are endless book list recommendations out there. We have our own list of books - all of which one of us has actually read - listed out by location. Check that out here to get some ideas!
- Travel journal* to capture all the ins-and-outs of a trip. I maintain one myself when we travel and find it a great way to capture reflections and memories as they happen! My personal go-to is Moleskine journals.
Artistic Gifts for Travelers
What better way to be inspired to travel by surrounding yourself with artwork of amazing places or creating your own?
Photographs encapsulate a location and bring it into your everyday life. Pictorem is a great site where artists sell their images. You can view ours here (we’re constantly adding to it) or search by location/topic for images by other artists.
Photography is our personal art form of choice. We purchase almost all of our cameras, lenses, and related equipment at B&H. We have also used BorrowLenses for years to rent special lenses, and they sell used camera equipment for those looking for a more money-friendly option. We have our favorite photography equipment listed and explained here.
Create a visual journey, capturing sketches of your travels. This art pencil set comes ready to go anywhere with you or create beautiful lettering in your journal with this set of calligraphy pens. Then, add your sketches and observations to an art journal like this one.
Gifts for Foodie Travelers
For the “I don’t care where we go as long as the food is amazing” travelers…
Home-baked croissants - After visiting France in 2019, we had a hankering for croissants and earlier this year as a way to keep our spirits up in spite of COVID, we ordered both full-size as well as these mini croissants from Williams-Sonoma and absolutely loved them! They come frozen. To cook, all you need to do is place them out before you go to bed so that they can rise overnight and then pop them into the oven in the morning. We have sent these as gifts, and they were well-loved!
Pasta maker - We acquired a decades-old pasta maker from family a few years ago and have made spaghetti and fettucine with it. We haven’t yet attempted ravioli, but that’s next on the list. Bring Italian cooking into your own kitchen with fresh pasta, which is much easier to make than you might imagine. After eating fresh pasta, good luck ever forcing down the boxed stuff again.
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Check out some of our latest travels!