As we are only 46 days away from Christmas (and 52 away from New Years for my fellow Russian readers who get presents on New Years instead of Christmas), I think it’s time to start writing about gift ideas. I absolutely love giving gifts and put a lot of thought in what I buy for my family and friends. As this blog has a big travel influence, I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of gift ideas for fellow travel lovers. There are so many different things you can buy for those who love to travel so I think this list will have something for everyone.

Warning : this list will not include things that help make travel easier (such as bags with special compartments, special carry-on items, etc. ) but are more creative and unique ideas that inspire travel or can be used to remind people of past adventures and inspire future ones.

Now let’s get started…

1. Scratch Off Map – This is probably one of my favorite gifts I’ve ever given to someone. I got this map for my fiancé last year and we are using it as a map to document our travels as a couple. So far we have 5 countries scratched off – Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada and parts of the US. I got the map from Amazon and had it professionally framed. All the continents look gold before you scratch them off and once you scratch them off, they will turn a different color. If you are going to get the same map as us (you can buy it here) I do recommend not using coins to scratch off the countries but to actually use an eraser. Using a coin can tear up the map and we already made that mistake. Some pros about this map are that it looks very chic with the black and gold, the states in US and Canada are outlined so you can scratch them all off separately (that’s what we are doing instead of scratching off the entire United States) and that the size is great (big but not so big that you don’t know where to hang it). Some definite cons of this exact map is that it only has select cities (my fiancé wishes that we could put pins in the cities we traveled to but that’s not really possible with this map) and like I mentioned earlier, scratching it with a coin can ruin the map for you.
2. Universal Yums – This is a subscription service where you get a box filled with snacks and candy from different countries every month. This is perfect for a travel lover who is also a foodie or just anyone who likes trying different candy and snacks. I’m still trying to find someone to gift this to. I’m honestly considering just subscribing to this myself. There are two types of boxes: the Yum Box ( 6 or more snacks in each box) or the Yum Yum box (12 or more snacks in each box). There is free shipping on all the boxes. You can give this as a gift as a 1, 3 or 6 month gift. Each month has a theme and that theme is a specific country. Some of the past boxes included Taiwan, The US, Greece, Poland, France, Turkey and Korea. There are more mentioned and you can view all the past boxes on the website. The pricing is $14 per box for the Yum box and $25 for the Yum Yum Box. I think this is a really unique and fun gift idea and I definitely think a lot of people would like this.
3. Passport Holders – Those who travel a lot know that your passport will always go in a secure place because God forbid you lost it, however, that place may not be the most neat or most accessible area. Because of this, passport corners tend to get worn out and your passport can start looking ratty. This is where passport holders come in. There are so many cute ones out now that say things like “Adventure Awaits”, etc etc and they make for a great airport selfie. Etsy and Amazon are probably the best place to look for passport holders. My favorite one is this colorful world map one and this one that says “I’m Outta Here” Some of these also have slots where you can put ID cards and other things so they are definitely convenient. I do think girls would like this gift more than guys.
4. World Map Journal – This is a small gift that would be very useful this holiday season because whoever is receiving this gift will now have a planner for the following year. I bought this from Amazon and they still have plenty available in stock. This planner is small but it does have monthly and weekly overviews. It also happens to have a transit map for New York and London subway systems which I think is pretty cool. It also has a vintage look to it so that makes it look even more different. I bought one for myself and will be using this all next year.
5. Mieroglyphs Bracelet – Now this isn’t your typical gift nor does it necessarily have to be a travel lover. Mieroglyphs is a company that does vegan cork bracelets which you can engrave to your liking. I got one with the engraving “Always take the scenic route” and love wearing this as a reminder that while my day-to-day activities may include going straight from rotations to work, there will be adventures and traveling soon. You can also get an engraving of a city with a special date. For example, I got engaged in Florence,Italy on July 30^th,2015 so that would be a great engraving to have just to remind me of that special day. You can also save yourself some money by using my discount code “YA10” at check out.
6. TripPix by Shutterfly – I can’t take the credit for coming up with this idea because I received something similar as gift last year from my friend Natalie. What TripPix is, is an iPhone app that lets you create a photo book. You chose 15-30 photos, add a map, answer a few questions about your travel (such as who you went with, what you did, what the weather was like when you were there) and chose a title and cover photo and they build a book for you. This will cost you $19.99 for a 6”x6” matte cover book and they include a bamboo stand to help you show off the book to your guests. I think this would make an awesome gift to someone that recently went on a trip (especially if they told you a lot of details about it) or even better – if that someone is your travel companion. Chatbooks is another great option and it a similar concept.

Well, that’s all I have for my gift ideas for those who love to travel. I will also be posting an overall gift guide that will be broken down in categories parents, significant others, co-workers, etc) and that will be getting posted in the near future as well. I know some people like to get their shopping done early and would like to see posts like these as soon as possible. Let me know if you have other great ideas for gifts and whether or not you’ll be using any of my ideas for your loved ones! I would love to know