Cheap Holiday Gift Guide
If you’re looking for a last minute gift for that special traveler in your life, search no further then our Cheap Holiday Gift Guide below. Finding a list minute gift for a traveler is rather simple, because unlike most of us, they’ll actually appreciate random cheap things you can get from a convenient store!
My mother recently asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year. My initial answer was “Nothing, you’ve given me enough,” because she has saved me several times when I’ve lost or ran out of money abroad. But of course, as a mother, she kept asking what I wanted. I tried to think about something I needed, besides an unlimited amount of plane tickets, but since that’s pretty much impossible, the next thing that came to mind was socks.
Then I started thinking about the little things I always need while traveling that I wouldn’t be mad about receiving as a holiday gift, and how largely they differ from some of the more traditional holiday gifts I’ve gotten before I became a full time traveler, like these in our Cheap Holiday Gift Guide:
1. Portable Chargers
The number two thing a traveler always runs out of is battery life. Number one is of course, money. No matter where you are, it’s never fun to get that notification that you’re cell phone is running out of battery. Portable chargers can be fairly cheap, but are also fairly easy to lose and people forget to charge them. That’s why I’d recommend getting multiple cheap portable chargers as a gift for your favorite traveler, rather than an expensive one that’s destined to be lost.
2. Life Proof Cases for Everything
I’m currently writing this on my second MacBook Air, using an iPhone 5 with a smashed screen while my iPhone 6 with cracked screen and water damage gets repaired. My original GoPro 3 also fell in water, so I had to buy one from the pawn shop before receiving a GoPro 4 (I got super lucky and they sponsor me.) LifeProof cases are waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof, shock proof, etc., AKA what I need for every single one of my devices.
3. Scar Remover Cream
Battle wounds can be cool, but not when you have excessive amounts of them all over your body. Unfortunately, scar removal cream that actually works is very expensive, so most of the time us travelers just opt to deal with battle scars. As much as I love explaining how I got hit by a car on a motorcycle and flew 10 feet onto my shoulder, I would prefer not to have a massive circular scar that people are constantly asking about.
4. Airport Ride Coupons & Leftover Miles
I would choose a “Good for 1 ride to the airport” coupon over any other gift any day. Granted, most of my friends would probably much rather go shopping for gifts than drive to the airport, but in my perfect little holiday world, they’d opt for the coupon and I’d have one less ride to the airport to worry about getting.
Also, I know a lot of family members with travel reward points or frequent flier miles that never even use them, and don’t even notice that they expire at the end of the year. Since your favorite traveler is more likely to make a last minute trip happen, why not help them out by transferring your leftover miles instead of letting them go to waste?
5. Travel-Sized Toiletries
Sometimes, one of the most annoying parts about packing for a trip, is remembering to get more travel-sized toiletries. I can deal with not having shampoo or conditioner for a few days, but forgetting or running out of those tiny tubes of toothpaste is a huge fail when traveling. Travel-sized toiletries aren’t even that expensive or hard to get…they’re just hard to remember. If you really want to impress your traveling friend, give the gift of travel-sized toiletries in a TSA size approved plastic bag!
6. Antibacterial Wipes
Here’s another super useful travel item that just seems to always run out or get lost, antibacterial wipes! Although hand sanitizer is nice, it doesn’t really help much when you’re trying to wipe dirt from your hands or face. They also work wonders for sanitizing your germ-infested space on the airplane or other public transportation.
7. Self Filtering Water Bottle
Buying bottles of water isn’t always an option when you’re traveling, which especially sucks if you’re in an area where the tap water isn’t advisable to drink. Fortunately, these days there’s such thing as a self filtering water bottle, which can be used with any source of water (even a river) depending on the quality and strength of filter that you get. Just don’t forget to get a few extra filters if you’re giving this as a gift, because there’s a good chance that your traveler will never have time or remember to change theirs!
8. A Travel Photo Book…That You Put Together
If I had the time, I would 100% make an awesome printed photo book for every country I’ve been to, but unfortunately, I don’t even have the time to create one book, let alone thirty-three of them. Most people only think about sharing photos online these days, but it really is nice to have your travel pictures printed, and you can make them for cheap by getting them on Groupon.
9. Travel Space Bags
I will always swear by using travel space bags, because they’ve saved me packing time and space so many times. In case you don’t know what they are, they are like a giant zip lock bag that you put your stuff in and roll the air out of so that it compresses your clothes. This allows you to fit more in your suitcase! Although I think I have a few somewhere, they do tend to wear down after a while, plus you can never have enough space bags, so they will always make a great gift for a traveler.
10. SOCKS and Underwear
Yes, again with the socks. But seriously, do you have any idea how hard it is to not lose socks while traveling? Even if you’re fairly good at not losing your socks, there’s a good chance they’ll always be dirty, just like your underwear, which is why it’s never a bad idea to give the gift of a surplus of socks and underwear. If you include a little travel-wash bag that lets you wash your clothes anywhere just by using a sink or shower, you may have just given the perfect travel gift.
Article & Photos: Alyssa Ramos, My Life’s a Movie | December 22, 2016
Alyssa is a self-made, full-time travel blogger who accidentally started specializing in solo female adventure travel and GoPro “proper selfie” photography two years ago when the travel bug hit and she had no one to travel with! Now, Alyssa has traveled to a total of 44 countries, more than half solo, and has successfully turned her passion for travel, writing, and sharing positive vibes into a successful career as a travel blogger, social media influencer, and professional waterfall chaser. She enjoys sharing tips that are actually useful on her blog, photographs that inspire others on her Instagram, and real time feeds of her travels on Snapchat, so that others can see the world and get inspired to go travel, at any time of the day!
Follow Alyssa on Instagram: @MyLifesATravelMovie | Snapchat: MyLifesAMovie.C
