Picking gifts is not easy. There’s something about having to get that perfect item or that perfect service that puts all sorts of doubt in your head. Half the time we don’t know what we want for ourselves, let alone what to get for someone else. Even if they’re a friend, we don’t want to be the person to give a bad gift. This gets exacerbated if they’re a heavily traveled, extremely cultured individual. What do you get the person who’s seen it all? Well, fortunately for us, most people aren’t that shallow.
But if you really want to get a gift that knocks their socks off, here are some tips on how to get the perfect gift for the avid traveler.
Airport Boredom Solutions
The plane ride is always the most brutal aspect of the traveling experience. There’s a weird period of limbo at the airports. It feels surreal. When you’re young or you haven’t gotten around to traveling much, it’s quite exciting. After the 10th trip, it’s a bit of a drag. Gifts that fill that time in the airport or make it more bearable are the absolute best.
You can make a list of all the annoyances you have or visit this good post for more ideas on how to make sitting in an airport less brutal. Once you’ve got that list, what are the things that you think your friend would agree most with? From there, you find the retail solution. Then: cross our fingers.
Audiobooks
If you’ve got the travel bug, chances are you spend a lot of time on the plane with your ear plugged into something. Sure, talking to fellow travelers is nice. But sometimes you want to tune out and avoid the ear beating you know that guy with a tank top and beads is about to give you. For this kind of predicament, audiobook subscriptions are the best. We all wish we could catch up on our reading. Here’s our chance! Physical books (which we swear, especially travelers, we all prefer) are great, but it lends itself to that: “hey, what are you reading?” opener—beads rattling and all. It’s always a good idea to dive into the aural world of a good audiobook.
Clean, White Kicks
Travelers go through shoes like nothing. They do so much walking around that the soles on their feet just get worn from all the use. As much as buying someone shoes is looked down upon as a gift, if it’s a friend you know and love, you can get away with it. Get them a pair of clean, crisp, white sneakers. Chances are they have a closet full of Merrill toe shoes and hiking boots. But a clean plain-white set? Oh, that’s bound to put a smile on their face. They can take it with them on their next adventure, or they can keep it at home, the sole pair of presentable shoes to the public.
Buying gifts doesn’t have to be super difficult. Sometimes it just takes a bit of thought. But mostly, it has to do with being close and attentive as a friend. If you’ve been paying attention throughout the relationship, it should be no problem. If not, the internet is here to help you out.