You can’t afford to give your cousin the $300 22-inch rolling carry-on he wants and you certainly don’t have $250 to drop on the bubble gum pink travel case your son’s latest girlfriend wants for Christmas. So what do you get for the frequent flyers and riders in your life when you are low on cash and short on time?
Here are a few ideas:
If you can’t afford new luggage get the next best thing—new luggage tags. The Luggage Retriever ($40) clips on to the bag of your choice and emits an electronic beep when activated by a key-chain-like receiver. Otherwise spring for some stick-on-tags (three for $5). The sticky tags are similar to an online lost and found — if someone finds your gear, they can use the pre-registered ID number on the tags to notify the company’s website, that will then contact you.
If you are shopping for a frequent flyer who is also an avid reader consider purchasing the Spike Light ($13) from Great Point Light. Oprah raves about hers. The light allows voracious readers the ability to pursue their passion without disturbing sleeping seatmates. The device features a “spike,” flexible neck and clips into the spine of a book. It provides 20 hours of hands-free illumination from 2 LED lights and one AAA battery. It also comes in “bright” colors such as neon green and fluorescent orange.
Your favorite globetrotters will appreciate the Worldwide Atomic Projection Clock ($50), especially if they forget to reprogram their alarm clock for foreign time zones. The popular product from Oregon Scientific automatically syncs with atomic clocks in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia and features a projection display that will beam the current time onto any flat surface.
Directionally challenged yet stylish travelers on your Christmas list will love toting around the Leather Travel Atlas ($50) from Travelsmith. It’s not only handy (it’s the size of a paperback book), but it’s classy as well. The atlas’ 320 gold-edged pages feature a myriad of maps, along with facts and figures on everything from local temperatures and calling codes to conversion charts for weights and measures.
For the well-heeled traveler in your life who seems to have it all, consider Nalgene Outdoors’ Kit Bottles ($18-$25). Each kit comes combines the company’s popular 32-ounce bottles with a variety of situation-specific safety and first-aid items. For example, there are versions for vehicles complete with a distress flag, accident report form, etc. One for hikers complete with light stick, whistle, food bar, etc. And even travelers who don’t leave home without their pets-—those kits come with dog food and a water pouch.
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