AAHHHH!! It's that time of year again — time to drive yourself mad shopping, buying, cooking, cleaning, planning, mailing, wrapping, and wrapping UP your year. Traveling, too? Or know someone who is? Let me help ease your pain this season. Here's my holiday gift-buying guide for any kind-of globetrotter in your world:
GADGET-DEPENDANT or GREEN TRAVELER: The Solio Hybrid 1000 travel charger (http://www.solio.com/charger, $79.95) can recharge virtually any small mobile device with solar power, so you never need to pack your power cords or overseas converter again.
JET-SETTING PET TRAVELERS: The Snoozer Pet Roll Around* (http://www.snoozerpetproducts.com, $79.99) is a wheeled pet carrier backpack that can also be used as a secure car seat/bed for Fido.
FASHIONABLE TRAVELER: Favorite fashion luggage of the year? Anything Diane von Furstenberg*. Her Retro collection is fabu, but the Catwalk collection is a bit better priced (http://www.macys.com, $99.999-199.99). My favorite wardrobe piece? The Xubáz scarf with pockets (http://www.xubaz.com, $37.50).
BUSINESS TRAVELER: Help lighten your Blackberry-dependant traveler's load with the I-Tech Virtual Keyboard (http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com, $179.99) — a fully-functioning, laser-projected “virtual” desktop keyboard that allows one to leave their laptop at home and just work from their PDA, bypassing the hassle of its tiny Qwerty keyboard. A rugged Otterbox case (http://www.otterbox.com, $49.95-$99.95) can also protect that Blackberry from any banging and dropping along the way.
ROAD TRIPPER: GPS is one of THE hottest gifts this Christmas. There's numerous options out there, but the TomTom One (http://www.tomtom.com, $249.95) is considered the best of the mid-price rangers. Just in case the GPS errs and lands your giftee in the middle of a lake, pair this present with the ResQMe* car-escape keychain (http://www.resqme.com, $9.95).
“ROUGH” TRAVELER: The Steripen Ultraviolet Water Purifier* (http://www.steripen.com, $129.95) is a pen that uses ultraviolet light to kill evil bugs lurking in questionable water. To get rid of creepy-crawly-type bugs elsewhere, give Hygimist Bed Bug Spray (http://www.magellans.com, $14.95).
TODDLIN' TRAVELER: The Trunki* (http://www.trunki.net, $39.99) is a toddler-geared toy, ride and luggage all in one--the perfect first suitcase for any globetrotting tot.
PARANOID TRAVELER: Nowadays, thieves don't need to steal your wallet to get your identity, they just need a scanner. An RFID Passport Case or Wallet* (http://www.travelonbags.com, $20-$36.95) protects your credit cards and ID from any such high-tech burglary attempts.
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY TRAVELER: Every digital photographer can use an extra SD card to store more photos--consider gifting a 2GB or 4GB Memory Card (http://www.amazon.com, $12-$46.99), and couple it with a flexible Gorillapod tripod (http://www.joby.com, $24.95) to round out their mobile studio.
ANY TRAVELER: No traveler should journey without a journal and write-anywhere pen. Moleskines (http://www.moleskine.it/eng/), $16.95) are classic portable notebooks, with their City Notebooks ideal for anyone heading to a major U.S. or European city. Pair it with the All-Weather Night Writer Pen (http://www.diamondbacktactical.com, $13.95), which has a light for writing in dark places without disturbing others.
*If you want to see some of these products in action, there are video reviews of the asterisked (*) gifts above on my website at http://www.compasstravel.info/video.php#. Happy shopping this holiday season!
