If you’re shopping for Christmas gifts for someone who loves to travel, do not open a new online shopping tab until you’ve read this article. As an avid traveler I’ve received a lot of Christmas gifts, travel-themed and not, and I am here to tell you about the worst Christmas gifts you can buy for a traveler.
To put it simply, these are the ten Christmas gifts that travelers don’t want. From inconvenient to offensive to completely useless, you should avoid giving these Christmas gifts to the traveler in your life. I know they say that when it comes to gift-giving it’s the thought that counts, but you seriously need to re-think your gift-giving plans if you were planning on buying any of these Christmas gifts for travelers.
If you’re already panicking and think you might have bought one of these Christmas gifts that travelers definitely do not want, don’t worry! At the end of this article I’ll link to a handful of carefully-curated gift guides containing Christmas gifts for travelers that I’ve either given or received, and that were invaluable on my own journey to 70+ countries.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the ten Christmas gifts that travelers absolutely do not want this holiday season…
1. Anything That is Alive
Whether it’s a plant or a pet, if it requires the receiver to be home to care for it, then it’s not a good gift idea for the traveler in your life. We want to be able to buy that cheap last-minute airfare without worrying about who is going to feed our new cat while we’re out of town.
2. Travel Exercise Equipment
Yes, a trip to France involves a lot of wine and cheese, and a trip to Chicago involves a lot of deep-dish pizza. Don’t worry, I promise you that we travelers walk enough to burn off all of those calories and more. Don’t risk accidentally offending a traveler by gifting them packable exercise gear – even if your intentions are pure this travel gift is too easy to misinterpret.
3. Souvenirs From Your Travels
If you travel to Seattle and pick up a Starbucks mug at the chain’s original location, that is a wonderful souvenir… for you. But trust me, frequent travelers already have enough souvenirs from their own trips. They don’t need trinkets from trips they didn’t even go on.
4. An Ugly Christmas Sweater
Travelers love high-quality, multi-purpose, practical clothing items that can be worn across climates and contexts. Imagine a great 100% cotton t-shirt that can be worn on the beach in Hawaii one day, and underneath a sweater in the Swiss Alps the next. An ugly Christmas sweater is the exact opposite of that.
5. A Wall Calendar
When you’re always on the go, you rarely have access to a traditional wall calendar. Personally, I’m famous for buying beautiful travel-inspired wall calendars… and then leaving them up for three years. Ooops. Busy travelers have switched to calendar apps on their phone and probably don’t need a wall calendar or desk calendar for Christmas.
6. An Expensive Pen
In your head, you’re probably thinking, “This fancy, engraved gold pen will look so chic when my traveler fills out their customs and immigration forms.” That is a lovely, kind and generous thought, but the truth of the matter is that travel is chaotic and that hundred-dollar pen will probably be lost before the plane even takes off.
7. Self-Help Books
Don’t get confused – just because someone loves to travel doesn’t mean they’re avoiding responsibilities or relationships. If you wish the traveler in your life would just slow down, stay home and act like a proper adult… keep that to yourself. Definitely don’t buy them a book that you think will help them “get it together”… unless you never want to talk to them again.
8. Fruitcake
Travel refines the palate, and nobody who has tasted Singapore street food or Lyonnaise haute cuisine does not want to eat a weird boxed cake at Christmas. Trust me on this one.
9. A Donation to an International NGO
There’s nothing wrong with donating to a global non-profit organization (in fact, it’s commendable!) but smart travelers are wary of charities that claim to do good, while actually having little impact on the ground where it matters. If you want to donate to an NGO, do it in your own name and donate to a reputable organization that you trust.
10. Plane Tickets
If it was only the thought that counted, plane tickets would be the perfect gift for a traveler. But planning a trip also requires a lot of logistics, from booking the time off work to finding accommodation to double-checking visa and entry requirements. Plane tickets are too expensive to possibly go to waste, so if you have your heart set on gifting travel then go with gift cards for an airline or hotel chain (or both!).
Want to know the gifts that travelers actually do want? I have lots of travel gift guides:
The Best Stocking Stuffers for Travelers
Travel Gifts for Every Zodiac Sign
Gifts for Travelers Stuck at Home
The Essential Hostel Packing Guide (not a gift guide, but everything on the list is perfect for the budget traveler in your life!)
Pin this post to save someone else from getting one of these Christmas gifts travelers don’t want. 😉
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