Christmas is a time of reflection, gratitude, and good deeds. It is time for families to gather around, catch up on the year, and make new memories. Around the world, people use this time of year to help one another, reconcile, and start new traditions. One of the universal traditions of Christmas is gift-giving. Gift-giving is one way to show someone that you care for them. It symbolizes the recognition that you have towards the recipient. We buy gifts to make others feel special, show that we care, and thank them for being essential people. Although we tend to buy gifts for friends and family members, they are not the only people you can buy them for during the holidays. Giving gifts can come in many forms for different people. You can buy coffee for someone in the street. Paying for someone’s one grocery item at the store is another form of gifting. Giving your favorite bus driver a piece of chocolate is also a form of gift-giving. Giving during the holiday season is not just for points with Santa. It is a way to end the year by fellowship with your community. This post will offer 8 affordable gifts travelers can purchase for their friends and family back home or those you just met in your new city. Let’s begin!
Finding the Perfect Holiday Gift When Traveling
As a traveler, navigating the world of gift shopping for friends and family back home can be challenging. Shopping for people back home or new acquaintances is sometimes hard, especially on a small budget. Being a traveler on a mission of exploration also means that essential expenses take priority. When living abroad, you may be on a tight budget where your money is for crucial needs. Therefore, finding the perfect gift to send home may be a hassle because you must consider your budget. The second challenge is finding something your friends and family would appreciate. Getting wooden shoes from Amsterdam might be excellent, but your family may prefer something else. I once bought my mother chopsticks from my time in Shanghai, and she returned them to me.
Another gift challenge when traveling is shopping for the new acquaintance you made while living abroad. When you meet new acquaintances while abroad, you may not feel like you know them well enough to know what gift they will enjoy. All of these uncertainty make buying a holiday gift more challenging. I have been in situations where I debated what to buy someone abroad, considering their cultures and attitudes towards certain things, and it has been more work than I anticipated. That is why when it comes to buying gifts as a traveler, the simpler, the better. Choosing unique yet practical gifts is often best, ensuring they resonate without being overly complex. Here are eight unique cheap Christmas gift ideas for travelers to buy for friends, family members, and themselves.
8 Affordable Gift From Travelers
Before discussing these individual gifts in detail, here is why I love these gifts as a traveler. I love these gifts because they are low-cost. You do not need to break the bank to show that you care for someone. They are reusable, giving them more value because the recipients can benefit from them for a long time. Another reason why I love these gifts is because they are personable. When you give someone one of these gifts, you can add your personal touch or theirs to show you appreciate them. These gift ideas allow recipients to enjoy their travel adventure and carry a piece of the world, sparking memories long after the holiday season. Here are the perfect eight Christmas gift ideas for travelers to purchase for loved ones and themselves.
- Ornaments
My ultimate favorite Christmas gift to buy is ornaments. As a traveler, I have collected different ornaments from different countries and cultures. Ornaments are great gifts because you can buy a plain ornament on Amazon or the local arts and crafts shop and decorate it. You can include details from the places you have been or include arts that you know the recipients will enjoy. Ornaments are a great holiday gift that helps you decorate your Christmas tree with sentimental personalized gifts. As a giver, it is fun to go through the journey to find the right ornament, work on design, and see it come to fruition. The process of creating the perfect design is fun and therapeutic. It is a gift journey that will alleviate the stress we experience in finding the ideal gift. This gift brings joy to both the giver and the receiver.
- Scrapbook
Another great Christmas gift to give to family and friends is a scrapbook. Lately, I have been more interested in making things than buying stuff for my friends or family. One of the main reasons I prefer making things is because I have already bought everything I could buy for my friends and family. I have purchased purses, perfumes, clothes, and shoes and taken my loved ones on vacation. Every holiday season, I ask myself what I can get them that will be impressionable. I found my answers in making scrapbooks. Scrapbooks are the perfect gift because you get to be creative present, and you are intentional in the craft that you are making. You can pull from things you know will mean something to the person receiving. This gift idea is my favorite because I love intentional gifts. When I buy something for my friends or family, I choose something that will mean something to them. For example, I would not just buy you a perfume; instead, I would buy one that represents the person’s style and scent so that you know I thought of you when making this decision. Making scrapbooks displays that intentionality, making them an excellent gift for the holiday season.
- Baked Goods
Baked goods are among the best gifts to give during the holiday season. Cooking and baking for others is the ultimate demonstration of love and care. As someone who loves to cook for others, I love knowing that I contributed to the health and well-being of someone by giving them good food. I think baking is another way to show someone you thought of them and took the time to create something they will like and enjoy. This gift is perfect for your new acquaintance when living abroad. You can bake them something that is from your culture as a way to share your traditions with them. When I lived in France, my Brazilian neighbor baked Brigadeiro, a famous Brazilian dessert. This delicious gift allowed us to learn something new about Brazil and have fellowship. Although I am not a baker, I try to bake during the holiday season. Baking gingerbread cookies is an integral part of some Christmas traditions, and it doesn’t feel like Christmas if you do not bake. That is why gifting someone baked goods you made for them makes them feel appreciated and allows them to enjoy the holiday season.
- Recipes Book
One thing I asked my mother and my aunt to give me this Christmas is a recipe book. I want their recipe book to have my family traditions while making my own, and I want to pass them down to my children one day. Before traveling, I hadn’t thought of having a recipe book because I thought I knew how my mother was making certain dishes from when I would observe her in the kitchen. When I moved to France for a year and wanted to recreate the foods I ate at home, I realized I needed to learn more about everything that went into making my favorite meals. Although my cooking tasted good, it did not taste like my mother’s dishes, and I wanted to replicate my favorite foods and get a sense of home. Hence, it is a perfect gift idea to buy when traveling. Recipe books allow you to pass down generational cooking knowledge, history, and culture. As a traveler, when I try a local cuisine I like, I write it down to try it at home and introduce it to my family to give them a piece of the places I visited. You can buy a cookbook full of recipes to gift your family so they can enjoy the meals you enjoy while living abroad.
- Coffee Mug/Bottle
This next gift is perfect for coffee lovers or tea lovers like myself. Since I struggle to find the ideal gifts for people, coffee mugs/bottles are great because you know they will use them. They are gifts that last for a long time. Last year, for my birthday, a friend gave me a bottle that said, “25 is a for the fabulous.” I loved that coffee mug, and every time I use it, I remember the sentiment I had the first time I received it. I knew the person who gave it to me knew I would react well to being called “fabulous.” I also knew they picked a suitable color scheme because I love green, purple, and sparkles. That gift was not just a coffee mug because my friend considered getting me one. Therefore, the bottle symbolized his appreciation for me. You can also do the same when gifting a coffee mug/bottle. Coffee mugs or bottles can be a great option, especially for coffee, tea, or wine drinkers. They are practical, long-lasting, and can be customized to suit the recipient’s preferences. You can also purchase a Wine Tumbler for wine lovers. This gift option ensures the recipient knows that you care and appreciate them.
- Journals With Prompts
Another great and cheap gift that would make a wonderful gift for the holiday season is a journal with journal prompts. As young adults navigating through life, being intentional is a priority. Journals have become a popular item in the wellness and self-improvement industry. It is one of the popular items sold on Amazon, and people enjoy it because it allows them to vent without judgment. Gifting someone a journal is a way to show you care for their mental health and wellness. When you give someone a journal, it is your way to ask them to care for themselves, and you want them to improve. Journals with prompts give them a road map of what they want to focus on and address things they have yet to think of. It is a perfect holiday gift because as the year ends, people reflect on what has happened, things they went through, and what they want to change in the new year. If you run out of ideas for gifts, remember that journals are perfect for gifting your family, friends, and yourself this holiday season.
- Candles
An all-time favorite holiday gift of mine is candles. I love getting candles and gifting candles to others. Candles are another great cheap holiday gift option that helps brighten the holiday season. Candles allow you to reinvent your living space. It enables you to enter into a new space feeling refreshed and in a new. It brings joy and transports you to another world. With different scents and colors, you can choose various options to gift your loved ones. One of my favorite candle brands is Jo Malone. Their candles smell so good, and the scent lasts longer. Although it may be expensive for some to shop on their website, you can get their candles at retail prices at your local department stores. However, there are other terrific options for candles to purchase for your friend’s home or your new acquaintances:
- Quince’s English Rose Candle, Plant-Based Wax
- Lafco Inc’s Duchess Peony Classic Signature Candle
- AMAN Nourishing Candle
- Snow Globes
My favorite holiday gift to buy for myself and others is snowglobes. The first time I got a snow globe was as a gift from my best friend in elementary school. It was my first year in America, and I had only seen snowglobes in movies. Getting that snow globe and looking through it was one of the things that reassured me I was in the United States. Since my friend gave me a snow globe, it has become my favorite gift for myself and others. When I travel, snowglobes are the perfect gift I buy for myself or others. Snowglobes are perfect house decorations. It is a gift you can buy for anyone. When purchasing a snow globe, you are gifting someone a memory. As a traveler, I love collecting snowglobes from wherever I have been. My collections include a snow globe from San Francisco, Paris, London, Mont-Saint Michel, Monaco, Barcelona, Milan & Rome, to name a few. Giving someone a snow globe can entice them to start their collection. It can also inspire them to visit the places you have visited and begin their travel journey. Hence making it a perfect Christmas gift.
In conclusion, Christmas is a time to show love, care, and appreciation to our family, friends, and community. Finding the perfect gift for our loved ones can be challenging as a traveler, but it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. These Christmas gift ideas, such as ornaments, scrapbooks, baked goods, and more, are often the most straightforward and personalized. These gift ideas are low-cost and reusable, but they also show that you have put thought and intentionality into finding the perfect gifts for your friends and family. You can find these gifts on Amazon, your local arts and crafts shop, and check out my store for more usable and cheap Christmas gifts. This holiday season, let’s focus on creating meaningful and memorable moments with our loved ones through the power of gift-giving.
As always, thank you for reading. Please like, share, and subscribe to our mailing list for fun Christmas and travel tips.
Until next time,
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Xoxo,
Cy
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