For many people, the holidays mean travel, whether near or far. But true travelers are usually picky when it comes to what they'll take on a trip. So if you've got a traveler on your gift list, don't give them anything that might weigh them down. Here are a few ideas for stocking stuffers that also take up little space in a suitcase.
The Bazura Shop is an online store that sells useful items like totes and handbags made by a women's co-op in the Philippines, where school children collect used drink containers and the co-op recycles them into high-impact accessory fashion. And by high-impact, I mean bright and colorful. Give the Bazura Shop's eye-catching luggage tags to your frequent traveler friends and they'll never mistake someone's suitcase for theirs again.
Designer Yukiko Sato has created a stylish group of accessories that suit the modern woman who hasn't lost her sense of girlish whimsy. Give a Chibi case and your traveler gal pal gets exactly what she needs: a secure zippered pouch that can hold a passport, plane tickets, and an MP3 player, and keep them all handy with a matching wrist strap, neck strap, or hip strap.
Anyone planning to fly the friendly skies this season will surely appreciate a custom-made gift bag from Minimus.biz, which specializes in individual-sized products that meet TSA guidelines. Give your jet-setting female friends the Carry-on Caddy, which contains toothpaste, mouthwash, hairspray, and more, all in containers smaller than 3 ounces. The items come with a quart-size Ziploc baggie, of course, as well as a sturdier nylon bag that can be used as a toiletry kit.
Last but not least, if your gift list happens to include someone heading to Hawaii, then you must give The Puka Guide: 100 Hawaiian-Style Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants
by Donovan M. Dela Cruz and Jodi Endo Chai. In all my trips to the islands, I've only managed to stumble across a tiny handful of the hidden gems this book reveals. "Puka" means "hole" so we're talking plastic forks and styrofoam, not fine china and silverware, and sometimes these eateries are takeout-only.
Often family-owned, these local businesses offer a tasty trove of homestyle treats, from teri beef to shoyu butterfish, taro chips to chicken skin chips, macadamia nut cookies to mochi cake, plus everyday favorites like short ribs, saimin, sushi bento. The book also has a handy glossary, in case you don't know that "hichi dango"? is a soft, sweet, milky glutinous rice cake dusted with rice flour. Just by reading the restaurant descriptions, your taste buds will be so tickled you'll be tempted to keep this book for yourself. Better buy at least two copies!