All year I gather items suitable for gifting to your favorite RVer, kid, pet and cook and this year I have found a fabulous selection of gift ideas - sure to please. Remember, if you are doing any shopping at amazon.com, please click on the little black circle on the top right of every page of RVGoddess.com - amazon gives me a little commission on anything you buy! I have no way to know who you are or what you order, but I use the proceeds to pay for the upkeep of this massive website. Thank you!
Gifts for Kids
If there are monsters under the bed, try this fun robot night light from the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Designed by Paul Ocepek, the light is motion-activiated and portable, but can be wall-mounted. $44.
Crafting together can be fun! Order a kit from Seedlingand help/watch the kids make their own tiara, super-hero cape, crown, sword, sun catcher, tug boat or tutu. There are dozens of activity kits to choose from - one will be perfect for the kid on your list. Check it out! $9-$40.
Do you take a zillion photos of your kids or grandkids? Kids love photos of themselves, so turn your snapshots into a photo book at Shutterfly, or download the Social Print Studio app and order prints directly from your phone.
While visiting Legoland last weekend, I spotted several fun building kits for kids with RV themes. The LEGO Camper Van
(age 5-12) has 195 pieces and include a C-Class motorhome, two campers, a canoe and other accessories. Adults, or older (Lego calls them "expert") kids, might enjoy tackling the piece classic Volkswagen Pop-TopT1 Camper Van
. Lego Friends (Mia, Stephanie, Emma, Andrea and Olivia) have a car and teardrop trailer - the Summer Caravan Building Set
- (age 6-12). This set has 297 pieces and one of them is a hedgehog.
Great Stocking Stuffers for Kids:Animal & Monster puppet hand stickers from Uncommon Goods
Sesame Street temporary tattoos from tattly.com
Also consider:
A membership to their local zoo or children museum
A gift card to their favorite ice cream or fro-yo shop
For the Food Lover
Not very exciting, but a very good item to have onboard your recreational vehicle, a Large Dial Freezer/Refrigerator Thermometer
Bring along your favorite spirit or cocktail in a classic flask from Stanley. The flask comes in several colors and several materials (stainless, classic, recycled plastic) and in different sizes. Your favorite micro-beer fan would love their 64 ounce growler. Order the Stanley Classic Flask from amazon.com
Give your favorite camper a gourmet do-it-yourself S'mores kit fromTicket Chocolate. Each kit serves four, feature artisan Ticket Chocolate bars and come in classic, peppermint, chocolate-lover and dulce de leche flavors. Ticket Chocolate also sell gourmet graham cracker crumbs.
Pack a compact ten-piece bar tool set from Quench Products in your RV and be ready for every cocktail recipe. (Think Swiss Army knife for cocktails.) Tools include a muddler, knife, reamer, stirrer, channel knife, corkscrew, jigger, strainer, zester and bottle opener. Nine inches long. Gift box and cocktail recipe guide included. Hand wash only. Available in blue or red. $30. Buy from Quench Products, or at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Team this up with a bottle of their favorite vodka, gin, tequila (or whatever!) for a great gift.
Who wouldn't want a beautiful salt box from Bee House? Made in Japan of ceramic with a flip-top cypress lid, the salt box holds 16 ounces of salt. Available in 10 gorgeous colors.The Bee House Salt Box is available at amazon.com.
Did you know there are several new companies that deliver ready-to-cook pre-measured meals to your door? Try it yourself, or give a gift certificate. Great meal plans and recipes, most offer the best-quality ingredients from small farms and ranches. Try Blue Apron or Plated. Vegans will love a gift certificate from Purple Carrot.
The favorite knife in my kitchen is a little 4-inch Pallares Solsona from Heidi Swanson's Quitokeeto shop. Keep dry and hand wash only. $44.
Also consider:
A gift card to their favorite restaurant
A bottle of their favorite wine
A gift card to their favorite fancy grocer
For the RV Traveler
Want to turn on a light at your house, but you are not home? Did you leave the curling iron on? Techies will appreciate the Belkin WeMo Switch. Plug the Belkin WeMo Switch into an outlet in your home and plug any device or appliance into the switch. Connect the WeMo Switch to your home Wi-Fi network, and control the WeMo Switch from an app on your phone. Now you can turn your home electronics or appliances on or off from anywhere. Available from Belkin or amazon.com
Forget about slow-as-molasses RV park wifi. Bring your own wifi hotspot with Karma - the new small portable device that provides internet access over a cellular connection. (It's like an air card, but it's wireless.) Plans starting at $10 for pay-as-you-need, or $50 month for unlimited usage with up to three devices able to connect. It works in over 460 US cities, and fits in a pocket so you can bring wifi anywhere. Use share code terry25249 for $10 off. Now that's good Karma!
If you work hard and play hard, protect your phone.Lifeproof makes phone cases that are water proof, drop proof, dirt proof and snow proof. Perfect for your favorite kayaker, fisher, skier or beach bum. Available for apple, android and many others brands. Lifeproof also offer cases with built-in batteries.
Bring along a little bling in your RV or carry your jewels safely along in your handbag or airline carryon with theMonroe leather jewelry portfolio from Pottery Barn. Available in three colors. MochiThings has a a smaller round cotton-and-suede jewelry pouch, available in two colors.
Two very cool portable camp stoves have come to my attention this year. Both use only twigs (or "found" wood along any hiking trail) as fuel. Great for camping or backpacking, you may also want to consider a wood-burning cook stove for your home or auto emergency preparation kit to use (outdoors!) during a power outage, storm, earthquake or zombie apocalypse. The BioLite camp stove (photo above) cooks food and also creates enough electricity to charge your USB devices (like your mobile phone). The BioLite campstove has available accessories to turn the stove into a grill, etc. BioLite makes special wood-fueled home stoves for developing countries. Another company, SoloStove, produce a very small, portable campstove that also uses twigs as fuel. The SoloStove also comes with various accessories and cooking pots. Lifetime warranty.
Don't worry about snakes and bugs getting into your tent. Kamp-Rite's Double Tent Cot is the two-person version in the line of Tent Cot products. The sturdy fiberglass frame keeps you 11” above the ground to provide comfort and protection from insects, rocks and dampness. One person can set it up, no-see-um mesh on door and windows. Holds 500 pounds. Includes rain fly and carry bag. About $300, from Kamp-Riteor amazon.com
Heading off to the Big Bad City and are worried about pick-pockets? Keep cash, credit cards and travel documents safe in shirts and undies made by Clever Travel Companion. Free shipping.
If If you are tired of a jangling mess of keys in your pocket, consider the Key|Smart key organizer. Made in the USA of airline-grade aluminum, the basic version can hold ten keys, and with extenders, the Key|Smart can hold 100 keys. Available accessories include a bottle opener, wrench, USB thumb drive - plus many more. Available in nine colors from Key|Smart. From $20.
If you do keys the old fashioned way, decorate your RV key with a pretty key cap. Natural Life ha has a couple of very cute key caps with travel trailer themes which fit over standard keys. Great stocking stuffer for only $6.
Also consider:
Tickets to a ball game
Gift certificate to their favorite campground or RV park
Gas card
Gift card to Camping World
Gifts for Pets
Did you feed the dog? Membo, made by Dreamfarm, is a daily reminder tool that flips over to let everyone know if a job has been done yet. Whether it’s feeding the dog, cat, fish or turtle, watering the plants or taking your daily pills, when today’s task is done just flip today’s tile over on your Membo. Done! Available in nine colors. Dog, cat, fish and tick icons included; more icons available for download. Made with ABS plastic, the Membo is 10.4 inches long and 1.7 inches high. Comes with magnetic and adhesive mounts. Order fromDreamfarm or at amazon.com
Why do you get to be the only one with a RV? Let your cat or dog have a little trailer to call their own. Pet Trailers are made in Canada by Judson Beaumont of Straight Line Design. The Pet Trailers are handmade limited edition pieces of functional artwork. The trailers are made with laminate so that they can be easily cleaned, and the functional wheels allow for easy movement. Not recommended for outdoor use. Each piece is custom made; lead time is 4-6 weeks. They ship to America. Prices start at $800, includes shipping/crating. Contact: 604-251-9669.
Naked Decor has everything for the pet and animal lover. Pillows, wall art, jewelry, jewel boxes, clocks, coasters, cosmetic cases, umbrellas and more. They also carry a good selection of gifts featuring Washington, DC, and London.
Also consider:
A gift card to a dog walking service
Gift certificate for dog grooming
Until my next update, I remain, your gifted correspondent.