Share Your Travel Experiences On The Cheap!

Relational gifting (with or without travel) has gained popularity over the past several years, and in today’s shaky economy, it’s even more popular. Instead of throwing dollars at items you hope might

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appease a gifting obligation, relational gifting puts “you” into a gift that is uniquely suited to your recipients. Am I talking “homemade” here? Not entirely.

A few days ago I was at my local copy shop to pick up some business cards. The fellow in front of me was picking up his order, which he proudly showed off. And well he should! What he had done was to pick out 12 of his favorite places he had vacationed in and used his photos for customized calendars. This guy didn’t just give a pre-packaged calendar to his loved ones for Christmas; he gave his most treasured travel experiences. Well, 12 of them anyway. He added captions to each of his photos, letting people know a little something about each image or trip.

Now here’s the cool cost savings part. Because he got his calendars done during a half-price special, he was able to spend just under $8 to have each calendar professionally printed! I checked the plain jane boring pre-printed calendars in the office supply store next door. It actually cost this fellow $1 LESS than the pre-printed ones! And believe me, his were a whole lot more interesting.

For an even greater savings, he ordered the calendars through a shop that works directly with a discount online print service. By picking up his order through the store, shipping was free.

This is just one relational travel gift that’s unique, personalized, and cheap. I suspect it’s also a whole lot more appreciated than a stock calendar, and it might even be a conversation starter. Which could lead to even more possibilities!

Taking It One Step Further

Let’s say you gave a loved one such a calendar. They landed on one particular photo and told you they’d love to visit that place especially. Now as a member of a travel club such as Mega Resort Vacations, you could take it one step further by gifting your loved one with a trip to that location when you go there again yourself. What a great way to be together as a family, as friends, as spouses.

How much would it set you back to do that? Well, if they stayed in the same resort or vacation home with you, it would cost you absolutely zip extra. Talk about an affordable relational gift with travel!

If you wanted to gift them with a stay on their own, you could do that two ways:

  • Gift them with access to your membership; they pay the weekly cost. This is a great gift, as it saves your loved one thousands of dollars for the week. OR
  • Gift them with the cost of the week yourself. It could cost you as little as $199 for the week. If you have the money, why not?

The point here is to share yourself with your loved one and do so for less than you would normally spend on an impersonal gift. This works quite well for gifts beyond Christmas, by the way.

Are you into relational gifting? Have you used travel as part of any of your gifts this year or in years past? Share your ideas in a comment below.

Merry Christmas,

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Filed under: Budgeting • Travel Gifts

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