Blog: Quality Gift Boxes

Oftentimes, the memorable gifts in a relationship are the little things. Of course, you shouldn’t turn down a diamond ring or a new set of golf clubs, but these should be meant as highlighting accents, the icing on the cake of your relationship.

To keep the flame burning, you have to maintain a consistent flow of gifts toward each other; it doesn’t matter if it’s as paltry as pair of movie tickets or a 50-dollar gift certificate, as long as it comes from the heart and is given with loving intent, the gift will be well-received. Try giving the following nifty gifts to keep the passion alive.

Write a handwritten love letter to your significant other. In this age of fast computers, it’s nice to know that your special someone took the time to sit down and pour out thoughts on a sheet of paper.

Whether it’s written on luxurious paper or on a stick-on note written and tacked on the fridge, your loved one will get the message – and more importantly, will be encouraged to write you back.

Flowers are timeless gifts for all occasions, including those times when you want to give them just because. Try to cloak the next flower gift with mystery. If you gave your special someone a tulip the day before, go for another variety the following night. The rarer the blossom, the more appealing and enticing your gift becomes. Watch her wait in bated breath as you come up the front steps every night.

Use you cellular phone’s camera to full advantage. Catching moments in video nowadays is as easy as making a phone call, so why not combine both features for a thoughtful, midday gift?

Record a love message at work and send it to her – with a love text message to boot. Your partner will appreciate the gesture, and won’t stop thinking about it until you get home.

Try to feed the fantasy. You may be surprised at how open your partner can be to new ways of sharing intimacy. Try testing the waters by purchasing a discreet sex toy, intimating that it can keep your personal moments exciting; more often than not, your partner will at least be willing to give it a try.

There are many types of sex toys you can purchase, those which can provide pleasure without bordering too much on the wild side – so take your pick.

Burn a mixed audio disc. Coming up with your own playlist, one which expresses how much you appreciate the person you’re with probably says much more than if you said it yourself. A mixed CD can also be a makeup message for your partner if saying sorry just won’t suffice.

Showing how you feel with a song not only is romantic, but sets you up for intimacy with less the effort. Who wouldn’t swoon over an Elvis Presley song? Sometimes you have to let the love avatars do their work, leaving you to gather the spoils of the effort.

It's not entirely unthinkable that there are travelers for whom, secretly, one of the biggest motivations of going on the road is to play with, er, I mean "try out" the host of cool gadgets and accessories marketed specifically as travel gear.

It doesn't take much for products to be considered travel gear. Carry it out the front door and (poof!) it's travel-related.

Some catalogs and store shelves, however, are filled with items that are truly lacking, are nifty-but-impractical or, in some cases, are not really travel gear no matter what continent you're on. When buying holiday gifts for the traveler on your list (or if building a wish list of your own), how do you tell?

It's for this reason that we assemble an annual Traveler's Gift Guide. (Also because an Accountant's Gift Guide didn't sound very interesting, and a Buddhist Monk's Gift Guide wouldn't fill much space. Hint: Nothing.) This year's list includes recommendations from gear-guru John Flinn and Travel staff writer Eliza Hussman.

And in the spirit of doing more with less money, most items below can be picked up for the traveler on your list for less than the cost of flying with an overweight piece of luggage. (And in some cases less than the cost of flying with any suitcase.)

Please share your favorite items in the comments field for this story at SFGate.com/travel.

Eye-Fi Wi-Fi cards: Eye-Fi makes digital storage that looks like average camera and video SD cards, only these are Wi-Fi capable. Take a photo and without any extra fussing, the image is automatically transmitted to your computer or, depending on your preferences, to Flickr, Google or another online photo site. (Different cards have different features - and different prices - so read carefully.) The features are flexible and the instructions don't require an advanced degree. Among the benefits: Friends and family can follow your trip through your Flickr site (some cards will even geotag images); and, in case you lose your camera halfway into the trip, your images up to that point are stored online. The card requires an open Wi-Fi signal to operate, but it will store the images until you find one, if necessary. Downside: It sucks power from the camera batteries, but the effect seems minor.

Details: Eye-Fi wireless storage cards; $49.95-$99.95, depending on model; www.eye.fi..

- S.H.

Joby Gorillatorch: The same inventive folks who made camera tripods cool again (face it, traditional tripods scream "photo geek"), have taken their three-legged, bendable model and tacked an LED flashlight on the top. The legs, which can be bent into almost any position, also have powerful magnets in the feet (seemingly for clinging to the side of a car while you change a flat). Good for camping or night reading.

Details: Joby Gorillatorch ( www.joby.com), $29.95, available at Amazon.com.

- S.H.

TravelSmith Men's Classic Washable Blazer: Sartorially sadistic travelers have gone to extraordinary lengths to try to get TravelSmith's travel blazer - officially called the Classic Machine-Washable Two Button Coat - to wrinkle. One member of New York's Explorer's Club reportedly even tossed his on the floor and stomped on it. My advice: Forget it. This blazer simply will not wrinkle, no matter how haphazardly you stuff it into your duffel. To steal a line from an old Patagonia catalog, it's the perfect thing to wear while posing over newly ratified treaties or freshly made gin and tonics.

Details: Classic Machine-Washable Two Button Coat, $189, available at www.travelsmith.com.

- J.F.

Rick Steves Velcro Clothesline: It looks like something from the "My First S&M Dungeon" starter kit, but this new clothesline from Rick Steves represents a major advance in the technology of hotel-sink laundering. Instead of the traditional end loops to hook over whatever bathroom protuberances you can find, it has closeable Velcro bands you can wrap around shower curtain rods, towel racks and door knobs, giving you infinitely more possibilities. Like its predecessor, it requires no clothespins - you just tuck the corners of your clothes into the rubber braids. This is a cunning and much-needed improvement to an essential tool for the ultimate go-light traveler.

Details: Rick Steves Velcro Clothesline, $9.95, available from www.ricksteves.com and some Bay Area bookstores and travel-gear shops.

- J.F.

Digital Luggage Scale: Perhaps you've discovered the hard way that airlines are becoming more vigilant about enforcing weight limits for baggage - even, sometimes, for carry-ons. Some international carriers, for example, limit carry-ons to 15 pounds. You can weigh your bags on your bathroom scale, but an easier and more accurate alternative is a luggage scale. The Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale couldn't be simpler to operate: Attach it to your bag, lift it off the ground, wait for the beep, set your bag down and read the digital printout. If it saves you from a single excess-baggage charge, it has paid for itself.

Details: Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale, $24 at Amazon.com.

- J.F.

Pocket Pogo Handhelds: Pocket Pogo handheld and touch-screen games feature old school favorites such as Monopoly and Battleship, as well as games adapted from Pogo.com. The small, portable devices can fit, well, anywhere and don't need an Internet connection to work. The games combine classic board game vibe with just enough technology to satisfy the electronically -savvy generation. So when the kids get tired of Yahtzee, Grandma can pick up right where they left off.

Details: Pocket Pogo Handhelds, $9.99; Pocket Pogo Touch Screens, $19.99. Both available at mass retailers or through www.pogo.com.

- E.H.

"The Cities Book" by Lonely Planet: This is the latest in Lonely Planet's series of coffee table books that are, essentially, pictorial encyclopedias. (It's handy to be a guidebook company with a huge archive of photos and data to repackage and recycle.) The entry for each city includes vital stats, anatomy of the town, strengths and weaknesses, an urban myth and a list of must-do activities and sites. The education factor is high but, frankly, the stunning photography is just great fodder for armchair wanderlust and trip ideas.

Details: "The Cities Book: A Journey Through the Best Cities in the World" (soft cover), Lonely Planet (lonelyplanet.com), $24.99, available at bookstores.

- S.H.

"Food Journeys of a Lifetime" by National Geographic: Coffee-table books are not always terribly useful. Yes, they make for nice decoration, have pretty pictures and may even be a welcome distraction at boring dinner parties. "Food Journeys of a Lifetime," however, is more than just a coffee-table book. Sure, it has stunning photographs, but also it's packed with recipes, relevant travel tips and sites to visit in the area, and it explains the cultural importance of dishes.

Details: National Geographic's "Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe," $40, bookstores or at shop.nationalgeograph ic. ]com.

- E.H.

More ideas

Got a really picky traveler on your gift list? There's no shortage of sites online loaded with travel accessories, clothes, luggage, and pretty much anything else travel-related you can think of. Here are some tried-and-true sites:

-- Magellans.com

-- TravelSmith.com

-- Flight001.com

-- Packinglight.com

-- Traveloasis.com

-- RickSteves.com

-- Tamperseal.com

-- Travelproducts. com

-- Worldtraveler.com