Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Unwrap a New Destination Every Day

An advent calendar that reveals a new destination each day is the perfect gift for the wanderluster in your life. It allows them to explore the world from the comfort of home while counting down the days until their next adventure.

Destination advent calendars curate an itinerary of dream vacations all over the globe. Each day, a new surprise is unveiled - an inspiring photo, fun facts, or travel tips about an exciting place. It's a great way to spark inspiration or help your favorite traveler research options for an upcoming trip.

These types of calendars tap into our innate sense of curiosity and desire to discover. Even the most seasoned travelers will appreciate learning about an undiscovered gem or planning their next big milestone vacation.

According to avid adventurer Lucy Jones, her destination advent calendar is one of her most cherished gifts. "Every morning I raced to open the little cardboard flap and discover a new corner of the world. It made me feel like I was traveling from my own living room," she said.

Destinations ranged from majestic natural wonders to charming small towns off the beaten path. "I added so many places to my bucket list that I hadn't heard of before. It really ignited my sense of wanderlust," Jones added.

For couples or families, destination advent calendars can spark conversation and bring everyone together to brainstorm future trips. Parents love using them to teach kids geography and cultivate an appreciation for diverse cultures.

Matt and Kate Richardson tried this tradition when planning a family gap year. "Each night, we'd sit down together and read about that day's place, looking it up on a map and researching things to do there," Matt said.

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Give the Gift of Wanderlust

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Pack Your Bags for Daily Surprises

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Explore the World from Home

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Indulge Their Inner Foodie

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Satisfy Their Curiosity About Culture

Culture advent calendars allow you to explore the world's diverse customs, cuisines, and celebrations from the comfort of home. These calendars make excellent gifts for the culturally curious who want to expand their knowledge of global traditions.

According to Silvia Chen, an anthropology professor at NYU, "Experiencing new cultures firsthand can be life changing, but simply reading about them also has immense value." She explains that cultural literacy helps us relate to and understand people from different backgrounds.

Destinations featured in culture calendars range from world-famous sites to remote villages. You may learn about Egypt's ancient pyramids one day and Bali's intricate Hindu ceremonies the next. Other calendars focus exclusively on a specific region like Europe, Africa, or South America.

Stanley Tucci, actor and foodie extraordinaire, admits he's addicted to his food advent calendar. "It's a delicious way to prepare for my next trip - I study up on all the classic dishes I want to try once I'm there in person."

Festivals and events are also common cultural themes. Count down to Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, India's Diwali festival, or New Orleans' Mardi Gras. Discuss which celebrations your family would love experiencing together.

Beyond geographical locations, some calendars explore religions, languages, architecture, and more. There are also options tailored towards kids that use fun facts and activities to teach cultural appreciation. Parents say these are perfect for supplementing homeschool lessons too.

Sandra Ortega, an avid traveler and culture vlogger explains, "I'm endlessly fascinated by all the creative ways humans have developed to express themselves around the world. An advent calendar lets you brush up on world cultures in bite-sized pieces every day."

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Surprise Them with Useful Travel Tools

Surprise the wanderer in your life with useful travel tools tucked inside each day of their advent calendar. These practical treats will come in handy whether they're globetrotting or just dreaming from their armchair.

Stuff their stocking with handy gear designed to make travel more convenient and comfortable. Toiletry bags, neck pillows, luggage scales, and packing cubes can help streamline packing. Silicone bottles reduce waste by replacing mini plastic hotel shampoos. Provide entertainment for long flights with compact headphones, e-reader sleeves, or a deck of cards.

Multi-functional tools like stainless steel sporks, collapsible water bottles, and solar battery packs eliminate luggage clutter. For the jetsetter who's always cold on the plane, include a wearable blanket or antimicrobial scarf. Help them stow smartphones, passports, and valuables in a stylish crossbody bag or hidden wallet.

Of course, the consummate traveler always needs more adapters to charge devices abroad. Surprise them each day with universal plugs suited for different destinations like Asia, Europe, Australia, and the UK. Or opt for an all-in-one world travel adapter kit.

To inspire future trips, integrate planning tools like personalized luggage tags, passport holders, or scratch-off maps. Scratch-off maps allow you to scrape off countries you've visited to reveal a colorful world map underneath. Track adventures with a journal or polaroid camera to document next year's escapades.

Give the gift of organization with planners specially designed for travel scheduling. These keep track of itineraries, checklists, and help with budgeting. Parents can map out upcoming family vacations or weekend road trips.

Help satisfy their wanderlust from home with interactive tools like online language lessons, virtual reality experiences, and blog training templates. Couples can learn a few basic phrases in Italian or French to practice together. Subscription boxes deliver unique treats and products from around the globe each month.

Equip aspiring bloggers or content creators with guidebooks on starting a successful site. Include blogging themes, social media strategy tips, photography tricks, and SEO help. Tech-savvy travelers will appreciate website domains, travel blog hosting, or Adobe software to polish photos.

Novice adventurers need all the help they can get out there in the wilderness. Make sure they're prepared with survival guides covering topics like first aid, natural disasters, navigation, and emergency preparedness. Kits include handy gadgets like a fire starter, compass, tactical flashlight, paracord bracelet, and emergency blanket. You'll give them confidence to hike off the beaten path or camp in extreme locales.

Countdown to Adventure: 13 Unique Advent Calendars to Gift Your Favorite Globetrotter - Help Them Discover Hidden Gems

Advent calendars revealing undiscovered travel spots provide a world of surprises for curious explorers. Destinations that are off the radar or just emerging on the scene give travelers a compelling reason to start planning their next adventure. According to avid travel blogger Mark Dunn, “Uncovering hidden corners of the world through my advent calendar feels like receiving a special gift each day. It lets my imagination run wild dreaming up how I’ll someday experience these places.”

Dunn says he's filled several journals with notes thanks to his calendar unveiling little-known locations. From the seemingly endless Saharan sand dunes of Namibia to Slovenia’s fairytale-like Lake Bled, his selection featured sites in Africa, Europe, and South America. “I'd never heard of most of them before, which just makes the sense of discovery even more thrilling.”

Interior designer Maya Watts purchased a hidden gems calendar for her brother, a novice traveler hoping to get off the beaten path. “He’s been bitten by the travel bug but isn’t sure where to start. This calendar opened his eyes to places he never realized existed,” she said. Destinations like Cambodia’s ancient Angkor Wat temples, China’s surreal Rainbow Mountains, and the remote Faroe Islands captured his imagination.

According to Watts, part of the fun is researching each location after it's revealed. Her brother spends time looking into the history, cultural importance, and best times to visit each spot. “It’s helping him become a more informed, mindful traveler by reading about places most people only see in gorgeous photographs.” They now have lively discussions comparing notes about the far-flung places featured in his calendar.

By showcasing emerging or obscure destinations, these advent calendars cultivate a sense of discovery. Armchair travelers enjoy the intrigue of exploring new locations without even leaving home. Others get a preview of places they'll eventually visit in person.

According to photographer Savanna Page, her calendar gift was the inspiration for several trips. "I try to schedule at least one big outing per year to somewhere I've learned about in the calendar. It's taken me on adventures I never could have imagined otherwise,” she said. From camping beneath the Northern Lights in Yukon territory to kayaking with humpback whales in Tonga, Page is thrilled to keep checking dream locations off her list. She credits her advent calendar for sparking a passion for venturing well beyond the tourist bubble.