08/31/2026
Most gifts have an expiration date.
The toy eventually breaks.
The clothes are outgrown.
The latest gadget is replaced by a newer one.
But more than 20 years ago, I gave my nephew a gift that somehow grew more valuable with time.
I gave him a trip.
I wanted the surprise to feel as special as the adventure itself, so I bought wooden blocks and painted them by hand. On Christmas, he had to arrange the blocks correctly to uncover the destination.
I can still remember watching him work through the puzzle—and the excitement on his face when he finally realized what his gift truly was.
He wasn’t opening another possession.
He was discovering that we were going somewhere together.
More than two decades have passed since that Christmas. My little nephew is now an adult, yet he still tells people that trip was the best gift he has ever received.
Not the best gift he received that year.
The best gift he has ever received.
That is the power of giving travel.
You aren’t simply giving someone a destination. You are giving them anticipation. Discovery. Laughter. Connection. Time with the people they love—and a story that becomes part of who they are.
Long after the wrapping paper is gone, the experience remains.
They remember how it felt to learn they were going. They remember the things they saw, the laughter they shared and the moments that could never have fit inside a box.
And sometimes, if you are very lucky, you discover 20 years later that the gift you gave them became one of the memories they treasure most.
So, when the next birthday, anniversary, graduation, Christmas or milestone arrives, consider giving something that will never be outgrown, outdated or forgotten.
Give them somewhere to go.
Give them someone to share it with.
Give them a story they will still be telling decades from now.
Give the gift of travel—because the most meaningful presents aren’t always things we keep.
Sometimes, they are moments we carry with us forever.