Looking for a Christmas gift for the traveler in your life?

Want a practical gift that’s small enough to fit in a backpack or suitcase?

But also a fun gift that will have them smiling all the way to the airport?

Here’s 6 Christmas stocking stuffers might just do the trick.

Designer Duct Tape

Smart travelers know that a roll of a duct tape is worth its weight in gold, capable of fixing and personalizing luggage, plugging up a sink, repairing books and hemlines, and even baby proofing a room.

Crumbled Maps

Crumbled maps can be folded or simply screwed up and stuffed into a pocket, backpack or carryon without damage. Guaranteed wrinkle resistant and waterproof, the crumpled map is the perfect companion who still prefers a real map to an App.

WiFi on a keychain

This little gadget is designed to make finding a WiFi hotspot a breeze.  Instead of wandering around, laptop at the ready, all you have to do is pull out the keychain and click the button to turn on the mobile signal locator.

A Gorillapod

Flexible and light, these mini tripods are perfect for both amateur and professional photographers. Able to be wrapped around any surface – fences, tree branches, wine bottles, and even arms – these rugged and highly flexible tripod making taking photos easy. And there’s even a ‘gorillamobile’ for iPhones.

Whimsical luggage tag

Add a little humor to your luggage with a whimsical luggage tag from Anne Taintor (left)  or Pamela Barsky (right) that might just entertain everyone from the luggage handler to your fellow travelers.

A gift of giving

Of course, some travelers may have already packed their bags and don’t want anything new. For them, the perfect gift might just be the gift of gift of giving through the Passports With Purpose.

It’s official.

The results are in.

Chicago’s Field Museum’s restrooms are simply the best.

Beating out heavy competition – including the Presidential Luxury restroom trailer originally set up for President Obama during the 2009 inauguration – the Field Museum’s restrooms have been crowned America’s Best Restroom 2011.

This isn’t the first time these award-winning restrooms have been in the news. Back in 2000, they garnered a special recognition award for interior architecture in the annual Chicago design excellence awards.  At the time, the Field Museum was praised for it’s innovative thinking and willingness to spend extra money to renovate the restrooms into not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing places.

Painted brilliant blue, forest green, and shades of cream, the sleek, futuristic restrooms with celestial doomed ceilings are family-friendly, eco-friendly, durable, and easy to maintain  – key factors that helped them win the coveted America’s Best Restroom award.

The extremely colorful restroom at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel came in second, with it’s innovate red or blue water stream from the washbasin faucets.

And in third place were the restrooms at the  Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

Now in it’s tenth year, the America’s Best Restroom contest is sponsored by restroom supply company Cintas. Each year nominations pour in from businesses, including restaurants, hotels and casinos across the United States.

Anyone interested in discovering more award winning restrooms should check out the hall of fame where each year’s winners and nominees are showcased.

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking a trip into outer space but can’t afford the price tag – seats on the Virgin Galactic, after all, cost $200,000 – Seattle’s Space Needle might be able to help.

Next year, the iconic Space Needle turns 50. And to celebrate this momentous anniversary, they are planning on sending one lucky (and adventurous) person into outer space.

Partnering with Space Adventures, a private spaceflight company, they have created the multi-tiered Space Race 2012 contest.

Tier one involves keen space tourists entering the online sweepstakes at the Space Needle website by November 30^th.

Then, in early December, a random draw of 1000 people will take place. The chosen 1000 will be asked to submit one-minute videos promoting why they should be the winning space traveler.

Public voting will then narrow down the number of entrants and from there, a panel will choose the winner.

While attending the annual “Geek Spring Break” tech conference that is South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) in Austin, Texas, I sat in on a presentation about interactive storytelling using mobile devices.  For the rest of the conference, whenever someone asked me to name the most interesting concept I’d seen at SXSWi, I mentioned this panel.

It’s sort of an audio tour plus flash mob plus live theater plus….well, AVAdventure is hard to describe, but I can see possibilities for setting up productions that could really engage travelers, especially the eternally bored and cynical ones.

Everyone in a participating group downloads audio files to their mobile devices – iPods, phones, etc. – and everyone presses “Play” at the same time, then follows the “script,” which includes live actors appearing at certain times in the narrative.

At SXSWi, presenters Adam Stackhouse and Kelley Quinn described their most recent project: an adventure about American history run simultaneously in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia plus the National Mall in Washington, DC and a third set of participants online.  Several storylines were woven through the production (I cannot imagine the planning this must take) and certain things had to happen at certain times at all three locations.

The AVAdventures crew is currently working with Colonial Williamsburg on another project, and I think this is a perfect fit for the ongoing effort to paint history in rich, vibrant colors for visitors at living history museums.

Here is an attempt to describe what they do (direct link on YouTube) in the video below….and imagine all of that happening with some Ben Franklin-ish reenactors in breeches. Boggles the mind, but I’d love to try it.

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After months of quakes and aftershocks, Christchurch residents  have been hanging out for some comic relief.

Last week the comic relief arrived. 

The 18th annual World Buskers Festival, a ten day extravaganza of extreme street theater,  hit  Christchurch city. 

It’s a time for bellies, not buildings, to be shaking as more than 50 highly versatile and talented buskers from around the world set up their pitch around the city and strut their stuff in some of the most colorful, musical, and flexible ways.

From contortionists to ventriliquists, knife throwers to knife swallowers, jugglers to dancers, rappers to hip hop,  these buskers are brilliant at forcing people to smile and shake with laughter. 

This year’s line up includes many of the city’s favorites –  The Blackstreet Boys, the half naked chef, Mullethead, Rubberband Boy – name but a few.  You can discover more about these acts and others that are performing at the World Buskers Festival site.