Since we spent the entire day doing nothing interesting except working and packing, I’ll take this moment to offer some suggestions to those of you shopping for loved ones who travel in their RV a lot.

Folks like us live in small spaces, and need to travel light. So the ideal gift is very useful, lightweight, small, and requires no maintenance. Even better are consumable gifts. Here are a few things your traveling friends might love:

— gift cards to places that RV’ers frequent: Camping World, Cracker Barrel, Wal-Mart, Home Depot. Or, if you prefer, get a gift card for services RV’ers commonly use: fuel, cell phone, campgrounds
— entertainment: CDs, DVDs, Netflix gift subscriptions, or for that digitally-savvy traveler an iTunes gift card
— a National Parks Pass, or for someone with children, an ASTC museum Passport. Both are great money-savers and valid nationwide.
— if you have an in-person visit, consider a nice rosemary bush as a miniature Christmas tree.
— food. You just can’t go wrong there unless you ship them a giant crate of pineapples. Food is great because it doesn’t take up space for long. Homemade goodies are especially appreciated, at least by us. Or if you want something themed, you could get Silver Joe’s coffee, or Happy Camper wine.
— photos. Most RV’s I see have photos mounted on the walls somewhere to remind them of the people they plan to visit.
— a cool Airstream shirt, sweatshirt, hat, poster, book, or set of travel decals from the Airstream Life store (shameless plug #1)
— a subscription to Airstream Life. (Shameless plug #2) If you don’t like them that much, get them a subscription to Trailer Life instead.
— cute Airstream Christmas lights. These look great hung on the awning at night.
— a useful book that might inspire something, like Traveler’s Guide to Mexican Camping.

On the other hand, if price is no object:

— Birdy folding bicycle ($1,250 and up). Airstream branding is available.
— highly portable digital camera with movie mode ($200-400)
— Kodiak disc brake upgrade (>$2k for a tandem axle trailer)
— Verizon Broadband National Access PC card and 24 months service (about $1,500)
— a Hensley hitch (under $3,000)

Today we are flying northward for a week.