Christmas presents for high-flyers

There are less than two weeks to go to complete the all-important Christmas shopping, but if the prospect of facing the high streets at this time of year brings you out in a cold sweat, fret not. There is an abundance of presents available for those with a love of travel and flying - all to be bought from the calm of your own home by shopping online. The following are just a few suggestions that would bring a smile to the face of even the pickiest jetsetter in your life...

Flight vouchers are a relatively new phenomenon that have become increasingly popular in the last couple of years. That bit more exciting than a book voucher - though not necessarily more expensive - they're perfect if you just want to give someone the chance of a holiday, but not risk choosing the wrong destination.

Flight vouchers are simple to buy and simple to use: decide what amount you want to give (£20 is usually the cheapest), buy online from the airline, and either an email or a voucher will be sent to the recipient. They can use this to pay for all or part of any flight they want to book across the entire route network.

A plethora of low-cost airlines sell gift vouchers.
- Ryanair's flight vouchers start at £20 and go up to a maximum of £200. The cheapest Ryanair ticket starts at approximately £12 including all tax, so even with the least expensive voucher you could still give the present of a flight to an array of European destinations.
- Thomsonfly has the lowest denomination available on vouchers, starting at £10. The top spend is £100. Visit Thomsonfly's flight gift voucher page to book online.
- Gift vouchers are also available from easyJet from £25 to £250. They are not quite as easy to buy, however. You need to email the airline saying that you want to buy a voucher and for how much and they will call you back to "complete your transaction the same day". (A little) more information is available on the flight voucher FAQ page on their website.
- Central European carrier Wizz Air sells Christmas vouchers online. Choose from £20, £40 or £80 denominations.

Holidays: If you want to give a specific holiday as a present, there are some fantastic bargains available if you book now for next summer. Nobody is really thinking about their summer holiday now (most are too busy dreaming of snow, mulled wine and a crackling fireplace) so airlines and travel agents are offering some rock bottom deals to tempt people to book ahead.

- EasyJet, for example, has just released details of its summer routes, including new flights to Ibiza. The airline is also offering 35 per cent off easyJetHotels for early bookers.
- Travel agent First Choice is currently running a special offer on holidays for Summer 2007 with prices starting at £145, including all supplementary charges. All the popular destinations are available, such as Majorca, Crete, Turkey or Ibiza.
- Thomas Cook likewise has a sale for next summer. The very cheapest hol available is £93 and there are hundreds of options for between £100-£200 in popular summer hot spots.
-If you fancy treating them to somewhere further afield, Zoom Airlines has just released its summer schedule and flights are available to book online now. One of the few transatlantic low-cost airlines, Zoom flies from the UK to destinations in Canada from just £99 (taxes are additional).

Take to the skies: being flown by others too boring for your intended giftee? Gift "experiences" are a more dare-devil option.

Popularised by the likes of Red Letter Days, gift experiences offer the chance of adventures such as a champagne flight on a hot air balloon, a "body flying experience" (sort of like a parachute freefall without the heights) or a 30-minute flight in a Tiger Moth. Prices start at £49. So far, so slightly-more-unusual than the average present. But why stop there?

For a little more money you could treat your beloved to a seven day paragliding holiday in the Austrian Alps - available with Austrian Arena from €550. Transport to Mayrhofen not included.

If you're a little more flush, you could go for a MiG fighter jet flight over Moscow with Incredible Adventures. The same company also offers space flight training, air combat adventures or a "Hollywood Top Gun experience". Needless to say, prices, available on application only, are not cheap.

For all other presents: back in the real world, the UK's top shopping destination for Christmas 2006 has certainly been New York. The dollar is down and flights are cheap, which means that you could end up shelling out less for your presents even once you've paid for the journey there. Read more in our recent story: Deck the malls: Christmas shopping in the US.

And if you're lucky enough to have a holiday booked before Christmas, don't try and get all your presents before you leave. Take a look at Cheapflights travel tip on Shopping Abroad to find out all you need to know to get the best bargains.

© Cheapflights Ltd Sabrina Wolfe