Posted By TIG on Sep 12, 2014 | 4 comments

Scratch maps are simply brilliant! It’s the perfect way to show off where you’ve been travelling while livening up your wall. It consists of a unique, slick looking gold wall map to start with – you then scratch off all the places you’ve visited to reveal a whole new world below, featuring colour and geographical detail. It comes in a great looking, quality tube, making this the perfect gift for the jet-setter in your life!

What’s the idea:  Basically it is a world map that you can put on your wall and scratch off the countries you visit.
Who for: Fun for all the family
Cost: Approx £8-£12
Where can I buy one: Amazon – Luckies Scratch Map Personalised World Map

TIG’s Review So, for Jamie’s (TIGs boyfriend) 30th I surprised him with a trip to Dubai. I spent many days, weeks and months planning the holiday of a lifetime. However, I reached a hurdle in my planning when I thought how am I going to tell him? Do I just let him figure it out when we reach the airport? Do I just wrap up the Dubai guidebook? While I was googling away for ideas on ‘How to surprise people with a holiday’ I came across the scratch map and I thought this was perfect (and quite a cheap idea!). He is an avid traveller and not only would it be a great way to surprise him it would look great in his office. I purchased the scratch map from Amazon and when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of packaging; it came in this beautifully presented travel inspired tube. After unraveling the map I noticed a slight flaw in my master plan – the UAE was one

of the smallest countries on the map! Anyway, I carefully scratched it off and despite it being barely noticeable I rolled it up and put it back in the tube and wrapped it up.

On the morning of his birthday I gave it to him and he absolutely loved the map just on it’s own, then his eyes were drawn to the fact the UAE was scratched off. He was left speechless (for the first time!). It was a fantastic surprise and this is now one of my favourite all time gift ideas. It was cheap, effective and we always look forward to scratching another country off! I then presented him with a scrapbook telling the story of where we were going, where we were staying and the activities we were doing…read about it here

Any bad points? The map is quite heavy and is not a regular size to fit a ready made frame. It would be great if they sold the frames to go with them but unfortunately you would have to get one made to measure. I stuck ours to the wall with velcro pads which held it up nicely, however, when we came to move house the map came off fine, but then so did the paint..oops!

To sum up If you want to surprise someone with a trip away then why not treat them to a scratch map. Simply scratch off your surprise destination, roll it up, wrap it up and SURPRISE! It also comes in a great presentation tube to make it extra special. It also makes a great gift for the Phileas Fogg wannabes out there!

For more photos on Idea #1: A scratch map, visit my board on Pinterest