"American Airlines replica plane that I did not realize made loud takeoff-and-landing noises until it was already home and out of the package (disappeared under mysterious circumstances a few months later)"
In one of their all time greatest trolls, one day when I was a kid my dad said he was bringing something home for me after work that day. Hoping for something incredible (he worked for a satellite telecom company, maybe I was getting a satellite?!) I would like you to consider my feelings when dad came home with....
pipe insulation.
To put on the corners around the house because I kept running into them and cracking my head open.
Always fun to explain to people that you travelled for work and didn’t see anything remotely interesting.
“What’d you see in Chicago?” The inside of McCormick Place
“You went to Grand Rapids? How is Founders?” I was in a factory in the least descript building of all time for 18 hours a day trying to get the idiot in charge of the place to make a decent product (I did not succeed)
I understand. Having to produce a token gift when returning from a trip can get stressful. In the spirit of not having to stress on a layover, my suggestion is to pre-buy souvenirs and bring them with you. Stock up on stuff from places like Oriental Trading, eBay (cityname souvenir, you can add "lot" if you're a regular there), old time candy... whatever you think would be an interesting novelty for your kids.
This might be more for when they are older, but choose a common object that tends to be everywhere you go (keychain, fridge magnet, etc) and get one whenever you end up at a new destination (or at a local establishment while on the road). Still have stories, they get to enjoy a collection of something, and your microwave is left available to reheat leftovers that you missed while traveling.
This made me realize that I have flown in and out of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre airport no less than a dozen times but I don't remember literally any detail about that place. The idea of buying some trinket there is beyond my brain's grasp.
When you have to spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, bring a Chromecast (or other small streaming device). Most hotel TVs have an HDMI port that you can stick it into and it runs fine over the complimentary wi-fi. Just don't forget it when you leave.
The only period for which I’ve traveled for work was late ‘08 to mid ‘12 when I went to NOLA once a month, and at my wife’s request I did not bring something back for the kids every time. (I had been motivated by happy childhood memories of Siku model trucks bought by my dad during periodic work trips to Germany) My younger daughter was just about 6 when the NOLA trips started and wouldn’t talk to me when I called home because “it makes me too sad to talk to daddy when he’s far away” in case you were wondering what guilt feels like.
For what it’s worth, now that the girls are 17 & 19, I find it immensely gratifying that the form of their telling me they miss me is to reach out at random - texts and sharing stuff from Instagram or TikTok or whatever nonsense caught their eye which they thought I would find funny. Given how fraught the transition through to young adulthood can be, I don’t take those messages for granted at all.
The Old Bobcat (my dad) didn't have much business travel per se, but he was the on-campus recruiter for our county school system, tasked with the somewhat thankless job of persuading graduates of Ohio's various teacher education programs to start their careers in the middle of fucking nowhere. Over the years, he brought back a felt pennant from more or less every four-year college in the state. I pinned them on a round piece of cardboard like a highly educated pizza and had them hanging on my wall.
You could always go with the airport Toblerone option. Watch as children marvel at the hidden bear in the mountain. Pieces could be evenly divvied up while still being able to secure some for yourself.
This one brought back some delightful memories, sir. Like the time I asked my three-year-old what he wanted from New York, and he responded "a picture of [Devil Bro] and a piece of cake." (I managed both, and a belated shout out to that bakery on Seventh Avenue for careful packing for the Acela.) Or of the stuffed pig at our house that, to this day, wears a Razorbacks onesie that I tracked down in Bentonville. I hope you never get tired of finding those little treats.
My work trips are usually at least a week, often two, in the middle of nowhere. So I get a weekend in there to go to bizarre and fun places, like the Anthracite Museum outside of Scranton, or the Horseshoe Curve outside of Pittsburgh, the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City etc etc. HOWEVER, it is unforgivable that you went to the Minneapolis Airport and did not get them something from the Prince Store. Talk about dropping the bag, jeez.
If this ever happened to me, I think with this foreboding, I'd probably make it a point to take some pictures I can show the kids when I get back. After every trip, I can show them what it looked like where I was, some interesting thing I did or drove past, etc. I suppose you could do this without even taking the photos yourself. Good thought, me!
"American Airlines replica plane that I did not realize made loud takeoff-and-landing noises until it was already home and out of the package (disappeared under mysterious circumstances a few months later)"
Are you saying you Flight 370'd this?
In one of their all time greatest trolls, one day when I was a kid my dad said he was bringing something home for me after work that day. Hoping for something incredible (he worked for a satellite telecom company, maybe I was getting a satellite?!) I would like you to consider my feelings when dad came home with....
pipe insulation.
To put on the corners around the house because I kept running into them and cracking my head open.
Please clap.
Always fun to explain to people that you travelled for work and didn’t see anything remotely interesting.
“What’d you see in Chicago?” The inside of McCormick Place
“You went to Grand Rapids? How is Founders?” I was in a factory in the least descript building of all time for 18 hours a day trying to get the idiot in charge of the place to make a decent product (I did not succeed)
I understand. Having to produce a token gift when returning from a trip can get stressful. In the spirit of not having to stress on a layover, my suggestion is to pre-buy souvenirs and bring them with you. Stock up on stuff from places like Oriental Trading, eBay (cityname souvenir, you can add "lot" if you're a regular there), old time candy... whatever you think would be an interesting novelty for your kids.
This might be more for when they are older, but choose a common object that tends to be everywhere you go (keychain, fridge magnet, etc) and get one whenever you end up at a new destination (or at a local establishment while on the road). Still have stories, they get to enjoy a collection of something, and your microwave is left available to reheat leftovers that you missed while traveling.
"Just buy a lion."
This made me realize that I have flown in and out of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre airport no less than a dozen times but I don't remember literally any detail about that place. The idea of buying some trinket there is beyond my brain's grasp.
When you have to spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, bring a Chromecast (or other small streaming device). Most hotel TVs have an HDMI port that you can stick it into and it runs fine over the complimentary wi-fi. Just don't forget it when you leave.
The only period for which I’ve traveled for work was late ‘08 to mid ‘12 when I went to NOLA once a month, and at my wife’s request I did not bring something back for the kids every time. (I had been motivated by happy childhood memories of Siku model trucks bought by my dad during periodic work trips to Germany) My younger daughter was just about 6 when the NOLA trips started and wouldn’t talk to me when I called home because “it makes me too sad to talk to daddy when he’s far away” in case you were wondering what guilt feels like.
For what it’s worth, now that the girls are 17 & 19, I find it immensely gratifying that the form of their telling me they miss me is to reach out at random - texts and sharing stuff from Instagram or TikTok or whatever nonsense caught their eye which they thought I would find funny. Given how fraught the transition through to young adulthood can be, I don’t take those messages for granted at all.
The Old Bobcat (my dad) didn't have much business travel per se, but he was the on-campus recruiter for our county school system, tasked with the somewhat thankless job of persuading graduates of Ohio's various teacher education programs to start their careers in the middle of fucking nowhere. Over the years, he brought back a felt pennant from more or less every four-year college in the state. I pinned them on a round piece of cardboard like a highly educated pizza and had them hanging on my wall.
You could always go with the airport Toblerone option. Watch as children marvel at the hidden bear in the mountain. Pieces could be evenly divvied up while still being able to secure some for yourself.
This one brought back some delightful memories, sir. Like the time I asked my three-year-old what he wanted from New York, and he responded "a picture of [Devil Bro] and a piece of cake." (I managed both, and a belated shout out to that bakery on Seventh Avenue for careful packing for the Acela.) Or of the stuffed pig at our house that, to this day, wears a Razorbacks onesie that I tracked down in Bentonville. I hope you never get tired of finding those little treats.
I basically stopped reading at the end of the list because I knew the rest of it was going to be ~ feelings ~. You didn’t get me this time!!
My work trips are usually at least a week, often two, in the middle of nowhere. So I get a weekend in there to go to bizarre and fun places, like the Anthracite Museum outside of Scranton, or the Horseshoe Curve outside of Pittsburgh, the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City etc etc. HOWEVER, it is unforgivable that you went to the Minneapolis Airport and did not get them something from the Prince Store. Talk about dropping the bag, jeez.
If this ever happened to me, I think with this foreboding, I'd probably make it a point to take some pictures I can show the kids when I get back. After every trip, I can show them what it looked like where I was, some interesting thing I did or drove past, etc. I suppose you could do this without even taking the photos yourself. Good thought, me!