Gift-Giving Without Leaving Your Computer Chair

With online holiday sales expected to top $7 billion this year, it’s a good bet that many globetrotting Santas will be shopping in cyberspace during the next few weeks.

Whether you’re in the market for something as lavish as a first-class airline ticket to the South Pacific or as mundane as a folding alarm clock, here are several sites designed to help you cross off the travelers on your shopping list:

America Online’s Independent Traveler: Holiday Gift Ideas for Travelers (AOL keyword: traveler): You’ll find a range of well-chosen suggestions here for everyone from laptop-toting executives (Port Inc.’s motion-sensor alarm system for computers, $49.95) to serious trekkers (Travelsmith’s Sierra walking pole, $79). AOL members who order online get a 15% discount through travel supplier Magellan’s (https://www.magellans.com).

eBags.com (https://www.ebags .com): With live, online customer service help, competitive prices, free gift box and free delivery for 50 highlighted items, this luggage and accessories company offers some strong incentives to pick up a mouse instead of heading to a mall. Another plus: a special symbol for bags that meet airlines’ tougher carry-on requirements, which are spelled out on the site.

Ex Officio (https://www.exofficio.com): This travel clothing company didn’t launch a Web presence until this year. It supplements its e-commerce pitches with a “travel journal” that includes destination articles, tips and a reader forum. Online travelers don’t seem to be privy to any special discounts, but Ex Officio’s handsomely designed site does a good job of showcasing such stalwarts as the easy-care, tougher-than-nails Baja Plus shirt for men and women ($82).

Expedia’s Holiday Travel Center (https://www.expedia.com): Along with a variety of travel-related gift certificates, Expedia supplies information on last-minute airport shopping. (UFO fanatics passing through Las Vegas can even buy “out of this world” souvenirs at a shop called Sightings at Area 51, named for the restricted Nevada area that some believe harbors alien spacecraft.)

Fair Trade Federation (https://www.fairtradefederation.com): This association links consumers directly with Third World, low-income producers, and the list of members’ online catalogs leads cyber-travelers to some fascinating gift possibilities. Case in point: Two Porters (https://www.twoporters.com), an Oakland-based wholesaler and retailer of handicrafts from Nepal, where the choices include handmade, decorative paper boxes ($14 and $17).

GiftCertificates.com (https://www.giftcertificates.com): Want to take the easy way out? This site lets you order gift certificates from such companies as American Airlines, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Orvis. The certificates are mailed to the recipient (along with a classic card and envelope) within five to 10 business days. There’s no shipping and handling charge through the holidays, but rush delivery and gift boxes cost extra.

Rand McNally Travel Store (www.randmcnallystore.com): This online store offers a good selection of atlases, globes and mapping software, plus plenty of books, puzzles and games designed to stave off the back-seat blues on that journey over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house. Gift wrapping is available for an additional $2 per item.

Yahoo! Travel Booksellers (https://www.yahoo.com): Forget that 400-pound e-commerce gorilla with the name of a South American river. For a great overview of travel-oriented bookstores that hawk their wares online, click “travel” on Yahoo!’s home page, then “booksellers.” You’ll find places like Jackson, Wyo.-based Bigger Than That Productions (https://www.biggerthanthat.com), which sells tapes, books and music about Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.

*

Electronic Explorer appears monthly. Comments are welcome at lsbly@aol.com.