My girfriend is going on a trip to London in a few weeks and I’d like to get her something for Valentine’s Day that would tie into her trip. She is a practical sort and wouldn’t be disappointed if I eschewed the “traditional,” e.g. jewelry, flowers, clothes, etc.
(Related question: Would a gift certificate to a travel store be too impersonal?)
Maybe a plane trip goodie bag, with snacks, tour books, a hand-held game, deck of cards, puzzle book, etc.?
Or–if you know where exactly in London she’ll be staying/going, maybe you could arrange for something special while she’s on her trip. Like a limo for a day, or tickets to some event?
I’d skip the gift certificate myself, I always think of those as gifts you give to people you don’t really know all that well.
I am moving to the UK on monday and my fave gift so far was the Lonely Planet guide to London. (:
How about a nice journal for documenting her trip? No, it’s not very Valentiney, but it would be nice, and she’d think of you every time she wrote in it. Write something nice on the front page?
Well, the journal idea is nice but someone got her one recently. And I already gave her a load of travel books from when I went myself.
Find out if you can get a gift certificate for a restaurant/store/shoppe/starbucks near the hotel where she is staying. That way it will be in local currency and she can have a nice time without you 
Call the hotel about this for recommendations of nearby things to do.
Tickets to a show in London?
Are there any kind of multi-museum passes available for London (if she likes museums)
A small daily suprise package for while she is gone (open an envelop each day), with lots of little stuff to remind her that you are thinking of her. (a picture, a poem, a silly card, a dried flower)
Does she need/want a camera?
If you are comfortable with a gift card, how about a gift card to a store in London. Let her splurge a bit without worrying about the money as much.
Again, the tickets are a good idea, but she’s going with her friend. If I got her a ticket I’d have to get her friend a ticket, too.
Aren’t there cell phones that work overseas? That would be very useful on a trip. Maybe a digital camera or MP3 player, if she doesn’t have both already.
I personally wouldn’t want a travel store gift certificate. Most things sold in “travel stores” look really useful but turn out not to be, at least in my experience. Except obvious necessities like suitcases.
What if I had a gift voucher for Harrods waiting for her at the hotel?