Christmas Gifts for Travelers: Practical Gift Ideas
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In our view, the gift of travel is the best possible thing to find under your tree. If round-trip tickets to Paris are out of your price range, these gifts for travelers will be loved by anyone on your list.
Each of these gifts is designed to make travel smoother, more secure, and enjoyable without taking up too much space in a suitcase.
Portable Luggage Scale
Lightweight and compact, this scale ensures travelers avoid extra baggage fees by letting them weigh their luggage before check-in. Having a small and packable scale makes sure you don’t end up with too many souvenirs and a heavy luggage fee on the return flight home.
Digital Travel Lock
A TSA-approved digital lock is both secure and easy to use, helping travelers keep their belongings safe while complying with airport regulations. This is especially helpful if you’re traveling via train or plan to leave your luggage at the hotel luggage room while you explore.
Waterproof Travel Pouches
These pouches protect electronics, documents, and other essentials from water, making them ideal for beach trips, boat rides, rainy days, and tropical rainstorms.
Collapsible Water Bottle
Perfect for light packers, this foldable bottle saves space when empty, offering a reusable and eco-friendly way to stay hydrated on the go. Airport water bottles are an expensive waste of money. Most airports now have handy bottle-filling stations post security for your convenience.
Compact Travel Laundry Kit
A small kit with soap sheets, a scrubber, and a drying line allows travelers to freshen up clothes on the road without hunting for laundromats. This is a great way to pack lighter if you’re on the go. Pack this kit and half the clothes!
Power Bank with Built-in Charging Cables
Avoid extra cables with a power bank that has built-in cords, providing a handy way to charge multiple devices without extra clutter. Power banks have been a life-saver during long travel days and unexpected travel mishaps.
Tokyo Treat Subscription
If you’ve ever dreamed of exploring the vibrant and eclectic world of Japanese snacks, Tokyo Treat is your passport to a monthly adventure. This exciting subscription service delivers a curated box of authentic Japanese goodies straight to your doorstep, no matter where you are in the world. With Tokyo Treat, you get a taste of Japan’s most popular treats, seasonal exclusives, and even limited-edition snacks that are hard to find outside of Japan.
Universal Adapter with USB Ports
A single adapter with multiple plug options and USB slots helps travelers charge their devices in any country with ease. These all in one adapters are essential. Make sure to get one with USB-C it’s quickly becoming the most common plug in the portable electronics world. It’s standard on new iPhones.
Portable Espresso Maker
For coffee lovers on the go, a portable espresso maker delivers fresh brews without needing electricity, just hot water. Flight attendants will happily provide you with hot water and most hotel rooms have a kettle or coffee machine that can also make hot water for this. While hardly an essential item, it could save you some money by skipping your morning $8 latte.
Compression Packing Cubes
These packing cubes compress clothes to save space, keeping suitcases neat while allowing travelers to bring more essentials. They’re a great way to maximize space in your bag, especially if you’re trying to go without a checked luggage piece. They’re also great for dirty clothes on the way home.
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Mini First Aid Kit
An ultra-compact first aid kit with bandages, antiseptic, and essentials provides peace of mind for unexpected situations on any journey.
Noise-Canceling Earbuds
These compact earbuds reduce ambient noise and are more travel-friendly than bulky headphones, ideal for planes, trains, and crowded spots. They’re great for helping you sleep on a noisy plane or if the party in the hotel room next door is keeping you up.
Anti-Theft Backpack
Featuring lockable zippers and hidden compartments, an anti-theft backpack offers extra security for valuables while sightseeing. Many come equipped with a battery pack for charging items on the go.
Stainless Steel Travel Utensils
Reusable, compact cutlery with a case allows travelers to dine on the go in a sustainable way, ideal for picnics or in-flight snacks. Be sure that the one you chose is TSA-approved (although they will still probably take your knife).
Foldable Laptop Stand
This portable stand elevates laptops to a comfortable height, promoting better posture and comfort when working on the road. Perfect for working while traveling or finding the perfect angle for your Zoom meeting.
Scratch-Off Travel Map
This map lets travelers scratch off destinations they've visited, revealing vibrant colors underneath—a fun way to track adventures. We love ours!
Foldable Travel Yoga Mat
A thin, foldable yoga mat fits in almost any bag, allowing travelers to keep up with their routines wherever they are. There is nothing better than being the first one awake in the morning to do some yoga on the beach or on the sundeck of your hotel.
Travel Journal with Prompted Pages
This journal includes prompts for reflections, sketches, and notes, making it easy to jot down memories without needing a lot of writing space. It’s a great way to leave your digital devices for a little while to put pen to paper to inscribe some lasting memories.
Solar Charger
A solar-powered charger allows travelers to power up devices even when they’re off the grid, a handy gadget for nature lovers. These are great for long beach days, emergencies, and long outdoor adventures.
Clip-on Lens Kit for Smartphones
Wide-angle, macro, and fish-eye lenses clip onto smartphones, giving travelers more creative freedom for unique photos. This will take your travel Tik-Toks and Instagram stories to the next level. Plus the creative uses will make your memorable travel photos even more special.
Reusable Silicone Snack Bags
Lightweight and eco-friendly, these reusable bags keep snacks fresh and cut down on single-use plastic waste during trips. They’re also great for stopping leaky soaps or separating items in your packing bag.
Mini Tripod with Bluetooth Remote
Small enough to pack easily, this tripod and remote make it easier to capture the perfect photo without needing a helping hand. You’ll want your photo in front of the Eiffel Tower to be better than a quick selfie. This packable item will create treasured photo memories.
Travel Puzzle Book
With crosswords, sudoku, and word games, a puzzle book keeps travelers entertained during long waits or flights, adding a bit of fun to downtime. This is a great thing to have in your bag to use when you’re trying to preserve phone battery life.
Cork Globe
Small and interactive, a cork globe allows travelers to mark their destinations with pins—a fun decorative piece for a travel-themed home. Mark past travel, future travel, and spots where important things happened in your life.
Travel Spice Kit
This kit includes small, reusable containers for carrying spices, ideal for the foodie traveler who loves adding flavor to meals on the go. This is a great addition to your pack if you’re staying in an Airbnb and plan to do your own cooking.
Travel Inspiration Books
Lonely Planet has a great collection of coffee table books for travel inspiration. Their main line of city guides are also extremely helpful in planning trips (you know, after reading our blog).
AirTags
An essential in travel Apple’s AirTags slide into your checked bags, purse, or other items so you can keep track of them in the event of a mistake or travel mishap.
