Crossbody Bag
This cross body bag is our most expensive item on the list but our most used items. All of the girls in our family have one of these for travel and end up using them daily. They fit a passport, wallet, chapstick on other small items perfectly and can be worn around the side or to the front of the body for extra security. We know anyone who you give it to will absolutely love it. You may just want to order one for yourself as well!
Collapsible Water Bottle/Tumbler
One of the hardest parts about flying is you can’t bring a water bottle full of water in but will inevitably want one for the flight. This works perfectly because it stores flat until you need it. Take this bottle with you and you’ll always be ready to fill up without the unwieldy mass swinging back and forth from your bag.
Cord Organizer
My son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Ellie, have this bag for their cords and they absolutely swear by it! Jeff is the technophile of our family so when he is traveling it is usually with multiple portable chargers, a laptop, iPad, phone, smart watch, airpods, switch, and the associated cords for all of these devices. (yes, TSA can be a nightmare with all of these electronics) This bag fits all of the cords, wall boxes, portable chargers and has room to squeeze in Ellie’s stuff as well. They also use this for storage at home which is extra handy given Jeff’s technology acquisition rate and propensity to misplace things haha!
Eye Mask
A must if you want to sleep on the plane. Our family is split about 50/50 on who can sleep well on the plane. For those who have trouble sleeping this, coupled with a good travel pillow have proven to do that trick…with the occasional zzzquil 😉
Best Neck Pillow
Speaking of travel pillows, this is the best one we have found to date. Jeff put us on to these pillows when he backed their kickstarter a few years ago. We have never looked back. No other pillow makes sleeping on a plane as comfortable as these pillows and believe us, we’ve tried just about everything. The only problem with this pillow is that it tends to get a little hot so if you sleep hot and prefer something cooler check out their trtl “Plus†pillow. A little more expensive but honestly it is so worth the sleep on the plane!
Travel Wallet
Security is a huge concern for savvy travelers and with RFID protection becoming more prevalent in wallets it’s a must for your travel wallet. This RFID protected wallet has space for 3 cards — we typically recommend leaving as many as possible at home when travelling — a passport, and slot for some physical currency, a plane ticket or whatever other paper items you might need to keep track of. *hint – for 2021 that probably means your vaccine card 😉
Passport Vaccine Card Holder
Traveling during the pandemic has only increased the amount of paperwork required for travel. If you’re not wanting to carry all of your items with you in a wallet for the trip, this handy holder allows you to leave your passport and vaccination card in the safe in your room and enjoy your trip worry free.
Hanging Toiletry Bag
Our family has largely moved away from typical dopp bags in favor of these hanging toiletry bags. They are so convenient for small shared bathrooms on vacation and allow you to keep the counter space as free as possible.
Silicone Travel Bottles
TSA guidelines limit the amount of liquid you are allowed to carry and the size of the bottles. These bottles are TSA compliant and are perfect for taking smaller amount of liquids like contact solution from the Costco sized bottles present in of our family bathrooms
Travel Blanket
- Perfect size for travel
- Comfy and Cozy for the plane
- What else needs to be said?
Packing cubes
These cubes help you stay organized on your trip. Suitcases and duffel bags quickly devolve into a messy pile of clothes on a week long trip. These bags allow you to access and store clothes for a couple days at a time so you don’t have to rifle through your bag every morning when you’re getting dressed.
Hanging clothes organizer/Packing Cube
Like above, only better. This packing cube not only helps you stay organized, it becomes like a closet on the go. When you arrive at your destination you can hang this up in the closet, unzip it and viola, you’ve got a travelling closet!
Universal Phone Mount
Having to hold your phone as you watch your movie on the plane is just plain annoying. This universal phone mount attaches to the tray table and extends up so that the phone is at eye height. Not many more lazy tools out there but hey, you’re on vacation!
Scratch Off Map
Keep track of everywhere you have travelled. This map makes a great conversation piece and serves as great motivation to get out and see more of the world. If you are feeling daunted looking at all of the countries, here is a United States scratch map that may be more palatable for some. If you’re looking for both the world and the United States look no further!
Lip Mask
Dry lips sink ships…ok that’s maybe not exactly how it goes but dry lips on vacation are the worst. Frequent chapstick application can be avoided by using this lip mask to keep the moisture in and stop chapped lips from ruining your vacation. Just apply before bed the night before you fly and you should be good to go!
Travel Laundry bag
Packing at the end of a trip can be a nightmare. You have a pile of dirty clothes that needs to go somewhere but you don’t want to contaminate the clean clothes you didn’t wear. This packable travel laundry bag is the solution. It fits easily in with your clothes and when you arrive at your destination you can unfold it and store your dirty clothes in it. It works great for multi-leg trips where you’re packing and unpacking repeatedly helping to keep the clean clothes clean.
Final Thoughts
Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year to travel. Hopefully some of these ideas help you give the gift of travel without breaking the bank!
