What are your travel gifts this year?

I got a new gimbal for filming. It is the DJI pocket gimbal 3, and I love it. So small and easy to use. My other gimbal feels gigantic in comparison.

Great thread, Jean! I love seeing what everyone else is buying!

I got a new Sherpani Vale crossbody bag for travel (although I like it so much, I'm using it for my everyday bag). So many neat travel features, but relatively lightweight and holds a lot.

I bought a Ticket to Ride game (London version) for my 2 grandkids who will be traveling with me to London in 2025. They love playing Ticket to Ride so I think they'll enjoy this.

My travel gifts this year were the tickets my parents bought me and my husband to go home for the States. And that my parents got me to go home in June.

And in August, I bought a new suitcase as my gift to myself for having gotten a new job.

I guess my other travel gifts this year were also the trips I got myself to Amsterdam for a long weekend for my birthday and my trip to Norway in August - September. And hiking pants and hiking poles I got myself for the latter !

I bought some rechargeable hand warmers that are also power banks for your phone. The kids, and us, are getting those in our stockings.

I also just inherited my mom's iPad. Mine was one of the originals, a mini, that hasn't been opened for years. Mom had the latest, so that gets switched to my name/account this week. She would be happy that I will use it.

Mikliz97, I’m glad to hear that you’re using your mom’s iPad! It is special to use something that was your mom’s and remember her fondly. My mom had two watches that I used for many years. She never traveled internationally but loved to travel, so I brought her watches on several trips to Europe in her honor.

Mardee, I’m almost afraid to look up your purse on-line because I can be easily talked into travel stuff. You say “lightweight”, and my ears perk up! LOL!

Kim, travel tickets are the best gifts! : )

Ms. Jo, photography equipment that’s easier to manage is a great gift!

Our Christmas tree is adorned with cute little vintage map paper blue and cream colored suitcases I put together. Inside each suitcase, with their name on the airplane shaped tag, I put a certificate for $ for Adventure or Travel in 2024. They can decide how to transfer the money to their accounts.

My children all get a small item from several of the countries I visit throughout the year (they may be over this idea by now 🤣). But this year, instead of “regular things”, they are all getting some form of a trip as their present.

I’m back to the drawing board in a search for phone charger to carry in my travel purse, the one I got is great at recharging but too heavy and I realize the short cord I thought was a good thing really isn’t for charging and being able to use your phone to check the map at the same time.

I’d love one of those Tom Bihn travel trays that Mardee has recommended. I think the price is way too high but it looks so handy and it’s so light! And much prettier than the ziplock bag I usually use!

Jean, I urge you to get a mini iPad for travel. I bought one in the summer and it’s gone on 3 trips and I really like it so much for the much lighter weight. I thought the smaller screen would bother me because I dearly love my full size iPad but it was fine.

Jean--My mom also had an iPhone 12, and our daughters is much older, so she will get mom's phone. I promised we would take off all the labels on the back though that say "this device is being tracked" "if lost call XXX" etc. Yes, it was like having a child at summer camp and I labeled the heck out of her stuff, lol!

TexasTravelmom, that is the best gift!

Recently I bought this stuff in the sales, technically for my husband to gift me for Christmas, but I've been reading the books and the suitcase is in a closet. I suppose he can stuff the calendar in my stocking if he's so inclined.

• Rick Steves Page-a-Day Desk Calendar (I've had this the last couple of years and it's fun. Plus I now never run out of notepaper)

• Rick Steves Budapest Guidebook

• Rick Steves Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol Guidebook

• Travelpro Maxlite 5 Softside 21" Carry-On

”Rick Steves Page-a-Day Desk Calendar (I've had this the last couple of years and it's fun. Plus I now never run out of notepaper)”

Mary, I like those for the notepaper use, too! It’s fun to turn over my grocery list and see a fun place we visited or a possible new place to enjoy!

Jean, when I tear them off each morning I put them in a souvenir Marks & Spencer tin that I bought in York. Used to be filled with shortbread, now it's my notepaper tin.

During Black Friday sales, I bought myself an Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler XT Wheeled Duffel International Carry On in a vivid, tomato-ey red (officially called "Rising Sun"). It's larger than the bag I've been using for years--a Samsonite Small Underseater--but it should still meet the carry-on requirements for most airlines, I think. I didn't buy it from Amazon, but it is this one: https://www.amazon.com/eagle-creek-Hauler-Wheeled-Duffel/dp/B0992T19QL?th=1 My Samsonite was getting battered, and I'd stitched it up in one spot, so I decided it was time for something new.

I also bought some Propét shoes that I'm hoping will be cool and comfortable for SE Asia. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07VZ6B4LH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

I bought some Eagle Creek packing cubes for my son and d-i-l, who travel a lot, as well as a keychain carbon monoxide alarm. (Bought one of the latter for myself, also.)

And I bought my husband a new travel wallet, as his old one is starting to look frayed. I got him a Pacsafe wallet that can clip onto his belt loop. (When we travel, he carries his wallet in a front pocket, and clips it to his pants.)

I am getting the Rough Guide to Vietnam (the trip is in April!) from a family member Secret Santa, and I bought my husband an Air Tag.

I bought the Lonely Planet Guide to Seoul for my fall 2024 trip.

Luggage straps, travel electrical plugs for different countries, an organizer for cords and some packing cubes made it under the tree for my daughter.

Travel stuff is so fun to look at it!

Bb, tomato-y red is the perfect description of that color!! On the screen at least !

Mona, those (ornament?) suitcases sound adorable. What a lovely gift for each of your family members, I bet your granddaughters will love them !

Mardee, I’m almost afraid to look up your purse on-line because I can be easily talked into travel stuff. You say “lightweight”, and my ears perk up! LOL!

Here you go, Jean! I'll make it easy for you, hee hee hee! https://sherpani.com/collections/crossbody/products/vale-at-3?variant=32511083774049 But it's full price right now and I got it for 20% off. So it's worth waiting for a sale.

I’d love one of those Tom Bihn travel trays that Mardee has recommended. I think the price is way too high but it looks so handy and it’s so light!

Lyndash, his stuff is pricey but so worth it. His gear lasts forever! I've been buying his stuff for almost 20 years and still have some original bags. And the ones I don't have were sold to buy more of his stuff, lol! In fact, his gear has great resale value - I sold a bag that I hadn't used in a while for the same price I had bought it for 8 years before.

I bought my husband an Air Tag.

Pete, that reminds me... I exchange gifts with my 3 sisters and this year I bought them each an AirTag. None of them had one, they all have iPhones and I know they will love them, even the one who does not travel. I bought a 4 pack, which were on sale for $79.999, then split them up and I'm giving my daughter the last one. I bought cute little gift boxes, typed out the instructions on small pieces of paper and wrapped them up.

Mardee--I bought cute little gift boxes, typed out the instructions on small pieces of paper and wrapped them up.

Ha ha. I put it in a really big box to make it seem like a big present. I didn't think to actually write out the instructions for using it--is it really complicated? I don't have one myself--I just know they are popular.

“Santa” went to Barnes & Noble to use two previous gift cards and came home with two more travel items!

The Lonely Planet Sicily guidebook. The Palermo portion looks interesting & well written for my next solo trip. And reading the rest of it after that trip will give me a better idea if I should go back to Sicily to explore much more of it in 2025.

Practice Makes Perfect, Basic Italian & contains 300 exercises. I’ve been working with Duolingo about an hour a day. This will be a nice supplement.

Mona, what a cute idea!

If I ever placed a tiny Christmas tree in our den, that would be the perfect decor! There’s canvas enlarged photos from my trips in a grouping on the wall.

TravelTexasMom, you’re enabling a lot of wonderful memories with your gift! : )

My mom gave us some money when my husband & I were taking our second RS tour years ago. We enjoyed making it a little extra special because of her generosity.

Lyndash, thank you for your comments about the iPad mini! I really appreciate your advice!

Pete, I mailed mine so wanted to keep the size down. And in answer to your question, yes, if your recipients are technologically deficient, which at least one is (although her daughter will probably set it up for her). The instructions aren't complicated, though, and if you just bought a single AirTag, the instructions will be included. I bought a 4-pack, which only came with one set. :-)

Mardee--LOL I'm the one who is technologically deficient! The person receiving the gift will probably do better than I would!

We received an Alaska Airlines gift card from an early Christmas celebration. It’ll definitely get used!

I love reading all the replies as it has given me some new ideas for last minute gifts.

For my husband, I got him the Anker Portable Charger with a lightening connector. It is small and lightweight. I carry mine everywhere. I also got him the Air Fly Pro Bluetooth transmitter. It plugs into an airplane's entertainment system and lets you listen to the audio through your wireless earbuds.

For me, I purchased the Arden Cove cross-body in cream for my trip to Greece this summer. I have the one in black and I absolutely love this cross-body, It is stylish, slash resistant with RFID protection. It is pricey, but the Black Friday sale was 50% off.

I just read a post on Facebook today from a Tom Bihn group I belong to where someone sent his nieces a Tom Bihn Travel Tray, but filled them with fun things like little puzzles, candy, and invisible ink pens. I thought that was such a cute idea!

I guess another gift is travel related. One of my gifts was participating in a French pastry class last night in nearby Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. We made beautiful Croquembouche towers of deliciousness! It looks gorgeous when I set it in the middle of our dining room table. We each decorated ours with festive dark, white & colored chocolate decor and strawberries.

My husband is always a fan of me wanting to take a food-related class!

Oh Jean, that would have been an amazing class! Making cream puffs AND the caramel to hold them in place. WOW, very impressed. Was the lovely Pam in attendance too? And when will this creation be consumed?

Lyndash, we used a less messy version instead of caramel and held them in place with dark chocolate. The cream puffs’ tops were dipped in dark or white chocolate - some with thin squiggly lines of the complimentary color for a nice variation. The little chocolate decor added afterwards gave it a greater 3D dimension.

My husband & I ate some of it last night…and maybe for breakfast! I will need to make a new one for Christmas dinner.

Santa brought the smaller iPad mini. I love the smaller size!

Happy Mini-ing, Jean !

I bought 5 of my best friends round trip tickets to their choice of destination. Since I'm still not traveling and my left over banked tickets (ones bought when the lockdowns started) are close to expiring, I thought why not.

My sisters loved their AirTags (as did my daughter), and I loved the TB Travel Tray (small) AND Cubelet that my one sister gave me. I already have one Travel Tray but really wanted another one. And I've been wanting a Cubelet for a while but never asked for it. I guess Santa decided to give me one anyway!

I also got a silicone travel cup from my son-in-law, along with a compression drysack, which holds 13L and is only 2 oz. I plan to use that for my puffer coat that I'm bringing to England in March.

Jean, I'm glad you got your iPad mini - woot!!!

Mark, I will be your friend 😃

I gave rechargeable hand warmers that were also power banks. I gave one to myself as well;)

My husband got the Meta Rayban sunglasses which will be perfect for his adventure expedition this summer.

My mom wanted the kids to have a really good Christmas, so I wrote out checks that were he wishes for the kids. They are all using it for a trip together, I think to Hawaii.

Our daughter got mom's iPhone which is a 12, so she was thrilled, and I got the iPad, so nice for travels!

Mikliz, what a holiday season you have had. That is really beautiful that the grandkids will get to go to Hawaii together as a result of your mom's thoughtfulness. That must have given you a smile to write those checks for her - and a tear, too, so soon after her passing.

Mark my goodness that is awfully generous of you !

No travel gifts for me this year because my husband always gives me champagne/Prosecco/cava for Christmas so no complaints here 😉.
But tip of the hat to Mark for being such a generous friend and mikliz, what a super idea to have your kids travel together with gifted money! Your mother would be so pleased.

And Jean, I’m glad you have your new mini, you will really love it for travel.

The small vintage, cardboard luggage tags with $$$ for travel or adventure were a hit on the Christmas tree. It opened up a lot of conversations about future travel. Our gift to ourselves was to wake up on that morning while everyone was still asleep and book 2 tickets to Geneva for our own trip this summer. There was a great AA mileage sale!

Kim and lyndash--Thank you. I wasn't sure if the gift would make us all sob or not, but thankfully we just took a deep breath and then thanked mom. The funny thing is, she had two dresses that were just awful. Yes, I would say that to her, lol. They had embroidered and shiny stuff all over them and were very tropical in nature. I think she wore them as swimsuit coverups. Anyway, when we were sorting mom's things, I asked the girls if they would want them more as a joke for silly parties. They did, lol! So they got the dresses as a gift as well and were thrilled! So I have no doubt they will take those dresses and toast mom while wearing them. I just want photographic evidence, lol. So while it has been a trying time lately, mom was definitely with us in spirit and would have laughed herself silly. What more could you ask for under the circumstances?

@LynDash - no, I did not go to the Croquemboche class. I'm vegan and they are decidedly not, lol!! In the extreme distant past I did make one, one time. Hard to store, lol!

@Jean - I think you will really like the Mini...such a convenient size for travel.

Mardee...what a cool idea with the Tom Bihn travel trays. I'm going to mentally file that (hahaha...no wisecracks) for next Christmas for the nephew and nieces who travel for business.

Such fun things people received .... and @Mark I hope your friends appreciate being your friend! Awesome!

Ok, I'm late to the game here, as I read references to the Tom Bihn travel trays. I couldn't imagine needing a tray for travel. Then I just watched the video on how to use, and now I need them! Is there ever a sale?
Thanks so much to everyone, and HAPPY New Year's!

Hi Pat, I don’t remember ever hearing of a sale on Tom Bihn items. They are made well.

And Happy New Year to you!