Small but Big. What is the One Item in your Luggage?

I subscribe to the policy of "take only photographs, leave only footprints", thus apart from medication, mobile and an RS guidebook my travel "big ones" are my camera kit (I simply can't get on with juat a mobile), and a spare pair of shoes (am I to go shoe-shopping barefooted if my only pair is un-wearable?)

Regarding bubble wrap, I usually carry a small roll of bubble wrap for ornaments. Weights nothing, easy to fit in somewhere. Once, in Munich, we saw a big box in front of a shop, with lots of extra bubble wrap, they said take what we want. But that's a rare thing, so we now bring some.

As for Christmas ornaments, yes definitely, we have a "travel tree" with travel related ornaments. And a Gnome Tree, and a Wooden Ornament Tree, and .... etc...

For me, power bank is a must. My phone ends up doing everything on a trip, so I don’t like letting the battery get too low.

I’ve taken 3 trips between week and 3 weeks with only my civita day bag that fits under the seat. All were during warm weather months so clothes were lightweight and hand washable. My big extra item was some sketch paper and selected prismacolor pencils for drawing.

Nothing in particular comes to mind to answer your question. But I did want to make sure you are aware that if you're in an emergency exit row, you can't put your bag under the seat in front of you; it has to be stowed in the overhead bin. Nothing can be on the floor in front of you. At least that has been the case every time we've been in the exit row, which we do often, since my husband is 6'4". Anything that you want to be sure you have access to (when the seat belt sign is on) will have to go into the seatback pocket. If you have a power bank, it should be put there and not in the overhead bin. (That was new to us on our most recent flights in May.)

Packet of Kleenex, reading glasses and soft case packet of chewing gum, and my teeny tiny woven zippered purse that holds a travel tin of dental floss, ear plugs, golf pencil, St Christopher medal, 2 safety pins, 2 band aids Also a few quart size ziplock bags rolled up and secured with a thick rubber band. I also carry a portable iPhone charger for my venerable iPhone 11s.

Fly carry on only.

Edit: nail clippers

mjh-travel beat me to it to remind you that you won't have a bag at your feet under seat in front of you if you are flying on emergency exit, the same rule applies to bulkhead seat.
I love those seats with extra space. What I do is to always bring a small crossbody bag/waist bag that can easily fit inside my personal item. I pull that out after boarding and keep with me during flight. It fits nicely on my seat between my leg and the armrest. It contains wallet, passport (if traveling abroad), power bank, chapstick, earbuds, hand sanitizer, etc. Small items and what's inside depends on the trip I'm taking.

Now to your question. I always bring my own water bottle (narrow, lightweight with wide mouth) that I refill during flights. It is rare for me to take a short flight so I always bring the bottle. And it comes handy when there is turbulence and the service is delayed and to avoid the little plastic cup swaying around the little tray.

To the kind Forum Members who spoke about the emergency row:

is it possible to stash the bag UNDER my own seat, or that is allocated to the person behind me?

I found a small crossbody for my valuables. I am going to need one to go to breakfast to hold my phone and room key.

Many thanks.

Kootah - Just keep the small purse on your lap, or on the side of your leg (or in between). That has never been a problem for me. I usually have my sweater on my lap too as planes are so warm when we board.
I don't think you can put under your own seat because that space technically "belongs" to the person behind you. And under your seat is where they store the lifevest and you don't want to mess that up by accident.

Safe travels!

Joy: I still have my carry-on. It always goes under the seat. Only one item allowed, personal one must fit inside a carry-on.

My personal item is usually a backpack. If I am on emergency row, I board with crossbody bag inside backpack. As soon as I get to my seat, I take crossbody out and put it on my seat. Backpack goes in overhead bin.

I hope this makes sense.

Joy: yeah, perfect logic!

It is just so confusing. Here a "personal item" is a book, for example.

Hey there, please try to stash your carryon in an overhead bin before you sit down. It really IS the space of the person behind you, and then there's nowhere for them to put their feet! Hope you have a great trip, do post a trip report after your return.

Yes, Kootah, the terminology is VERY confusing, because different airlines use different terms. Most (if not all) airlines in the United States use these terms:

carry-on -- a larger bag, typically around 55 cm x 35 cm x 25 cm, that does not fit under an airplane seat and must be put in the overhead bin. (Air France and KLM call this "hand" baggage; Wizz Air calls it a "trolley" bag, just to give a few examples.)

personal item -- an item that can fit under the seat, around 40 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm, such as a purse, briefcase, or small backpack. (Air France and KLM call this a "small" bag; Wizz Air calls it a "carry-on" bag!)

Adding to the confusion of what to call them, every airline has their own rules about the maximum size. So be sure to check the dimensions that your airline allows. I would assume that if your fare only allows an under-seat sized bag (without an extra fee), that is the size you will have to use even though you will have to put it in the overhead bin.

Anyway, have fun on your trip, and I hope you find a beautiful Christmas ornament to bring home!

Something else that I remembered. When flying, I always wear cargo-type pants with zippered side pockets. I can easily and safely store my passport, credit card, phone, and a few other items if needed. Certain items like my passport and phone stay with me at all times when I fly.

personal item -- an item that can fit under the seat, around 40 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm, such as a purse, briefcase, or small backpack. (Air France and KLM call this a "small" bag; Wizz Air calls it a "carry-on" bag!)

Now that's confusing!!!

One thing that I can't do without these days is a handheld electric fan. Sometimes before takeoff (and heck, sometimes during the flight), it gets SO stuffy, and being able to whip out that little fan — even more than the normal non-motorized one I also always carry — has saved me from feeling ill a number of times.

Kootah, my husband and I also buy a Christmas tree decoration on every trip, or even every different locale on every trip (if we are visiting multiple countries). We've been doing this for decades, and it's so nice to have those memories when we decorate the tree. Plus, it's something small and, IMO, easy to pack when we travel carryon only. In our case, our ornaments aren't usually glass, though, or even always actual ornaments. We've been known to repurpose keychains or even small toys to use as ornaments. It depends on what catches our fancy. If we do end up getting something breakable, I just use clothes as extra padding.

As others have mentioned, I usually bring my own water bottle. I also bring safety pins, extra ziplock bags, and always a swimsuit, even if I think we won't have the opportunity to get wet. It doesn't take much room, and I'd rather have it and not need it than wish I'd brought it.

I started to pack a packable duffel bag to bring back chocolates. Chocolates get flagged at airport security because dense organic matter and filled centers can mimic the density signature of banned substances, and I got pulled aside for recheck for this reason quite a few times in the past. So packing my beloved chocolates separately in a duffel bag saved me a lot of hassle.

I also started to bring compressed towels. They are a small, hard pellet or tablet (the size of a quarter) made of plant fibers that turns into a full-sized cloth when you add water. Perfect as wash towel.

1,2, and 3 gallon ziploc baggies. A tiny locking carabiner for my daypack. First aid kit of bandaid, moleskin, Motrin, pepto, cold medicine and a few cough drops. We did 35 days w. Small carryons. We buy non-Trad ornaments for our tree. The last one was a green Ampelmann key ring.

"If you're in the emergency/exit row, there is no seat in front of you so your bag will have to go in the overhead bin."

This may be true on some planes, but every time we've been in an emergency exit row, there IS a seat in front of us, but there's more space between them. A bulkhead seat, on the other hand, has a wall in front of it. I don't think I've ever seen a bulkhead row that was also an exit row (though often a normal exit is just to the front of the bulkhead). But it sort of comes to the same thing; both have extra leg room and both require your bag to go in the overhead bin.