Wanderlust Gift Guide

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Not sure what to buy the wanderlust in your life? When traveling people want compact and useful. If it doesn’t fit into those categories, it doesn’t go. I’ve put together the perfect wanderlust gift guide for every member of your family.

Adult Wanderlust Gift Guide

Splurge Items

Y’all know I am cheap, but I splurged on some items. In my opinion, there are some things that are worth a little bit more money. These are my favorite splurge items.

Anyone who travels often loves a high quality camera. I know several people swapped to a mirrorless camera, but I personally enjoy a DSLR camera. My favorite DSLR is the Nikon 3500. It takes stunning photos, but is easy enough for my girls to use. However, if you prefer a mirrorless camera the Panasonic received pretty good reviews as well.

My favorite travel pants are Lululemon On the Fly Wide Leg. These pants are worth every dime friends. They look chic and work great when you are flying first class. In addition to looking luxurious they are super comfy and almost never wrinkle. Every time I wear these pants, I receive compliments on them.

A packable winter coat is a must have for every adult traveler. It is the perfect gift to give to someone who will be traveling to a cold weather destination. My favorite one is Eddie Bauer’s IgniteLite coat. My husband and I bought ours a few years ago. They are worth every penny. I own a parka as well that I love from JCrew, but I tend to take my lightweight coat with me everywhere.

Finally, my favorite splurge item! An Away Bigger Carry-On with a portable battery, along with the tote. My sweet husband purchased this set for me for my birthday last December and I am in heaven. It rolls like a dream and the tote slips right down the handle. Game changer friends! They offer an array of colors, I own the eggplant purple version. They no longer carry my color, but I love the fact that they change them out periodically. I have never seen anyone with a purple one like mine. My girls now each want one of their own for Christmas after pulling mine.

Steals

Wanting an affordable gift for the wanderlust adult? There are a few items that we always carry while traveling. Here are a few of our favorites.

Scarves are a must have for any woman! I almost always carry one with me. Scarves are great for traveling especially long haul flights. You can wrap it around your face while sleeping, dress up an outfit, or wrap your shoulders if chilly. I have a plethora of different scarves.

Know someone who is extremely organized? Packing cubes are the ideal gift for them. We use packing cubes every time we travel. They are great because they keep your suitcase organized and items compact. Personally, we use the smaller sizes. I can fit two smaller packing cubes into my Away suitcase. We use Amazon Basic packing cubes.

Know a family like ours that travels all over the world? An all-in-one plug adapter is the perfect gift. My husband owns one. Instead of carrying a bag with a million different adapters just grab one. Who doesn’t love consolidating. Guess who typically carries the plugs? Mom! When the kids need something charged they come to me. It is important to carry an adapter anytime you are traveling internationally.

Compression socks for the win! When traveling on a long haul flight, compressions socks are a must have item. I have a blood clotting disorder so I absolutely must wear them. The first long haul we took which was 14 hours about killed me. I deplaned and my ankles were double their normal size. I just keep them in my travel bag now at all times. Plus planes tend to be chilly.

These are just a few of my favorite things for the wanderlust adult.

Kids Gift Guide

My girls have put together the perfect wanderlust gift guide for the children in your life.

Splurge

iPads! I know everyone hates giving their kids devices, but when traveling it is a sanity saver. They are pricey, but we tried to skimp and buy a kindle and regretted it. Our kids use their iPads typically only while traveling. Netflix allows you to download movies as well, which is great when your kids have seen every movie on the plane or a long car drive. There is also a host of educational apps that we use. I hope to do a blog post on our favorites here soon.

A nicer set of headphones are a win for children as well. My girls love these. When they were toddlers/younger we owned a set similar to these and loved them. For the teens in your life a set of Bose is a great gift. We like the corded headphones because they can use them to watch movies on the airplanes as well.

Another fan favorite in our home was the GoPro. We own the Hero 5 Black and absolutely love it. I did extensive research before buying one for our children. From my research the Hero 5 Black had higher reviews than the newer models which is why we bought it. Our kids have absolutely loved taking it with them on trips. What’s great about the GoPro is that they guarantee them! Kids can be hard on electronics, but I have never worried about my GoPro.

Steals

Looking for affordable Christmas gifts for the children in your life?

For the iPad I highly recommend this case especially for the younger kids in your life. My kids have been using these cases for years. They are great because they include a handle which can be used as a stand. They also protect the iPad very well even if they are dropped which we all know will happen at some point.

So this next gift could be for parents more than children, but it helps everyone out. Who wants to carry a bulky car seat while traveling. Friends let me introduce you to the Bubble Bum! My youngest just phased out of a car seat (insert the Hallelujah Chorus). Until now we carried one with us every trip. It deflates down to an easily packable size.

Know someone who is having a baby or recently had a baby? The Little Traveler Board Books are perfect. It is so important to read to our kids from a young age, and these are super cute. For older kids, I highly recommend The Who’s Was books. Great history lessons in every book.

Cute Stocking Stuffers

Santa brought this gift to my children years ago and it was a hit! A Belkin splitter for headphones so that children can all watch one device at the same time. We used this recently while in Bulgaria. Five children huddled around one iPad watching the same movie! Mom win!

Bananagrams! Friends gave this game to my children last year and they love it. It is similar to Scrabble, but smaller and easily packed into a backpack. We loved playing it while on our cruise. It is educational, but a lot fun. Your kids won’t even know they are learning.

Another friend gave my girls a mosaic sticker book and it is so much fun for them. They loved it so much that I purchased them another one recently. The girls pulled it out while on car trips and the cruise. They would sit on the balcony and work on it in the afternoon sun.

A fun idea for kids would be cute luggage tags! My kids have personalized ones, but we have seen some pretty cute ones. In a sea of luggage a tag that stands out could save your sanity.

My oldest daughter recommends Legos. She carries the small sets with her when we travel. These are great because she can play them on the airplane or in an Airbnb.

Gluten Free Gift Ideas

Someone you love have celiac disease? Here are some great ideas for them as well!

Splurge

If you are wanting to splurge on someone you love with Celiac Disease, I suggest a Nima Sensor. This is the perfect gift for the globe trotter with Celiac. It will help reduce stress when there is a language barrier.

Steals

If they already own a Nima why not buy them the test capsules? These can get pricey if you are constantly replenishing them. Why not add it to your family member’s stocking?

If you read our gluten-free guide you know that we always carry food with us. A great gift would be some peanut butter and honey packets. Know someone going to Asia? Send them with some portable Tamari packets.

I have read conflicting information about paper straws containing gluten. Of course a portable straw is great for the environment and of course 100% gluten-free.

Finally, another great gift would be a translation card to a country they will be visiting. We love Legal Nomads’ translation cards. She has lots of languages on her website. After printing them off we always laminate them and throw them on a metal binder ring.