Not to brag, but I am not the biggest fan of receiving gifts on holidays. It makes me feel guilty. And ASKING for gifts makes me squirm with discomfort, especially when a person practically pins me down and forces me to write out a lengthy Christmas list (my boyfriend’s mother did this to me this year and I could not have hated it more).
Generally, when asked what I want for the holidays, I’ll shrug and whip out my go-to response: “nothing.”
Naturally, this frustrates people. I get it, believe me. I am entirely aware that this just makes everyone’s lives more difficult.
If you are like me and can never think of ideas for yourself, or if you have someone in your life who loves to travel but hates asking for gifts, I have the perfect list of perfect holiday gift ideas for you. These aren’t going to break the bank, and they’re items that your traveling loved one (or you) will ACTUALLY use, some probably every single day on the road.
These are all gifts that I would love to receive, based on the months I have spent traveling myself. I didn’t pick these because they’re the cutest, or the most flashy, but the things I have learned, from personal experience, makes traveling around the world on a budget easier. Each item is an affiliate link, meaning I make a teeny, tiny amount of money if you happen to buy the product (at no extra cost to you whatsoever), but I still chose items that are both useful and affordable.
You’re welcome. Happy shopping!
Leather Passport Holder
The more you travel, the more beat up your passport gets. The more likely that it will fray in the corners, that pages will start coming loose. Considering your passport is the number one most important thing you have when in a foreign country, it should always be kept safe. Pampered, even. This genuine leather passport holder will not only keep your passports away from the elements, but it also has slots for credit cards, currency, plane tickets, SIM cards, and anything else you might want to keep track of on the road. It also has 100% RFID blocking technology, which will prevent scammers from stealing your credit card information through your wallet.
Get it on Amazon here ($29.99)
Scratch-Off Map
Scratchable maps have become super popular in recent years, especially as the travel craze has taken off thanks to social media and travel blogs. And nothing is more fun after a trip than coming home and scratching off your most recent destinations. This detailed map also allows you to scratch off US states separately for documenting weekend trips.
Get it on Amazon here ($28.99)
DSLR
If you’re ready to splurge a little bit, spring for a nice DSLR camera. Photos are some of the best souvenirs you can bring back from a trip abroad, and nothing is more disappointing than when the most beautiful sites in person manifest in blurry, low quality photos. Every serious traveler needs a good camera, and this one is one of the best on the market.
Get it on Amazon here ($549.99)
Leather Travel Journal
Traveling introduces you to so many different people, sites, and smells, and lots of travelers like to take notes to keep track of some of the little details. I am an idiot about this and always find myself forgetting things once I’ve returned to the monotony of my everyday life (and often have to turn to my much smarter travel companions for reminders). A sturdy travel journal is a perfect way to keep all your notes in one place. Looking back on my journal from my trip to Europe in 2014 is one of my favorite pastimes, especially because I was concussed when writing it.
Get it on Amazon here ($29.99)
Backpack
This is especially useful for younger travelers, those who like to travel light and on a budget, or those who opt to camp whenever possible. Luggage is something that people always splurge on, but you can still get great quality bags by avoiding pricey name brands. Make sure backpacks like this are returnable in case it is too big or too small for the person you’re buying for.
Get it on Amazon here ($69.99)
Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are perfect for those who dread packing, or who are just bad at it. It makes packing and organizing your bags much easier, helps your limited space go farther, and this set comes with an extra bag to throw dirty clothes or shoes into at the end of your trip.
Get it on Amazon here ($24.99)
Cord Organizer
I have learned this the hard way time and time again: you MUST have some sort of system for organizing your electronic cables while you’re on the road. I’m not even just talking about how goddamn irritating it is to untangle your Kindle charger from your phone charger from your headphones every time you open your bag. I’m talking about CORD PRESERVATION. The more tangled your cords get and the more haphazardly you throw them into your bag, the greater the risk of breaking them is and the shorter their lifespan is going to be. On a six week trip this summer, I had to buy two new iPhone chargers because I wasn’t taking care of the one I brought. It’s a huge waste of money, believe me, especially when it’s completely avoidable.
This bag is compact, so it won’t take up a lot of room in your big bag, and it has a spot for every one of your chargers, cables, power banks, and computer mice. A LIFESAVER.
Get it on Amazon here (19.99)
Compression Socks
Every time I travel, I end up with huge, bulbous, travel cankles. True, they are a great conversation piece, as everyone loves bonding over travel cankles, but they are painful, make walking around for hour difficult, and, as I discovered a few months ago, can lead to unhealable blisters that will make doing anything impossible (seriously, as much as I love my Birkenstocks, they absolutely obliterated the tops of my swollen feet in Romania). Enter: compression socks. These are a must for anyone taking long plane trips, because they’ll help circulate the blood in your legs when you’re sitting for 15 hours 7 miles in the air and nip those cankles in the bud (this can also prevent actual serious issues, like blood clots, so they’re a great gift idea all around).
Get it on Amazon here ($15.97)
Power Bank
A power bank is especially important if your phone is multi-purpose. I use my phone while traveling to text and Facetime, navigate, and take photos. Naturally, as iPhones tend to do, the battery plummets quickly and often. Recharging on the road without having to go back to your hotel room is necessary. This power bank also has the battery capacity indicated on it, so it won’t be confiscated in a Chinese airport due to an unfounded fear of battery-induced plane explosion, leading you to cry from exhaustion and make the airport employees uncomfortable (yes, it’s happened to me).
Get it on Amazon here ($25.49)
Memory Foam Travel Pillow
Sleeping on planes used to be so easy. I miss my youth (somewhere out there my mother is reading this and rolling her eyes). It is next to impossible now. And if you’re in a middle seat, FORGET IT. It took a heavy dose of sleeping pills to get any sort of shut-eye on my 14 hour, middle-seat flight from Taipei to Chicago last year. I still have nightmares about it.
Travel pillows are the solution to all your problems. It isn’t natural to stay awake for 24 hours straight, and now you won’t have to! This pillow is made of memory foam so it is extra comfy, and it comes with earplugs and a sleep mask as well.
Get it on Amazon here ($22.95)
Quick-Dry Towels
Before I started traveling I didn’t even know that these towels existed. It wasn’t until I was constantly paying extra to rent a towel from the hostel, or lugging around my own fluffy towel that took approximately two days to fully dry, that I found someone else’s quick-dry towel hanging in the hostel bathroom. My whole life felt like a lie. These things are absorbent, but still thin, light, and super fast drying. Any traveler would be happy to receive a set.
Get it on Amazon here ($22.49)
Mug
Not for use during travels, but for use during the work week to remind yourself how much you love to travel and how excited you are for your next trip while you chug coffee and think about how much you hate your job.
Get it on Amazon here ($15.75)
Fanny Pack
Isn’t it crazy that something I would endlessly ridicule my mother for wearing when I was in high school is now actually super popular? I bought this fanny pack for myself before a trip to Southeast Asia and it was the best purchase I made. It was perfect for walking the streets without lugging around an entire backpack, and perfect for keeping your passport and money close and within reach at all times. Plus, it is cute, and that’s important too.
Get it on Amazon here ($13.99)
Power Strip
Because sometimes hostels and hotels do not have enough outlets. A hotel I stayed in in Jordan had one outlet only, and it was hidden behind the TV. Seriously WTF. A power strip eliminates that problem by creating multiple outlets for you (and this one has some extra USB ports, just for good measure).
Get it on Amazon here ($14.99)
Daypack
This sounds completely imbecilic, but my first time backpacking I only brought my monstrous backpack with me, filled with clothes, toiletries, and shoes. Once I got to Vietnam, I quickly realized the need for something smaller and found myself buying a bag to take with me on day trips. This backpack is crazy affordable, roomy, and it even has a USB port on the outside that connects to your power bank on the inside, so you can plug your phone in and still use it on the go.
Get it on Amazon here ($27.98)
Kindle
For the longest time I was adamantly against Kindles. I was one of those people who’d rather not read at all than have to read off a screen, craving the feeling of a physical paper page in my fingertips. As a result, my reading habit had pretty much come to a screeching halt in the past couple of years.
For travelers, packing books is a pain in the ass. Often times they’ll get mangled, they take up a ton of room, and you always end up packing too many or too few. A Kindle is the perfect solution. It’s small, lightweight, and the Paperwhite Kindle, which has an illuminated screen, lets you read even on dark buses or in dark hostel rooms. After I got my Kindle, I read four and a half books on a three week trip to the Middle East. It literally changes your life, or, at the very least, your relationship with reading.
Get it on Amazon here ($129.99)
Portable Water Bottle and Filter
One thing I’m always happy to have is a reusable water bottle. On flights, when meal service is intermittent, it is great to have your own water supply (it wasn’t until I got a little older that I realized how DEHYDRATING flights can be). This lightweight water bottle is great because it comes with a built-in filter, which makes refilling on water abroad, where the tap water is not safe to drink, or while trekking in the woods from the stream a breeze.
Get it on Amazon here ($59.95)
Bluetooth Headphones
These are like Bose headphones: Bluetooth, noise cancelling, but without the insane price tag. Perfect for long plane trips, or if you just need some time to yourself.
Get it on Amazon here ($49.99)
Happy holidays!
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