A Gift Guide for Travelers
Perfect presents for your favorite globe trotter, starting at $5
Hi, and welcome to the second annual The Carry On Holiday Gift Guide! With 17 perfect presents for anyone on your list who would rather be on the road.
A bag for souvenirs
I always pack a roll-up zipper bag to fill with presents and souvenirs to bring home. My two favorites are the Samsonite Tote a Ton duffel ($33), which was recommended by a travel editor who told me it’s so huge, you could fit a body inside (she used it to cart back her drug store beauty haul from Japan), and the nylon Gwyneth Bag from Scandinavian brand Day Birger et Mikkelsen ($52). I bring the Samsonite on longer trips so I can check my dirty laundry on the way home, and I bring the Day bag on every trip — it takes up little room in my carry on, it’s durable, and it can fit a surprising amount of Duty Free chocolate.
A vintage hotel ashtray
I have a little collection of vintage hotel ashtrays I use for jewelry, and they’re easy to find on Etsy and Ebay. Search for one from a specific hotel, restaurant, or a city or destination they love, like the Inter-Continental Athens, the Ritz Paris, the Plaza in NYC, Bar Harbor, Maine, this toilet-shaped one from Florida, or the 1960s-era Disneyland Hotel, aka the “World’s Most Exciting Hotel.”
Games
We always throw in a few card games we can play with our daughters at restaurants or during an afternoon sightseeing/spritz break and the go-tos are Monopoly Deal ($5), UNO ($5), and (don’t judge) Cards Against Humanity family edition ($17). All are equally fun to play sans kids — one friend told me she and her 20-somethings siblings bring Monopoly Deal to every weekend get-together.
Packing cubes
These are in every gift guide, yes, but for good reason. If they already use packing cubes, upgrade them to the Eagle Creek set ($45) or the Quince Eco Compression Packing Cubes, ($50). I love the Quince set — they’re sturdy and roomy — and nearly every travel writer I know swears by the Eagle Creek version.
A crossbody day bag
I use a State crossbody sling bag for carrying my wallet and passport, but don’t love it — the size isn’t suited for a long wallet. This Quince Italian Pebbled Leather Sling Bag ($50) and the Cotopaxi fanny pack ($18) are on my wishlist to replace it.
Bath salt
This Kneipp Arnica Bath Salt was in last year’s gift guide, but I need to tell you again how good it is for post-plane muscle ache relief. (Or post-pilates class, post-shoveling snow, PMS cramps, etc etc etc.) These one-bath packets ($11) are perfect for a hotel bath soak.
A waterproof bag
I gifted a waterproof zip bag to a friend who frequents hot springs (for work purposes), so she could bring back her wet suit without soaking everything else in her luggage. The smart, family travel-minded PAK Rêve makes a chic waterproof wristlet ($49) that can double as a clutch for a night out.
Post-flight beauty products
When the plane sucks every ounce of moisture out of your skin, add it back with under eye patches like Patchology Serve Chilled On Ice Firming Eye Gels ($15), hand cream like La Roche-Posay Cicaplast ($12), and Laneige lip mask ($24). If you haven’t tried the Laneige lip mask yet, it actually works as promised. I got the hand cream at CityPharma in Paris over the summer and love it, and my cool cousin told me these under eye patches help cure her jet lag.
A travel pillow
A travel editor told me she doesn’t leave home without the Trtl neck pillow ($60) and now it’s on my wishlist.
The world’s best suitcase
If you know someone who’s been extra good this year, get them the Briggs & Riley Essential 22" Carry-On Expandable Spinner ($699), aka the world’s best suitcase. I bought a version for myself nearly 20 years ago and still use it on every trip. It’s tough and sturdy, always looks good, and can fit a remarkable amount of belongings for a carry on. (I once used it on a week-long trip to Norway in the winter and didn’t have to check a bag. I did pack the aforementioned Samsonite tote, though, so I could bring home my weight in Melkesjokolade chocolate bars, Kvikk Lunsj, and bags of Smash.) The best part about this bag is the lifetime guarantee. My husband has one too, and over the summer, a wheel came off at the airport in Marseille. Customer service sent a new wheel kit to our Airbnb and it saved him from having to drag a broken suitcase for the rest of the trip. It’s pricey, but if you divide it by the number of years I’ve owned it, or the number of trips I’ve taken it on, it’s a steal.
A digital Saltete guide
Send them a digital, interactive guide to a place they’re planning to go this year, or one they’ve been dreaming about, like:
Drinking and Dining Around London
A Guide to the New Paris Coffee and Restaurants
Jo Piazza’s Ultimate Guide to Traveling in Sicily
Shay’s Ultimate Disney World Food Guide
The Near Me feature (screenshot ^^) helped us find our favorite aperitivo spot from the Katie Parla’s Rome guide.
Itineraries — like this one for Epcot ^^ from Shay Spence’s Ultimate Disney World Food Guide — have spot-by-spot recommendations for how to make the most of a day.
🙌🙌