Top 10 Favorite Items for Family Travel-Gift Guide
‘Tis the Season for Giving! And if you’re shopping for a traveling family or are a traveling family looking for things to put on your wishlist, we’re here to help! Here are the tried and true items that really get used in our family when we go on trips. Everything is on Amazon Prime so you can get it shipped straight to your home or to whoever you are buying for in 2 days! Last-minute shoppers rejoice!
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FOr Babies:
Ergobaby Omni 360 Carrier
Every traveling mom with a baby will tell you a good carrier is an absolute essential. You need a way to be handsfree when moving through the airport and sometimes certain places are not stroller friendly or don’t allow strollers, so you need another option for carrying the baby.
My preferred carrier is the Ergo Omni 360. I have used Ergo with all three of my kids and I find them comfortable, durable, and easy to use. The Omni 360 is great because it has a front-facing option for babies who like to look at what’s going on around them. I love this Ergo too because it doesn’t need an infant insert and you can use it from the newborn stage on. A final thing to note about this carrier versus the 360 is that it has a pocket and detachable zipper pouch, the 360 does not have a pocket and you definitely need the pocket to put your keys/phone/pacifier, etc. in!
If you’ll be using it in predominantly hot places, try the Cool Mesh Version.
If you (or someone you know) is planning a Disney vacation, check out these Disney-trip related gifts!
Car Seat Protection Bag
If you need to bring car seats on your trip but will not use them on the plane, it is worth the money to buy a protective bag. It will keep your car seat from getting destroyed and gross underneath the plane. I like this one because it has backpack straps, it’s a bright color-easy to spot in baggage claim, and is made of waterproof material.
If you want some padding to further protect the car seat and make sure nothing gets damaged try a protective bag like this one.
Backpack Diaper Bag
When I went from 1 kid to 2, I switched my regular diaper bag for a backpack design. Having hands free is so much easier! I love this Fawn Design diaper bag, I’ve had mine for over 4 years now and it’s holding up great! I love that it looks a little more dressed up than a regular backpack and it comes in a variety of colors, giving you lots of options. It will fit under the seat of the airplane easily, I always use it as my carry-on bag.
This is also where I carry my big, bulky camera. The bag can fit enough baby essentials for the day, plus my camera so it has plenty of space. The diapers, wipes, and extra clothes act like padding for my camera. It’s made from vegan leather, and while it’s not billed as waterproof, it will keep your camera (or baby items) dry if it starts to rain. I will probably still use this bag when I don’t need to carry around diapers because I love it so much!
Baby Toy
I’ll be honest, I’m kind of a toy minimalist when it comes to traveling. I really don’t bring much because I find that it becomes unnecessary and is just more stuff I have to carry around. But I just bought this toy to use for my baby during travel because he is entering the age of needing to play and be entertained.
I like that it is one small thing, it’s not electronic and doesn’t play music or make 5 million sounds. It’s simple, came recommended to me by another traveling mom, and it will suction to the airplane window or tray table. Also it’s plastic, so easy to wipe down and sanitize.
For Kids:
Head Phones
Tablets are an essential travel item for us when we fly, so you can’t forget the headphones! These headphones are sturdy and can connect to each other. That means you can connect the headphones together and then to the device so they can both watch something on the same tablet! This also eliminates the need for a splitter, so one less thing to remember or to try not to lose when you’re traveling-score!
Paint by Sticker Book
This is a great, no mess, non-gadget way to entertain kids. It’s easy enough that young kids can do it but very engaging. You could even rip out pages to divide between kids so they could both work on one at the same time. Great for the airplane, a road trip, at a restaurant, or in the hotel.
Native Shoes
These are my favorite kid shoes for warm weather travel. They double as water shoes too which is great for rocky beaches (ahem! Europe!). I could only bring these shoes for my kids on any warm weather trip and they would be fine. They are easy to clean, comfortable, cute, match everything, and stay on in the water. I’ve been buying them for years and don’t plan to stop anytime soon!
For the Adults:
Packing Cubes
If you aren’t using packing cubes yet, you need to start! It makes keeping clothes organized in and out of the luggage much easier. I have a different color for every member of the family which makes it easy to identify whose stuff is whose. As the trip goes on I use them to separate clean clothes and dirty clothes. They are an all-around great travel item and extremely versatile!
Portable Phone Charger
I’m a big believer in making sure phones always have battery in case of emergency situations. We always carry a portable charger with us for this reason. Taking videos and using GPS to navigate can drain your battery quickly, especially if you are in cold weather. These chargers are small enough to toss in a purse or diaper bag and can charge a phone quickly. This one makes a great stocking stuffer!
Tripod
This is our favorite photography accessory and how we get most of our family photos when we travel! It’s decently easy to carry around, we usually throw it in the bottom of our stroller. I think it could fit in a large backpack if you’re beyond the stroller stage. It’s sturdy and has a lot of options for adjusting the height and positioning the camera. Highly recommend traveling with one of these if you’re not hiring a photographer for a family shoot.
See the rest of my favorite photography items and read my tips for photographing your family on vacation.
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