Gifts to Inspire Travel

If you haven’t heard of Light & Nine, you’ve been missing out on great travel gear designed by a mom with kids in mind. The line of duffels with side shoe compartments, roller bags, backpacks and garment bags come in fun colors including Blossom Pink and Bistro Green. Made from easy-to-care-for perforated materials, they also come with Nimix characters and motifs, so your small travelers can customize their travel gear with movable/removable icons ranging from race cars to rocket ships, skateboards to paper dolls, rainbows to unicorns.

© LightPlusNine.com

Is your crew a fan of the tropics? Make them smile like the sun with exclusive, surfboard-shaped puzzles from Jigsaw Surf Co. Constructed of recycled paper and soy-based inks, these puzzles also come with their own surfboard “wax” that acts as puzzle glue so finished pieces can be transformed into wall art. Most measure 10 inches by 32 inches, with gorgeous surf designs including Road to Tomorrow, Moonrise Mountains, Shaka and Wading Wanderers.

© WanderFull

Named one of “Oprah’s Favorite Things 2023,” the WanderFull HydroBag is sure to please even your family’s fussiest travel fashionista. In more than 15 cool colors like Chocolate Brown Shiny, Deep Violet Matte, Seafoam Gray Glossy and Gold Shiny, each bag features a waterproof main compartment that can handle a 32-ounce water bottle, flask or insulated travel bottle; generous, double-zip pockets for essentials; and fully adjustable straps that can be switched up for personalized flair. New on the scene in time for the holidays: This best-selling travel bag is now available as the Hydrodouble, with twice the space.

Need some packing inspiration? Taking TikTok by storm, indie brand SingleTree Lane has bright, wearable art fashion styles perfect for travel, including tops, bottoms, outerwear and fun hobo scarf bags.

©JAMS World

Or, if tropical destinations are your family’s go to, you can’t go wrong with beautiful, wearable gifts from Jams World that will stand out on the beach or anywhere else. After seeing a photo on the cover of Life Magazine depicting a group of men in their pajamas, brand creator and company founder Dave Rochlen talked his wife into cutting off the bottoms of a pair of Hawaiian-print pajamas so he could use them for surfing — hence the company name JAMS, short for “pajamas.” Made in Japan from an exclusive, spun-crushed rayon, and featuring hand-painted designs on screen-painted rayon, the line is still sewn in Oahu, where Dave’s son Pua runs the company. The wide-range of gorgeous products includes travel-perfect men’s and women’s styles, plus accessories and footwear.

© FamilyTreeDNA.com

Imbue your next family travel adventure with special meaning by planning your destination around your family’s unique cultural history. It all starts with an easy-to-use, mail-in testing kit from FamilyTreeDNA, which traces your individual roots to the far (or near) corners of the globe within the last five generations and reveals any connection to ancient European groups. Kits include Family Finder, Family Finder + myDNA Wellness, Y-DNA, Big Y and mtDNA. Based on your choice, you can also gain valuable insight into personal health and wellness based on individual DNA. Concerned about privacy? We get it. FamilyTreeDNA has made a company commitment to not share your DNA information to third parties.

© Dr. Motion

Long flights carry the risk of fluid retention in legs and feet, as well as a more serious condition known as deep vein thrombosis, which results from blood clotting in deep veins — often in the legs. Even children can develop DVT, and lack of movement during long flights increases the risks. Fun, patterned Dr. Motion Compression Socks come in variety of styles, including knee-highs, tights and sports styles, helping to protect against long hours spent sitting in cramped airplane seats by applying pressure to ankles and legs to improve blood flow. Fun, sassy designs include koalas, llamas, French bulldogs, florals — and even cats in glasses. For men, choices range from pool balls to stars and stripes, herringbone to dots, dashes, diamonds and argyle.

When it comes to toting travel gear, the Milmo 1813 is on top of your toughest job — whether that’s carrying your laptop to a corner table at a Paris bistro, stashing gear for a mountain outing, or loading up picnic ingredients from that adorable farmer’s market near your hotel. Waterproof, with a clever strap design and measuring 18 inches long by 13 inches wide and 10 inches deep, the tote comes in gray, yellow, green and black.