Taking the Kids: Holiday gifts your favorite travelers will love

Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on Dec 7, 2023

The mixologists on your list would appreciate an insulated shaker from YETI ($60) that you can customize. I’m also a fan of Yeti’s wine tumblers ($25) that come in assorted colors with a lid and for espresso drinkers, Yeti’s 4-ounce cups that are stackable and fit under most espresso machines ($30 for two).

Give your coffee snobs Steeped Coffee that is brewed like tea in single-serve, fully compostable packaging. A starter set includes a 24-pack and two dinner mugs. Choose a roast preference! So much better than hotel room coffee! Steeped Coffee, in fact, has just received USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Award. Whistling Kettle, meanwhile, offers holiday flavor teas, including gingerbread cookie and snowflake, as well as a Tea of the Month variety gift box (from $20).

Campers will love Tentsile’s giant hammocks that are suspended between three anchor points. Using simple ratchets to create an incredibly comfortable surface on which to sleep. Tentsile hammocks are reinforced with seat-belt webbing providing a structurally supportive floor that does not sag like a traditional hammock. (Solo hammocks are $40; two-person ones are $129.)

Cyclists will like the Double-Pannier Bike Backpack https://www.sheydbags.com/ that converts from a double bike rack bag to a backpack ($79.95).

I always travel with a cross-body bag from Vera Bradley. I love the different compartments and designs!

S now hounds as well as hikers – kids as well as adults – will appreciate a backpack with a hydration system. It’s so much more convenient than having to reach for a water bottle! Check out the kids’ 50-ounce hydration pack in assorted colors and designs for $60 from Camelbak, as well as those for adults. (The price depends on how large they are.) Stash lunch or snacks inside!

If your traveler is one of those people who have everything, you can always make a donation in their name. For example, Soldiers’ Angels 2023 Holiday Adopt A Family has now expanded to serve active duty Guard and Reserves families. Last year, the campaign served over 4,500 children of deployed and veteran families.

You can give an experience from Tinggly or Giftory, for example, or Tours by Locals. (Maybe a cooking class on their upcoming trip to Italy?)

And then there is the best gift of all — a trip together. Just don’t pay any nonrefundable deposits before checking with them first.

Happy shopping!

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)