Holiday Gift Guide: Gift Ideas for Traveling Parents

Now that the traveling toddlers and older kids on your holiday gift list have been covered, it's time to turn to their traveling parents.  From electronics to luggage to travel books, here are gifts that have been hits in our family, as well as several other ideas that are on our Christmas list this year (hint, hint).

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Gift Ideas For Traveling Parents

1. Jackery Mobile Charger: Most airplanes still don't consistently have in-seat power outlets, so a portable charger is a necessity for long flights to keep smartphones and tablets powered.  It's even more important for parents who need to charge those devices on long flights to keep their little ones quiet and entertained.  We are big fans of the medium Jackery charger (holds enough charge to fully charge an iPhone about three times), but it is also available in a slimmer and cheaper one-charge size.
2. Zojirushi Travel Mug: This highly-rated, stylish, and no leak travel mug is perfect for coffee and other hot beverages on family road trips.  You could also use it to keep milk cold for your toddler for air travel.
3. Satechi Smart Travel Router with USB Port: A true multi-function device in cute and compact packaging.  This device is an adapter that fits in the outlets of over 150 countries, allowing you to charge your smartphones and other electronics.  But it also works as a wireless router, allowing you to turn a (usually faster) wired connection in your hotel room into a private wireless network you can use with all your devices.
4. Wine Diaper Travel Bag: You already travel with diapers for your kids, so why not for your wine?  These padded and sealed wine travel bags allow you to pack up some of the local adult beverages from your travels and take them home in your suitcase with minimal risk of breaking and spilling.
5. Travels with Baby by Shelly Rivoli: This is the Encyclopaedia Brittanica of traveling with kids.  It's a truly comprehensive guide of airline rules, road trip tips, and hints for family travel choices like trains and cruises.  You'll find yourself consulting it as a reference guide before each trip as your kids are at different ages and stages.  Even highly-experienced family travelers can find useful information here.
6. The Travel Mamas Guide by Colleen Lanin: Another inspiring book by a fellow family travel blogger that I found very informative and helpful.  This guide is slim and a quick read, and is the perfect fit for families traveling with kids for the first time who need to master the basics right away.
7. Bose Earbuds: My husband adores his classic over-the-ear Bose noise canceling earphones, but when I'm traveling with my kids carrying all their snacks and gear, I need something more compact.  I've loved my smaller Bose earbuds for many years.  They are so much more comfortable for long in-flight movies than the basic earbuds that come with iPhones and other similar devices.  Bose makes a more expensive noise-canceling model too, but I've found the regular ones more than adequate.
8. Briggs & Riley Baseline roller bag: My family currently owns no fewer than 7 pieces of Briggs & Riley luggage because it truly has no equal.  Most other frequent travelers who discover it never buy anything else again.  The bags are well-built and have the most comprehensive warranties in the business (that are actually honored, as we can attest!).  This roller bag meets the (recently strictly-enforced) size guidelines of all major US airlines.  Also available on briggs-riley.com.

Need some other travel-related gift ideas for traveling parents or other adults?  Check out these other excellent gift guides from travel writers I follow:

• Johnny Jet's 13 Best Holiday Gift Guides of 2013
• World of Wanderlust's 2014 Holiday Gift Guide for Travellers
• BuzzFeed's 23 Holiday Gifts For The Travel Addict In Your Life

And be sure to follow my Pinterest board, Holiday Gift Ideas for Travelers, for a carefully-curated collection of more travel-related gift ideas this holiday season:

Follow Trips With Tykes's board Travel Holiday Gift Guides on Pinterest.