If you love to travel, you probably want your kids to love it, too. The holidays are a great time to encourage that affection—even if you’re planning on spending the season at home. Give them gifts that will help them grow, explore, learn about the world, and straight-up have more fun on your future adventures. Whether you have tots or teens, want to spend $20 or $200, we’ve got a great travel gift for you.
Art on the Go
This (literally) neat activity kit is a great way to keep kids off their screens during your travels. It is packed with arts and crafts essentials, including pens, pencils, a glue stick, and a pad to keep them entertained. It also folds out into a desk they can put on their laps or a tray table. $19, amazon.com
Rideable Luggage
If you’re looking to splash out on a holiday gift, we love this kids’ travel set from Scandinavian brand Stokke. The rideable suitcase contains a mattress that turns an airplane seat into a mini-bed, plus has enough space for gear. The backpack grows along with your kid—it expands with a hidden zipper. $249, 2modern.com
Better Rest on the Road
Give your kid (and maybe yourself) the gift of sleep with a Turtl Kids Travel Pillow. It’s lightweight and machine-washable, with a wraparound design that prevents shifting during long car rides and plane trips. It’s recommended for ages 8 and up, and comes in three color options. $21 (usually $25), Trtltravel.com
Books to Broaden Their Horizons
Youngsters can explore the world from the sofa with this sweet gift set from Barefoot Books. Designed to inspire and teach kids as young as five about the world we live in, it includes a world atlas, sticker book, memory game, and box of 50 activity cards. $60, barefootbooks.com
An Easy-Pack Water Bottle
Ward off thirst, avoid single-use plastic and save some space in your bags, all with a single gift. This spiral BPA-free water bottle from Que collapses down to mini-me size. Because it comes in an array of fun colors, it’s easy to find one to suit your kids’ taste. $25, quebottle.com
Underwater Adventure Gear
The Orsen Full Face Snorkel is a great gift for kids who are curious about what’s under the surface. The clever design lets swimmers breathe more naturally than with a snorkel, so they can have a whale of a time exploring. It even has a camera mount, so you can record their adventures. $46, amazon.com
A Pocket-Sized Library
A number of screen-free audiobook devices have been designed for kids. Lunii’s colorful My Fabulous Storyteller is one of the most portable. It comes with 48 fun and engaging preloaded stories, and there are 300 more available to download via their app, including dozens of multilingual options. For an extra gift, add Nellie and Boone Travel North America, a series about two siblings who travel to exciting destinations such as New York City, Montreal, and Mexico City. Bonus: You can get eight hours of listening time on a single charge. $80, lunii.com
An International Cooking Kit
With these limited-edition kits from eat2explore, budding chefs can whip up tasty holiday treats from around the globe—including Japanese mochi, Croatian gingerbread, and Swedish Chokladbollar. Each box comes with recipe cards, spices and seasonings, a shopping list, cooking tools, and more. $40 (usually $50), eat2explore.com
A World of Experiences
For hard-to-please teens, opt for a Tinggly Gift Card Experience, which lets them choose from hundreds of exciting experiences in over 100 countries. This means wherever you go on vacation, they’ll be able to pick what they want to do, whether that’s snorkeling in Hawaii, rock climbing in Colorado, or going on a helicopter ride in New York City. From $129, tinggly.com
