Are you travelling to visit family and friends over Christmas? Maybe you’re heading to warmer climes to soak up some sun, or colder ones to ski down the pistes? Here is our 2023 Christmas Gift Guide for Travel, which we believe contains gifts that will make any journey way more fun, secure and comfortable!
#AD Disclaimer: Some of these products were gifted to us for consideration.
70MAI 4K A810-2 HDR DASH CAM SET
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According to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal, 18% of all car drivers on the road are believed to have a dash cam installed. Why? For a variety of reasons it seems … For security, to encourage you to drive more carefully knowing you are being recorded – but mainly to record any incident that could show that you were not to blame. Most dash cams are forward-facing, which is understandable as most incidents happen in front of you. But what if you get rear-ended? The driver who hit you might have a dash cam, but would they share the footage if they were to blame? And, of course, they might not have a dash cam at all, so it’ll be down to witness statements etc. You can circumvent this by installing a dash cam with a rear camera too – record incidents in front of you AND behind you.
The best dual dash cam on the market has to be this 70mai 4K A810-2 HDR dash cam set (RRP $179.99). This dash cam provides HDR dual-channel recording or interior recording. It boasts the industry’s first Ultra HD 4K front dash cam, and 1080 HDR rear camera. You can switch the view at any time with a click of a button. Videos of both cameras are saved (regardless of the current display). The front camera is powered by Sony’s best-in-class image sensor, Starvis 2 IMX678. This not only captures license plates and other road users with extreme clarity, but if you happen to be driving along a scenic route then it will capture those views too!
70mai’s exclusive image technology MaiColor Vivid+ Solution (MVS) further optimises footage quality in terms of exposure balance, colour accuracy and stability, especially under complex lighting conditions. The 70mai Night Owl Vision provides an F1.8 large aperture that pulls in more light to ensure well-illuminated recordings in the dark.
The 70mai 4K A810 HDR dash cam really is an extremely high-spec dash cam; One than can provide security and reassurance – so the perfect gift for anyone who drives a car.
SNOOZEBAND PRO
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PackThePJs flew two long haul return flights in 2023 – from London to Sri Lanka, and from London to Vancouver. These flights covered most seat classes, from Economy, to Premium Economy, to Business class. Ok, it is much easier to sleep when your seat goes flat – but even in your little partitioned off capsule there’s a lot of ‘stuff’ going on around you that makes sleep something you have to fight to achieve. In Economy, sleep is a blessing if it happens! There are, however, some travel products that can really help your chances of being able to zone out and catch some Zzzzzs while at 39000 feet. One such item is this SnoozeBand Pro 2.0 Bluetooth Sleep Mask (RRP £64.99). It is incredibly lightweight and travels in its own fabric pouch, taking up barely any space in your carry on.
Firstly, as a sleep mask it is 100% light blocking. It is made of soft brushed cotton on the outside with lightweight padding around the 3D padded eye sockete; the outside material is rather strokable and lovely (!) and the inside is breathable, feeling soft and cool. It has an adjustable band so you can fit it as snug or as loose as you find most comfortable. The band covers your ears, and this is where the magic happens. Inside the band are powerful ultra-thin speakers (you wouldn’t know they were there). Via Bluetooth, you connect the SnoozeBand Pro 2.0 to your phone – so while you are trying to fall asleep you could be listening to a playlist, podcast or audiobook etc. The panel on the front allows you to increase/decrease the volume, play and pause.
Charging is easy as there’s a USB C cable built-in. It takes about 2 hours to fully charge, and then it has a play time of 15 hours. This is great as a travel product – but equally as functional at home if you are struggling to sleep.
LONELY PLANET BEST IN TRAVEL 2024 BOOK
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Lonely Planet are the ‘go to’ travel experts for those who like to head off the beaten track and have an adventure. With such a wide world to explore sometimes it is difficult to choose that special place you need to see and experience. Lonely Planet do the research for you and every year produce a roundup of the best places, and areas you need to visit. Essentially, they describe the new travel trends. Best in Travel 2024 (RRP £11.99) is an annual bestseller and now available as a special 50th anniversary edition that sets the travel agenda for the year to come. This book provides an inspirational list of 50 incredible destinations to experience over the forthcoming year. Expect a mix of emerging travel hotspots, underappreciated places and fresh takes on your well-known locations.
So what destination catches my eye you ask? Well – there are a lot of places on my travel bucket list, but Kangaroo Island in Australia would be my choice because of the wildlife there (I also want to go to Rottnest Island to see quokka!)
FUTLIIT BACKPACK
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The other evening, while out walking, I noticed a shadow moving across the road from me. The shadow then moved across the road and only then could I see it was a teenage boy on an electric scooter. It was dark. He wore black trainers, black joggers, black hoodie with the hood up, and a black rucksack on his back … he literally was a shadow. That shadow, crossing the road at the speed he was travelling, would have given any vehicle driver a challenging emergency stop. Or not. I undertand that it’s not cool to wear neon colours – it seems to me that it’s not cool to have lights on your scooter either (I’ve never seen one with them). So if clothing is untouchable, the rucksack has the potential to be a lifesaver. And Futliit has done just this with their LED backpack (RRP £79.99).
From first view it looks like a trendy, good-sized, well-made sturdy backpack. Inside it has pockets, a zipped compartment, a keyholder, a laptop sleeve, and plenty of internal space. Outside it has two side water-bottle holders, padded reinforced straps, a top carry handle, and reflective decoration. However, this backpack comes alive when it gets dark! Around the front and main compartment are LED light strips. When the backpack is on your back, feel down the strap to the bottom where you’ll find click buttons; these turn the lights on and off, and there are even settings for the lights to flash or stay on.
This backpack is, clearly, PERFECT for children walking home from school during the winter – but that’s not all. Commuters walking/cycling/scooting home from work. Tourists out and about during the evenings etc. It is strong and durable – perfect for work ‘stuff’ and a reliable day sack for leisure use.
INIU 3-IN-1 MAGNETIC WIRELESS CHARGER
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A shout out for iPhone users who are constantly looking for charging stations! Look no more! This 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger (RRP £59.99) from INIU solves all your problems in that you can charge your phone, earbuds and watch all at the same time. It folds to take up very little space, but when you need to charge you can either lay it flat to charge all your items, or if you just want to charge your phone (while using it) it converts to a magnetic charging stand. Included in the box is a USB C to USB C charging cable, and the product comes with a 3 years warranty.
So when you are at the airport, and you find a charging station – plug in and charge your three devices at the same time. In a hotel? Same … plug in once, charge your three Apple devices simultaneously.
MOUNTAIN WAREHOUSE BLENCATHRA WALKING POLE
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No matter whether you are a hardened hiker or need a little extra support during a stroll this walking pole is for you. The lightweight and compact Blencathra Folding Walking Pole (RRP £49.99) from Mountain Warehouse is ideal for any situation. The foldable pole has an adjustable wrist strap, an EVA handle for extra grip and a rubber tip ferrule with a tip that has been reinforced for durability. This pole is a brilliant item to keep in your rucksack or day bag. It is compact, strong and can be deployed in seconds for almost instant use. It also takes up minimal space in a suitcase.
GIBSONS BEST OF BRITISH PUZZLE
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This Gibsons Best of British jigsaw (RRP £16.00) is from an artwork by acclaimed artist Hartwig Braun. This is a 1000-piece map of the United Kingdom as you’ve never seen it before. It is jam-packed full of landmarks, celebrities, buildings and dishes that make up the Great Britain that we all know and love. The puzzle is made of 100% recycled board, and the pieces are designed to fit perfectly together. Gibsons use the thickest puzzle board on the market, making them strong and easier to handle. There is also an artwork poster inside for you to reference while you piece together the puzzle. No doubt you’ll be planning trips to visit some of the places featured!
INIU MAGPRO SLIM 6000mAh POWER BANK
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Most of us are power-hungry these days. No, not a quest to become CEO of a multinational but ensuring your phone doesn’t run out of battery. With an electric car you suffer range anxiety when the percentage battery drops low … the same is true for your phone. Worry no more, as INIU has launched their MagPro Slim 6000 mAh Power Bank B1 (RRP £69.99), which works specifically with iPhones. With a 3 years warranty, this power bank magnetically attaches itself to the iPhone for wireless charging on the go. It also wirelessly charges AirPods (not magnetically). There’s a USB C cable to charge the power bank when it runs out, or to charge an item through the cable. There is even a fold-out stand on the back of the power bank, so you can be charging while viewing your phone.
This is a great power bank (for iPhone users) while you are out and about, or travelling.
SMUG. GIFT SET & PILLOW SPRAY
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When you travel, sleep becomes very important – especially if you are flying through several time zones. What we’ve found is that although your body is screaming out for sleep, your brain is zooming all over the place with the sensory overload that is modern-day travel. Trying to take a nap in a busy airport terminal, or on a train or plane, or in a hotel room above a nightclub, then you either close your eyes and hope that sleep happens, or you have to encourage it.
And this is where this bright and bold Contoured & Satin Sleep Mask Double Pack & Pink Storage Bag Set (RRP £38.00) in Candy Shop print and Wink print from SMUG. helps, especially when paired up with their Lavender Travel Pillow Spray (RRP £9.00). The pillow spray contains the natural blend of lavender, chamomile, sandalwood, and rosemary. They were specifically chosen for their soothing and calming properties.
You then have a choice of sleep mask. There is the Contoured Sleep Mask that has been specifically designed to block out any unwanted light. It has a unique contoured dome design, leaving space around the eye area to remove any disturbance or friction caused by the rapid eye movement sleep phase making it completely ‘Eyelash Friendly’!
If you are not sleep deprived, but rather want some genuine beauty sleep, then the Satin Sleep Mask provides benefits to both hair and skin. Its amazingly soft material reduces friction and helps to diminish facial lines and wrinkles.
Both of these sleep masks, and the pillow spray (and along with a bag of memory foam earplugs) fit nicely into the bright pink canvas Sleep Mask Storage Bag. Perfect for popping into your suitcase.
70MAI DASH CAM OMNI (BLACK & RED/WHITE)
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I’m going to start this description by saying you’ve never seen dash cams like these ones before! The 70mai Omni (black version, RRP $199.99) is the first-ever 360° rotating dash cam: their most innovative dash cam to date. The patented 360° design results in no blind spots and a full view dash cam with a 340° swivel design and 140° field of vision, which minimises image distortions.
The Omni has AI motion detection – it detects a person’s suspicious behaviour while you are parked, resulting in the camera recording in that direction! It has collision detection too, automatically sensing collisions, with the Omni turning to record emergency footage 5 seconds prior to a collision, capturing the full incident. The Omni has great night vision, delivering best-in-class low-light performance and reduced noise for better image clarity. It is also good when you exit tunnels, transitioning from dark to bright light seamlessly. On top of all this it can be controlled by voice. While driving you can ask it to take photos or emergency videos. Not only all of this, but you can get it in a really cool red and white version!
I am having the black 70mai Omni professionally fitted (hardwired) into my MG4 electric vehicle. Once fitted and thoroughly tested I will post a full review on PackThePJs. I think it’s going to be a total dash cam gamechanger!
JOURNEYS MADE TRAVEL KEYRING
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We have been championing JourneysMade for a few years now … My key chain in the photo above has travelled the world with us, and the tokens serve as a reminder of all the fabulous places we’ve been blessed to visit. What a brilliant, fabulous, gift for any travel lover. A key chain for a child, so they can add tokens as they visit new countries. A key chain for a newly married couple so they can show all the places they’ve visited together. Know an enthusiastic mountaineer? They can collect token of the mountains they’ve managed to bag. There are so many genuine reasons why this is such a good gift. Can I also point out that the key chain above has been attached to a backpack that has been through an awful lot of airports … and look at how good condition it is still in!
Key chains (£19.00) now come in a choice of eight different colours. There’s the tan that we have, forest green, ocean blue, black, grey, pink, natural and dark brown. If keychains aren’t your thing, there’s a choice of a stainless steel travel necklace to add your tokens to instead.
Talking of tokens (£4.00) – country, state, counties, National Parks, mountains – so many to choose from, but if the one you need isn’t listed, you can have it custom made.
GAMES 2 GO GABBLE TRAVEL GAME
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Gabble is a game for two teams and can be played by ages 12 years and above. Gabble (RRP £13.00), by Cheatwell, is all about describing people, places, and things for your team to guess at. Played against the clock (hourglass) your team must frantically guess the words and you score accordingly. The more you can describe the more you’ll score! Slip a card out of the dispenser and then score using the snappy little silicone button poppers on either side. This is the ideal game to take on holiday or even play on the move. Games 2 Go Gabble is the perfect travel card game!
A power bank is a MUST-HAVE for travel. I take one with me every time I travel. Great list!
The power bank and the sleep mask are both two big ones on this list for me. This is a great list. I love your picks!
The 70mai 4K A810-2 HDR Dash Cam caught my attention, providing both security and scenic recording—perfect for our road trips.
These are all really great gift ideas for people who travel often. I agree, a PowerBank is definitely a must have – they are great on camping trips too.
I have several people on my list that are travel-crazed so many of these items will work well as gifts. Also would like to have the dash cam for my car!
I am sure that these are truly helpful gifts for travel lovers. The Futliit backpack is the one I personally liked.
The focus on dual-channel recording, including HDR for both front and rear cameras, is a standout feature that addresses a common gap in dash cam functionality. The ability to seamlessly switch views and capture incidents from all angles is a game-changer for security and accountability on the road.
The power bank is awesome! I will get it for a friend of mine who just lost her power bank. Thank you so much, your timing is perfect.
What a great list for the travel lovers! Lots of nice options for the holiday season 😀
70MAI 4K A810-2 HDR DASH CAM SET is perfect for my husband. It is just what he needs
There are so many intuitive devices available right now. It’s actually amazing if you think about. Things we’d have thought could never be real when we were just kids.
These are some amazing gift ideas for travelers. I can gift few of these to my friends who are regular travellers.
Your Christmas Gift Guide for Travel is fantastic! Practical suggestions and diverse ideas make it easy to find the perfect gift. Thanks for the inspiration!