If you're looking for small travel gifts as stocking stuffers or to assemble into a gift package, here are a few ideas from our packing list. Many of the items are small enough to be placed in your carry-on luggage and many are not very expensive. If you have additional ideas, let me know with a comment.
The images in this post are just a few examples of the suggested items and not an endorsement of any specific brand or store.
Health or Emergency Related Items
Travel Band-aid Container - Handy for an accidental mid-travel scrape or two. A travel package runs about $2.
Carbon Monoxide Detector - A version used for pilots of small planes is not large and easy to pack. CO is odorless, colorless and very toxic. Travelers have succumbed in a room or house from a furnace or water heater CO leak. While many apartments, houses and hotel rooms have smoke detectors, CO monitors may not be present. Note: these small detectors might not be in the category of inexpensive as they run about $100. A slightly larger portable CO detector is sold by Kidde.
Headlamp - In the past, we brought a small flashlight but a headlamp is much better as it keeps your hands free. This could be helpful in an emergency. Headlamps generally cost from less than $10 to $50.
COVID and Flu Test Kit - We typically carry a couple of these test kits. Note that extreme temperature is a problem for most test kits and, thus, the kit needs to be in your carry-on luggage. A combination test kit is about $9. Digital Thermometer w/Plastic Covers - Just in case you're not feeling well. The plastic covers reduce the need to sanitize the thermometer after use. This type of thermometer is about $16. A package of thermometer covers costs about $4.
Face Masks - While not intending to be polarizing, if we become sick during a trip, we would like to avoid passing a cold, flu or other possibly contagious illness to other travelers. We bring a few face coverings in our carry-on or check-in luggage - just in case.
Clorox/Lysol Sanitizing Wipes - Handy if you want to wipe down your plane seating area or items in your hotel room.
Cough Drops - There's been a few extended length trips when a cough or scratchy throat has caused me to look for cough drops or lozenges. If you're traveling overseas it may be difficult to find what you might easily locate in your local drug store or supermarket. If you're not able to speak the local language, trying to describe a non-prescription item at a foreign country pharmacy can be a challenge. Sometimes you can be sold an item that is more powerful than needed - or you can't read/understand the contraindications on the package. I've learned this lesson....
Convenience Items
Laundry hanging clips - We often do some handwash during our travels. These clips often allow your damp clothes to be hung in a variety of unexpected areas. The clips could also be packed in your check-in luggage. You can often find a dozen of these clips for about $6. Such clips can often be used to convert a no-theft hanger into one that can dry wet clothing by attaching the clip to the hanger head. If you’re on a cruise, a set of magnetic clips or hooks is also useful.
Bluetooth earbuds - Small and great for listening to content from your phone or tablet. The cost varies as there are many different manufacturers and features. I pack both earbuds and an over-ear Bluetooth headphone. I find the noise cancellation function on the larger headphones more effective over many ear-buds.
Bluetooth Adapter - If you have a pair of Bluetooth earbuds or headphones, being able to connect them to a 3.5mm headphone jack can be really convenient. When we're on a guided tour group that uses portable receivers that come with a wired earphone, we plug the adapter into the receiver jack (and not use the provided wired earphone). The adapter will communicate to our Bluetooth earbuds and no more tangled wires! These adapters will also connect to most airplane jacks and older tablets. An adapter costs about $25.
Portable Battery Pack - a 10,000mHa battery pack is small, light and can help you when your mobile device battery is low. We also include several cables to connect to all our different mobile devices. During the holidays, I've seen this size battery pack available for as low as $25.
Sleep Mask - A mask helps me on long flights to get some sleep. A mask can also help when your spouse or travel partner wants to keep some lights on at night and you're ready to sleep (or when the curtains leak sunlight). I prefer a mask that offers a contoured area to avoid eye pressure. I've seen these masks for about $7.
E-Reader - Books can be heavy and cumbersome in your carry-on luggage. Loading an e-reader with a selection of fiction and non-fiction to read during travel is a space saver. Depending on the manufacturer, an e-reader could cost from $45 to $80.
Insulated Water Bottle - Bringing your personal water bottle on your travels avoids having to purchase and toss plastic water bottles. You can also easily add ice cubes to your insulated bottle to keep your water cool. We occasionally fill a bottle with coffee from the ‘free’ hotel lobby urn, bring it to our room and pour our coffee into two room mugs, Insulated travel-size bottles can be found in many stores and online sources.
Security Items
Bluetooth tracker - We place a tracker in our check-in and carry-on luggage. It is reassuring to know that you can track your luggage or backpack during your travels. The location could be helpful if your luggage is misplaced during transit.
Post-its - A small pack of sticky-notes is useful to help remember tasks during your travel. A note can also be left to message your traveling partner when you are running an errand and they are sleeping or napping or even used for a short grocery list.
Nightlight - In cruise ship cabins and hotel rooms, there may not be a low-level night light. One of these LED lights placed in the bathroom avoids the need to turn on brighter room lights. There are portable LED plug-in lights that can serve this purpose. The one we use is actually pretty bright and we place a small post-it or piece of masking tape on the lens to reduce the brightness. The cost of an LED night light is about $7.
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Zip Ties - We keep a small number of these ties to secure check-in luggage zippers. We also keep a small nail clipper within an unsecured carry-on luggage pocket to snip the ties. The clipper moves to a jacket pocket if the carry-on luggage zippers are also zip-tied. We also bring a few small carabiners in case we need to attach something to our luggage or backpack.
Micro-lock S-Biner - If you typically use a backpack, hip bag or cross-body bag with dual zippers, a small zipper lock could keep stray unfamiliar hands from opening the zipper. There are a few versions of this type of lock and prices start around $5 for a single lock.
Silicone Luggage Tag - These are light, durable and easy to attach to your luggage. Some come in a variety of bright colors and often come with a wire attachment loop. Depending on the manufacturer, a tag may limit the owner identification to a single visible line. These tags cost about $6-8.
