This year’s gift guide for travelers is going to look a little different because the things I found myself wanting (or wanting for our child) are so different. After having Charleigh, my focus of purchases have been experiences for the family, tools that make travel easier, and tools that keep Charleigh entertained and also that expose her to our beautiful world around us. So this post is a guide for both sets of people: parents who travel and infant travelers.
Annual National Park Pass
This may seem like a strange thing to see for an infant, but this is definitely for the hiking-loving parents of infants. When you’ve got a little one, you don’t always have the extra money to purchase something memorable like a National Park Pass that will allow you entrance to all the national parks and many of the other sites run by the National Park Service. This means, those new parents in your life will still be able to have adventures and while the baby may not be making memories, I guarantee the parents will treasure the memories of carrying their wee ones through the parks. This gift just fosters adventure in little families… Trust us, we’ve already taken Charleigh to Petrified Forest, Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks!
Lovevery Subscription
I wish that we had done Lovevery Play Kits from the get-go. We partnered with them for a few things and I’m obsessed with their kits. I think they’re perfect for children of travelers for a couple of reasons. One, all the things in the box are meant for your child at a certain age. This means that they’re going to be both entertained and challenged by the toys in this kit. Two, everything in the kits fit in a box. That means these things are spectacularly packable! I’m obsessed and am confident you would be too!
Pack N Play
This was another gift we received that has been imperative to our travels this year. Charleigh has slept in her Pack n Play in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas Oklahoma and Utah! It not only gave us a place for her to sleep each night, but also a safe place for her to play or just be sat for a moment that meant we didn’t have to stress about a place being baby-proofed.
Gas Gift Card & Specify That It’s for an Adventure
This is a great gift for your friends or family members that love to travel, but have potentially found their budget a little tighter as they transition into being parents. There have been a few times, especially when Charleigh was first born, that we considered going to a different town just for a day adventure, but decided it wasn’t smart for our budget at that time. If we had had a gas card for an adventure, we could’ve gone, guilt-free.
Fischer Price Sit-Me-Up
We bought one of these just before our trip to Asheville when Charleigh was just a few months old. She needed help sitting up and this ended up being her favorite of the options we tried. Not only did it support her legs and back, but the tray across it gave her an option to lean on and there are toys attached that also helped entertain her as well. The only thing I don’t love about it is there’s not way to buckle them in, so definitely keep an eye on your little as they start becoming more and more mobile.
Adventure or Travel Inspiring Books
Books are just windows into the world around us. Whether that world is the outdoors, your own backyard or countries and cultures vastly different from our own, I believe that the exposure is important as young and often as often. These are the books I’m most obsessed with for Charleigh right now:
Toys that Clip On to Carriers or Strollers
I’ve become obsessed with things that I can simply clip on to her carriers and such so she’s able to be entertained or comforted while we’re driving, walking or even hiking. I try to have different toys that I can attach so she doesn’t always have the same things.
Lille Baby Carrier
Looking for something for parents who hike? They need to have the perfect carrier for the little ones so everyone can comfortably enjoy their adventures! We were gifted this Lille Baby Carrier and Charleigh loves it. You can carry your baby four different ways as they grow. The carrier itself is lightweight and so comfortable. It has a little pocket to slip your phone or keys into and your baby will feel so snuggled up against you that they will love hiking. Her first hike in this was at 2-weeks old and we just used it last week at 10 months old and have no plans on stopping anytime soon! She’s hiked in North Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona, Utah, Illinois and Missouri and we all love it so. so much.
Pacifier Clips
So, these are obviously great for pacifiers, but my baby refuses to use a paci, but we had all these pacifier clips and I realized that these made the perfect toy clips! Charleigh has many toys that she loves that don’t have a way to clip securely. Her favorite is a giraffe from her activity gym, so we lopped the paci clip through that and clipped it onto her so Gerald doesn’t get thrown overboard.
Shutterfly Gift Card
I know we just did a large Shutterfly order of photos from the year, and it seemed most of the photos are from our travels with Charleigh. So whether the traveler in your life loves prints or photo books, they’re going to be able to save those memories thanks to Shutterfly.
Lovevery Quilt
I love taking this Lovevery quilt on trips with us. The colors on the quilt are fun and we always talk about the different colors when Charleigh is playing on them. It’s great to have a space you know is clean for your little one to play and crawl on.
Scratch Map For Baby
Give your baby their own scratch map. It’ll be so fun to see where all your baby gets to before they grow up and move out of your house. Plus, it will become a fun tradition to scratch of your new destinations after each trip. You can get a US one, if you’re based in the states like us or a world map!
Good Walking Shoes for Parents
I cannot express how appreciated this is. I always loved my Tevas before having Charleigh, but now that I’m on my feet carrying a 20 pound bundle, comfy shoes have become more important! I always have a pair of Tevas, Converse, Merrells or ASICS shoes packed with me.
Pool Floatie with a Shade
If you’re going on a trip that includes a pool/beach trip, a floating is a must. We took Charleigh on a family beach trip to Gulf Shores this year and Charleigh was so sweet floating around in the pool. I loved that this floatie had little balls that made noise and a wonderful shade so that she could be comfy and cozy in the pool.
If you have a friend or family in the infant stage of parenthood, these are some glorious options for holiday gifts! They’re sure to put smiles on the faces of all involved and inspire a life of adventure for the wee ones in your life!
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