Holiday Gift Guide 2016

As I write this gift guide, the forecast is calling for our first snow of the season and I'm two hot apple ciders deep. Dig out the wrapping paper and blanket scarves because it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This year, we've selected 10 gift ideas for travelers, from budget-friendly stocking stuffers to stylish splurges. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the Trip Styler team!

1/ The Poglia Porter :: It's never easy traveling with a brimmed hat unless you're prepared to wear it on every travel day. This stylish tote solves that problem with its signature hat-holding feature. Fashion and function have never looked so good!

2/ Away Carry-On :: Speaking of fashion and function, we've had our eyes on this good-looking, tech-friendly carry-on all year. This start-up luggage company offers lightweight, flexible, scratch-proof hard shell bags with a built-in battery for usb phone charging. 

3/ Charging Cord Tassel Keychain :: Speaking of clever charging, this keychain is not only a handy charging cord, but also a superlative stocking stuffer.

4/ Aesop Rinse-Free Hand Wash :: Speaking of stocking stuffers, we haven't been this excited about hand sanitizer since our late 90s Bath and Body Works phase. Shout out to our favorite scents: cucumber melon and plumeria. This hipster hand sanitizer is a traveler's best friend.

5/ Herschel Supply Kids Backpack :: Speaking of hipsters, these backpacks are the perfect gift for the traveling tot whose wardrobe is already better than yours. Thankfully, they come in adult sizes too ;-)

6/ Reks Optics Sunglasses :: Speaking of adult sizes, this new line of bendy sunglasses claims to have 10 times the shatter resistance of glass and plastic. Create the look you want from six frames, three lenses and lots of color options. We like the round frame and mirrored, polarized lenses.

7/ Island Girl Cosmetics Nail Color :: Speaking of color options, we stock up on these fast-drying nail polishes at the ABC Store every time we hit the Aloha State.

8/ Lavanila Travel-Size Deodorant :: Speaking of fast-drying time, this natural, aluminum-free deodorant will have you smelling like a tropical cocktail as fast as you can say Mele Kalikimaka. Trip Styler Tip: If you're switching to a more natural deodorant for the first time, it may take your body a few weeks to adjust, so keep it on hand for a midday application just in case!

9/ Trip Styler Store Finds :: Speaking of the tropics, we picked up these beauties in Bali and Thailand. We love the flat-packing grass-weave clutch and stone bead tassel necklace. We also love the weight and texture of the 100% cotton towels we found in Morocco.

10/ Hotel Gift Card :: Speaking of Bali, how about a visit to the Fairmont Sanur Beach or the Four Seasons Resort at Sayan? Give the gift of a night away (or four!) with a hotel gift card — most luxury hotel brands offer them, and they're a smart way to give the gift of travel to those you love. Icing on the pillow-top cake? Offer to babysit {where necessary, of course}.

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

Past Trip Styler Gift Guides
2015 / 2014 / 2013 / 2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2015

[trip style = any]

Ever since Trip Styler debuted in 2009, we've assembled a holiday gift guide. 'Tis the season once again! In past years it skewed gadgety or aspirational, whereas this year it's international—how à propos—with Italian, Japanese and Mexican finds to bundle you up, cool you down and transport you afar. 

{Clockwise from top left}

1/ Expandable Beach Bag :: Sourced on the palm- and juice bar-studded shores of Tulum, Mexico, enter the ultimate beach bag for those who like to pack smart. Featured in the Trip Styler Store, our totes sport leather straps and woven mesh that packs flat and compact, and then expands as you add your beach or pool essentials. 
Find our boho totes in yellow, brown, white, blue and pink in the Trip Styler Store

2/ The Kinfolk of Travel Magazines :: Flipping through the pages of this bi-annual magazine about travel and style is a journey until itself. Everything about the magazine is chic from the thick white-matte pages to the whitewashed photos from afar. 
Find it in select boutiques and online

3/ Modern Kimono :: Half blazer, half kimono, we spotted this tailored hybrid while in Japan, brought a few home for the Trip Styler Store, and wear ours almost once a week. It's chic, it's worldly and it's pulled together.
Find our mod kimonos in black and subdued black prints in the Trip Styler Store

4/ DIY Aperol Spritz Kit :: This summer in Italy we jumped on the Aperol train, and we never got off. It's a trip in a tumbler. Every time we drink Italy's libation of choice, we're transported to a cobblestone street in Capri. Gifting it to a cocktail-obsessed loved one is smart because it's easy to put together—all you need is Aperol, prosecco and soda—and it will make it seem like you have your finger on the pulse of what people are sipping worldwide.
Find the recipe and ingredients in our That Travel Meal series

5/ Espresso Maker :: Another beverage {of the non-alcoholic variety} that became a regular for us in Italia was espresso, which we made in a Moka Express, an iconic, 1930s-developed espresso maker. So into the brewing technique and taste, we brought one home with us from Italy. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you don't have to go to the Boot to buy one.
Find it on Amazon {and watch this quick tutorial we put together} 

6/ Blanket Scarf :: Here at the TS HQ we've been wearing blanket scarves for ions because they keep us warm in cold climates and when the temperature dips at 35,000 ft.
Find them + a tutorial on how to wear these travel warm-ups in our latest Jetset Style dispatch

7/ Donation :: If you know the person who has everything or doesn't want things, consider making a donation in their name to an organization or cause they care about. {Not shown above}

Related
Holiday Gift Guide 2014
Holiday Gift Guide 2013

[graphic assembled by @tripstyler]

Now Boarding :: Trip Styler's December Gift Guide

[trip style = any]

Publishing a Christmas gift guide has been a Trip Styler tradition since 2009. I look forward to it all year, and like Santa's head elf, I test and tinker with the finds leading up to the BIG DAY. A lot of doodads dance across my desk, but here's the distilled list of 2012's most fabulous travel trinkets.

Trip Styler's 2012 Travel Gift Guide

1/ Techtouch {aka iPhone-Ready} Gloves :: A metallic-tipped index finger and thumb make answering email or instagramming below zero tooootally possible. Cost: $7.49 for a 3pk from Target

2/ Mini Kittour Travel Bottles & Bags :: Mini Kittour's spill-proof bottles and jars transport your liquids and creams in travel-friendly sizes. I've been using these plastic and recyclable toiletry vessels for six months---literally, they are holding liquids in my toiletry case while I'm in Dubai---because they're uber-slender and air tight. Cost: Two jars from $6 + shipping from Mini Kittour

3/ 2013 Cities Calendar :: Part art, part smart, the hand-painted cities calendar is a wanderer's telescope into faraway lands. Next stop: London, Tokyo, Bangkok, Cairo and NYC---every month is a new adventure. Cost: $34 + shipping from Drake General Store

4/ Smartphone-Charging Purse {aka the Everpurse} :: Finally, a purse that keeps up with your travels. Gone are the days when your smartphone loses power right before you snap that photo of the Taj Mahal. Enter the "smart purse" {we love the Onyx Fabric Clutch} that contains a Duracell charging mat so your phone can stay juiced while you're out and about. Plug in the mat overnight, and you'll be amped for the next day of roaming. Pre-orders are being taken for a Spring 2013 delivery. Cost: $189 + shipping from Everpurse

5/ Stealthy Laptop Sleeve :: If there's no safe in your accom abroad and you don't want to carry your laptop or tablet around town, these v-neck or hoodie laptop sleeves come in very handy. Burglars will mistake your computer {read: lifeline} for a folded t-shirt, and the cotton cases are reinforced with multi-layer padding! If you're a DIY'er, talk to your grandma about a Christmas sewing project. Cost: From $39 + shipping* from Computer Apparel *shipping within the US is free for orders over $35

6/ All-Time Faves :: Travalo — a refillable, portable, spill-proof and on-the-go perfume atomizer, and Vapur — a collapsible water bottle. {Not shown above — see last year's gift guide for details}

Trip Styler Tip :: We're dishing out cool Christmas finds all month long. Look out for a KinderHop list and Travel Beauty picks!

Still stuck for ideas? Check out our past Christmas gift guides: 2010 & 2011!

[images sourced via web]

We're Three

Pop the Champagne and string the streamers because Trip Styler just turned three years old! In a birthday celebration of MAH-JOR proportions, I leave for Dubai tomorrow on one of the world's most glam airlines, Emirates. Honestly, I cannot think of a more appropriate {read: lavish and lucky} way to celebrate a milestone.

I started dishing out daily trip style tips for aspiring jetsetters in 2009, and never thought I'd be writing a "world of thank yous" at the end of 2012. In a time when many travel publications fail and everyone wants to be a travel writer, I'm grateful you've given me the opportunity to find my captain's voice and be your official travel tester the world over.

If you asked me in university what I was going to become when I grew up---which I guess is now?---I would have said advertising executive, not travel writer, but this is where I've landed, and planting my feet in a new destination every few weeks keeps life hovering between pipe dream and poetic.

A World of Thank Yous

• Merci to our readers for opening your inbox and your minds to our daily trip style tips. Your readership and feedback makes me feel like it's the '70s and I'm sipping scotch {while wearing a polyester suit, of course} in Pan Am's first class. On the off day I want to cancel all Trip Styler flights, you remind me to keep flying.
• Gracias to the Trip Styler flight crew {Leah for Healthy On The Road, Keryn for KinderHop, Lauren for Travel Beauty, Nicole for Jetset Jingles and Heather for Fashion Friday}; your expertise, voice and perspectives are the wind beneath my wings.
• Mahalo to my BFF and husband, for being the ultimate co-pilot encouraging me onwards and upwards, even when *i think* turbulence threatens my flight path.
• Khob khun mak krab to the tourism organizations and travel companies that partnered with me in 2012: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Vegas, Banff, Victoria, Vancouver, Okanagan, Whistler, Montreal, Canada, Oregon, Maui, Mexico, Rocky Mountaineer, Transat, Fodor's, Jetsetter, ShermansTravel and OnBoard.
• And last but not least, grazie mille to Expedia: never in a million years did I think part of my life's story would be a travel tale worth telling.

Please continue to like, share, tweet and insta-love Trip Styler, we've come a long way baby, but there's still a world of trip stylin' out there.

xoxox, Trish

[photo by and of @tripstyler]

Shop Talk :: What's Up With TS

A Trip Styler In-flight Service Announcement, If you've been a faithful friend of TS since we first launched in December of 2009, you know it's rare that we'd take up a post {and most importantly, your time} to talk TS biz unless it's really important. This is one of those times.

As Trip Styler maintains your good graces and "beach read" status in your day-to-day life, we don't want to end up like most airlines: reducing your in-flight experience to a small package of weird crunchy bits and a single cup of water. We want to continue to be your fresh-out-of-the-hangar Boeing Dreamliner, transporting you to close-by and far-off lands, in style.

In order to be the Dreamliner in your life, our flight schedule will shift to Monday, Wednesday and Friday departures. No crunchy bits here, at TS we'll stock our cart with champagne, strawberries and the trip styled goodies you've come to expect as your in-flight nourishment and entertainment.

Air traffic control has promised clear skies. So join us, Pan Am-style, on the second leg of our adventure. Grab your aviators, it's always sunny at 37,000ft.

Cheers, Trish, Heather, Leah, Lauren, Nicole and Keryn

PS - I almost forgot to mention that I've started a Trip Styler Editor's Ledger on Tumblr {aka - my travel stream of consciousness: tidbits, inspiration, fashion, press mentions and articles from the other publications to which I contribute}.