Travel gifts for the new parents in your life

You think traveling with a baby is hard? Try being the baby. Long rides to the airport in uncomfy car seats, completely unexplained ear popping, parents stressed, and you’re not sure why. But then! After an unendingly long time in a giant tin can with windows (ooh, windows), the door pops open and the fresh breeze of a new place greets you and you, a baby, think to yourself for the very first time – oh, maybe this is good?

Welcome to travel, little ones! Below are some recommendations from a parent to parents and their wee ones on surviving those first flights in the early years. You can win Christmas or the office secret Santa with these lifesavers for a busy baby on the go. 

All our recommendations are independently selected by our writers and editors. Lonely Planet may receive a commission if you buy something through the links on our site.

1. A kids’ suitcase

This is more of a want than a need, as I've shared my suitcase with my daughter on most of our vacations to date. But as she gets bigger and her things take up more space, she also likes to tear the suitcase apart. Toddlers want to do pretty much anything mom and dad do, so these kids' suitcases from Away couldn't have dropped at a more perfect time. They’re both practical and fun — Trojan horsing a toy in a tool that will help keep everyone organized on the trip. 

Our pick: The Kid’s Carry-On from Away

2. A puffy sticker play set 

Stickers are divisive. They buy parents some sweet, quiet time, while also leaving a mess for anyone coming along after to have to scrape off the seat. These puffy, reusable stickers are a great compromise. They peel off, so you can let your child stick them to seatbacks, windows and themselves with abandon. 

Our pick: Melissa & Doug Puffy Sticker Activity Books 

3. Baby food storage containers 

Some parents swear by snack spinners, but I like the slightly more manageable tiny Tupperware containers. We use these for different kinds of cereal and fruit, and stash them everywhere so there’s always something handy on a flight. The bonus is that my husband and I also pack our vitamins in these for travel – a set of 12 goes a long way. 

Our pick: WeeSprout Baby Food Storage Containers 

4. Children’s magazines 

When a friend gifted us Highlights Hello, I had no idea what a staple they would become in our routine. They're light, short, sweet and have enough pictures, games and silly songs that we can read the same 12 over and over and over. The non-rip paper makes it so easy for us to travel with these. We’ve even read them in the hotel tub. 

Our pick: Highlights Hello Magazine 

5. Spinners

A classic for airplanes because they work, and easily transferable to bus, taxi and hotel windows. Never question the spinners. 

Our pick: Suction Cup Spinners

6. Non-slip socks 

Airports are full of high-touch surfaces, and let's be honest, most of them are a little gross. Packing a few extra non-slip socks means that you won't be chasing after tiny lost shoes, you can swap them if your kid walks on the inevitably wet floor in the public restroom, and they can still walk around and explore in the plane aisle (supervised!) and at the gate without risk of slipping. 

Our pick: Bomba’s Toddler Gripper Calf Socks 

7. Pop-up books

We got an incredible amount of play from two recent Lonely Planet pull-out/pop-up books. Kids love something interactive, and being able to find the locations in real life and compare them to the book was such a highlight of the trip. I’m in awe of paper engineering, and these books carried us through long meals in Europe while Mom and Dad enjoyed a glass of wine. Honorable mention to the amazing series by Swedish illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius as well. 

Our picks: Lonely Planet’s Pop Up London and Pop Up New York 

8. Washable changing mat

This folding changing mat by Zara is a great thing to put in between your babe and the changing mat/park bench/floor. (No judgment!) I have a few Zara ones in inoffensive patterns that are very easily washable and fold up really nicely inside a larger bag. 

Our pick: Zara Changing Mat

9. A tiny purse or backpack 

I may not always travel with a separate suitcase for her, but having a separate bag for her with toys and books is always helpful. In addition to what we packed in our larger diaper bag (diapers and wipes, change of clothes for her and us and enough books to stock a midsize library), we try to give her a low-stakes bag she can carry. She loves a job, so we’ll keep her little “keys“ and a few toys in there and carry it around. Plus, it's a nice distraction to ask her to show us what's in there and make sure she's not "forgetting" anything and leaving it behind. If we do lose the bag, we have lots of backups and everything is replaceable. 

Our pick: Local thrift, Depop or similar

10. Micro Magna-Tiles

Lighter and easier to fly with than the larger version, we were thrilled to find how well these work to pass the time during delays or layovers. We even made friends with another toddler playing with them in the San Juan airport.

Our pick: MicroMAGS Travel 26 Piece Set