travel-themed holiday gift guide

Now Boarding :: Trip Styler's December Gift Guide

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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]