Travel Gift Ideas: Electronic Products Travel Well for Adults and Kids

Preparing for a trip goes beyond the actual travel planning, choosing the destination, booking the airline tickets or choosing the road route, or arranging for accommodations. Integral ingredients in the actual success of a vacation are the travel accessories that accompany the travelers on the journey.

Beyond the traditional portable DVD, digital camera, camcorder, iPhone, Smartphone, or Blackberry, a few other electronic gift ideas for adult and children alike top this year’s travel gift list. First for trips via car there is the ever popular GPS unit. A Garmin Nuvi 255W unit was an early gift our family received in preparation of our pre-holiday tropical escape to the Florida Keys. Not to disappoint, the Garmin device allowed us to eliminate the numerous pieces of paper printed from Mapquest or trying to manage a map that is bigger than the front seat itself. A GPS is sure to delight men and women as the men will love to try out the unique features and functions (be careful while driving) and for women it will eliminate the “just stop and ask for directions” conversation.

Making pieces work together is another trend that arrives in time for holiday travel. The new Philips DCP Docking Portable DVD Player DCP951 allows the viewing of DVDs, photos and iPod videos while traveling to be easier - and bigger. The player unleashes videos from an iPod’s small screen into a brilliant, widescreen display with the retractable iPod adapter. This product also features a memory card reader which can display digital photos captured during vacation travels.

Keeping kids entertained during vacation travels can be the challenge, but these days there is no shortage of products that cater to youth of all ages and reduce the number of times parents will hear, “are we there yet?” questions. An mp3 player solves the struggle of who controls the radio dial. Catering to kids’ brand or color preferences, there is a Hello Kitty mp3 player, which has changing faceplates, created by Sakar, and comes with heart shaped ear buds. The easy to use technology allows users to convert CD’s into mp3 format and it stores up to 64 hours of music. Available at ToysRUs.

One product that is dominating kids’ wish lists this year is the continuing popular Nintendo DS. It is hard to go almost anywhere without seeing little hands moving fast and being entertained. To accompany the Nintendo DS, Ubisoft makes the Imagine series, the first ever brand of games dedicated to girls where they can play as a fashion designer, rock star, movie star, teacher and more. These games are designed to allow girls to be creative, as each has been uniquely designed to specialize in the hobbies and likes of girls ages 6-14. One game, My Secret World by Imagine, allows young girls to express themselves in a fully customizable diary. They’ll learn more about their own personality with dozens of fun quizzes. They can socialize with friends via Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, trade customization items, share secrets and play mini-games together.

Another girl-focused game is the Imagine Wedding Designer. As a young wedding designer, players create the perfect wedding that satisfies the bride’s taste and meets her expectations. Manage the weddings of six different brides, each with their own personality and specific tastes. Players can design the wedding invitation, choose the dress, veil, bouquet, the bride’s hair and makeup, the location of the ceremony, the music and more.

One tween, Morgan who is 12, loves the variety of games available to accompany her Nintendo DS. She said she likes how it’s hand held, easy to take along, that no computer is required, tons of games, and that there are ones designed specifically for girls.

“Secret World is cool, because you have to use a password and it has a sentence to complete if you forget, but don’t tell anyone. It is a little journal and you can write secrets without your parents getting in,” Morgan explains. “My grandmother gave me a diary which my parents can see so I write goofy things and I use Secret World for my real secrets.”

For younger kids, you can not go wrong with ensuring a LeapFrog product is under the tree. The original Leapster, new Leapster2, new Didj, and its portable reading system titled Tag Reading System are all great choices that entertain kids while simultaneously provide educational value and are compact and easy to pack. Our toddler is the proud owner of the Leapster and we were amazed how quickly she grasped using the “pen” and different buttons to play the various games. Nemo has been her favorite and this year the Cars game will be arriving from her uncle. She is also receiving the Tag from her uncle Santa and as parents we are excited to see her bring words to life as she is quite the story teller already.

One mom, Kim Woldofsky of Momformation, says “The Tag is great! It’s wonderful to travel with as it’s fun and educational and there are almost no parts to keep track of.”

LeapFrog’s new Didj is for the next age group of gamers after toddlers and has many unique interactive features allowing for parent monitoring and the ability to score prizes to customize their personal games.

What cool travel gadget is on your holiday wish list?