Traveling for the Holidays? Take These 20 Items With You

If you will be traveling for the holidays, besides packing your patience, consider taking these 20 items with you to make your travels more comfortable:

1. A water bottle (I like the Contigo brand because they don't leak.  Simply go through the TSA bag check with your empty bottle then fill the bottle up on the other side so you don't have to pay the high prices for bottled water at the airport stores).
2. An insulated thermos-type bottle (again, I like the Contigo brand; they keep your coffee hot or your cold beverages cold for nearly 24 hours).
3. An Ultra Sil folding backpack (if you like to travel with one backpack like I do, this tiny folding daypack makes a great daybag so you can leave your big backpack at the hotel while you are out and about for the day).
4. Folding jacket (depending on the weather, I will pack a windbreaker that folds up small or a lightweight down jacket that folds up small to use for an added layer).
5. Power bank (if you can't get to a power outlet, these small power banks will charge your phone or tablet a few times before needing to be recharged itself).
6. Extra credit cards (sometimes one card won't work or you find yourself stranded somewhere and need extra money, by having a couple extra cards with you, you will be able to take care of any travel crisis).
7. Food/drinks (I never travel without my own food and maybe instant coffee/tea bags/drink mix packets).
8. Waist pack (if you want to avoid pickpockets and always have your important things like wallet/cash/passport on you, ultra thin waist packs like runners use do the trick).
9. Noise cancelling headphones (having blissful quiet even if you are in the middle of a packed, noisy plane is heaven).
10. Small flashlight (if you are in a strange house/hotel, it is always a good idea to have a small flashlight with you in case of power outage, etc).
11. Spare memory cards (you never want to rely on just the one memory card in your camera or cell phone, by having spares you will always have a back up).
12. Wet Wipes (it's always a good idea to have a way to clean up in a crisis and Wet Wipes are generally the way to go).
13. Ultra Sil tarp poncho (these may be expensive but this item works to cover you from the rain, cover your gear from the rain, as an impromptu blanket, and you can even make a tent out of it!).
14. Ziploc bags (bring varying sizes of these bags, they have dozens of uses from waterproofing your phone at the beach to holding wet clothes).
15. Tablet (I'm particularly fond of my Samsung Galaxy S2 which is small but great to travel with, especially when it is stuffed with e-books and movies).
16. Petroleum jelly (a small tube of petroleum jelly works as a lip balm and it also makes a great fire starter).
17. Bandanna (another item with dozens of uses, I never travel without one of these).
18. Fisher space pen (whether you are writing someone a note or filling out customs forms, this is a great travel pen).
19. Spork (a long handled spork works great for eating on the go.  I've never had a problem bringing this item on flights but I guess "tactical" sporks are frowned on by the TSA).
20. Gift cards (when I travel during the holidays I bring a half dozen generic gift cards--Walmart, Visa gift cards, Starbucks cards--for last minutes holiday gifts).