Gifts for travelers

We took a look at products that make perfect gifts for friends and family who like to travel. Some of our favorites are below, and they all feature one common element: each and every one is easy to pack when it’s time to hit the road.

Pretty in a box

Skin needs to be especially pampered when you travel, and with the “Glitz & Glow” Holiday Box by Image Skincare, you’ll get everything you need in handy travel sizes in a beautiful box for gift-giving. The Holiday Box features a three-step day and night regimen for all skin types, including four of Image Skincare’s top-selling products in convenient, one-ounce travel sizes, along with lip gloss and mineral shimmer powder for a little extra “glitz.” The suggested retail price is $79.90.

Visit www.imageskincare.com for details and call (800) 796–SKIN to find the nearest spa that sells Image Skincare.

Natural odor elimination

Nothing is worse that getting home from a trip with a suitcase full of dirty laundry that, well, stinks. The new mini 50-gram Moso bags are great as stocking stuffers that you can place in luggage to remove odor and moisture. Moso bags are fragrance-free, natural, air-purifying bags that contain moso bamboo charcoal, which absorbs and filters odors, harmful pollutants, allergens, and bacteria while dehumidifying to prevent mildew, mold, and moisture. They are great for the car, too. A two-pack is priced at $9.95.

Visit www.MosoNatural.com for more about the product and stores where you can purchase them.

The gift of travel

What travel lover wouldn’t love the gift of a hotel stay? Gift cards from Fairmont Hotels and Resorts can be used for overnight stays and in hotel restaurants. Willow Stream gift cards that give the gift of pampering at Fairmont’s destination spas are also available. The cards can be purchased online or at any Fairmont hotel starting as low as $50. The Fairmont website also allows you to purchase gifts at The Fairmont Store, featuring some of the products you find at the hotels, such as bed linens, pillows, bathrobes, or premium tea blends. You can also purchase Willow Stream spa products and Miller Harris bath amenities, perfumes, and scented candles. There are more than 60 luxury Fairmont Hotels and Resorts around the world, including The Plaza in New York.

Visit www.fairmont.com/about-us/guest-services/gift-shop/.

A bag with a giving message

Give the gift of giving as part of your holiday season this year. For every When In Need of Kindness toiletry bag that is purchased, the company will donate one bag to Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms.

The bags are filled with a selection of three luxury toiletry items that can include organic breath spray, bath salts, lip gloss, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, or solid perfume.

When In Need of Kindness bags were created by a mother inspired by her 3-year-old son’s near drowning.

A portion of the proceeds also go to the company’s non-profit arm, the C.L.A.Y. Foundation, which advocates for CPR training, swim instruction, automated external defibrillator availability, and a year-round warm water swim facility.

The company is also encouraging consumers to only buy socially conscious products for their holiday gift-giving.

The $25 bags can be purchased at www.winkbags.com.

Stacey Zable is an award-winning veteran travel writer and family travel expert who has written about destinations, resorts, and cruise lines around the world. Her favorite trips are those that she shares with her husband and two daughters. Send travel questions and comments to her at info@familytraveltrails.com.

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Asphalt Green

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">Asphalt Green’s high-quality sports programs start at 4 months old. Two beautiful facilities in vibrant Manhattan neighborhoods provide the optimal space for children to learn the fundamentals, play for leisure, or compete at the highest level.<br />As the leading sports and fitness facility in Manhattan, Asphalt Green’s never-before- seen training methods focus on improving your mental and physical game. Whether participating in swim, soccer, flag football, martial arts, basketball, baseball, tennis, or volleyball, coaches instill values that set athletes up for success in life and bring out their full potential in sports.</span></p>

Monster Mini Golf

<p>Upon entering Monster Mini Golf, all perceptions of traditional mini golf will be spirited away by the indoor, 18-hole, monster-theme, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course! The locations in <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/deerpark/">Deer Park</a>, and <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/gardencity/">Garden City, NY</a> invite guests to experience a host of family-oriented fun activities. Whether visiting for the first time or the one hundredth, mini golfers feel the excitement and adventure of playing mini golf amidst spooktacular monsters and custom, glow-in-the-dark, hand-painted artwork. While testing their skill on the fairways, lively music flows over the course from the unique “WEIRD Radio” station” and an interactive DJ entertains golfers with contests, awarding cool prizes for the wackiest reasons. While the course is challenging enough for adults, it is also quite playable for children. Monster Mini Golf is open year-round and frightfully fun for the entire family. In addition to miniature golf and thrilling arcade and redemption games, the locations offer additional attractions. <a href="https://monsterminigolf.com/deerpark/">Monster Mini Golf in Deer Park, NY</a> offers a Laser Maze and a Virtual Reality experience. The Garden City location offers a Laser Maze, Bowling, and a Virtual Reality Experience. Two very posh, private party rooms are also available and are perfect for any event. Monster Mini Golf looks forward to making it a monstrous success. Monster Mini Golf is indoors, ensuring that the event will always take place, regardless of the weather. It is a climate-controlled, affordable source of family entertainment. For more details please visit <a href="http://monsterminigolf.com">monsterminigolf.com</a> or find them on Facebook.</p>

Explore MetroWest Boston

<p><span style="white-space: normal;"> </span></p> <h1>Turn Whining into Winning in MetroWest Boston</h1> <p>From beer gardens to corn mazes, state parks to beautiful art, MetroWest Boston is a great destination for a weekend trip! Enjoy <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/get-outside/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-state-park-61a91acef30b531a665ab64d">Hopkinton State Park</a>’s gorgeous foliage while kayaking on the lake or hiking, mountain biking, or snowshoeing on the amazing trails.</p> <p>In the evening, catch a play, musical, concert, art exhibition, dance performance, or immersive theatrical event at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-center-for-the-arts-63c03d7e0d792d753263b4d1">Hopkinton Center for the Arts</a>.</p> <p>Get a great night’s sleep at one of the region’s hotels, such as <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=the-verve-hotel-boston-natick-tapestry-collection-by-hilton-61aa4790f30b531a666119e4">The VERVE</a>, with its fun and funky pop art décor, or <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=aloft-framingham-6216279ccc891d1d0862c8c2">Aloft</a> with their pool tables and lobby games. In the morning, visit the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=danforth-art-school-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d90">Danforth Art Museum</a>, a jewel box housing 3,500+ artworks from three centuries, including groundbreaking sculptures depicting the African and African American experience by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller.</p> <p>Cross the street to the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=framingham-history-center-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d92">Framingham History Center</a> to explore their new multilingual exhibit that traces the city’s immigration story, from those fleeing the 1690s Salem Witch trials, to the Irish and Italian influx in the 1800-1900s, to the current migration of Brazilians. “Framingham’s Collective Journeys” includes oral histories, interactives, and artifacts.</p> <p>No visit to Framingham is complete without stopping at legendary <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/eat/?imgoing-place=jacks-abby-craft-lagers-61a8e11cf30b531a66592da0">Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers</a>, one of 17 breweries in MetroWest, where you can enjoy a flight with a schnitzel sandwich or their famous Framinghamburger. Afterwards, spend a few hours at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/activities/?imgoing-place=level99-64a8389c51f92a351a6a3f06">Level99</a> testing each other with 50+ mental and physical escape rooms and challenges.</p> <p>The next day, tour the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=longfellows-wayside-inn-61aa7aa3f30b531a66621f57">Wayside Inn</a>. The oldest inn in America’s 100-acre property includes the Old Barn, now a farm stand with displays of antique farming tools, the historic Grist Mill, and beautiful grounds containing the Longfellow Memorial Garden, the Redstone Schoolhouse from the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, the Martha-Mary Chapel, and Josephine's Pond for fishing. Stay for a delicious gourmet meal in their historic dining room.</p> <p>Spend the afternoon at the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=american-heritage-museum-61a92852f30b531a665b17bf">American Heritage Museum</a>. Start your tour in the depths of a WWI trench listening to a nurse’s first-hand account from the Western Front while bombs explode above you and the floor begins to shake. This extraordinary museum features one-of-a-kind historic aircraft, tanks, cars and rare relics from the Revolutionary War to today, in immersive exhibits and living history events. Afterwards, wander the charming shops and boutiques of downtown Hudson.</p> <h3>MetroWest Boston offers these and many other attractions, activities and events for the whole family!</h3>