26. Don’t let kids buy everything they see and want on vacation. Have them take photos of souvenirs they’re coveting, and then revisit the entire list a day before you head home. This way, you’ll end up only with the one or two things they really love, says Disney expert Susan Veness.
27. Be strategic about airport shopping, says Away’s Rubio. “If you’re looking at a pair of Gucci loafers, the difference between buying them in New York and at Gucci at London Heathrow can be $200 to $300. It’s as much as 35% off—insane!” And if you’re passing through the same airports frequently—say, for Thanksgiving and Christmas—get a business card from the store associate. “Those airport boutiques have a limited selection because they don’t have a ton of space, but they can order things from any other store location and hold it for you.”
28. Another move she uses to get through her holiday shopping list: scoping out personal shopping services at international airports. (Yes, they exist!) “You book it ahead of time, and tell them what stores you want to go to and how much time you have. Then the personal shopper meets you after security and takes you from terminal to terminal to get the stuff you need.”
29. Broadway star Schele Williams has no time for bad coffee, so she packs a portable French Press wherever she goes. (We like this one; for espresso lovers, there’s also the “nanopresso.”) Want to bring your own grounds, too? Head to the baby goods aisle, where tiny containers meant to hold formula or purees will do the trick.
30. Bring your sleep routine with you. For exercise guru Taryn Toomey—who bans cellphones in the bedroom, that means a small, wooden alarm clock. For Away’s Rubio, it’s the small, USB-powered white noise machine from Aurola. “There’s a Pavlovian quality to it,” she says. “No matter where in the world I am, or what kind of room I’m in, the machine turns on and my brain instantly relaxes.”
31. In hotel rooms, tiny closets with too few hangers drive fashion entrepreneur Ankari crazy. (He was Bloomberg’s fashion market editor.) He asks for a rolling rack with additional hangers to be delivered to his room so he can see all his outfits, organize looks, and never leave anything behind.
32. If you find yourself tripping over furniture in hotel rooms, do as beauty legend and new hotelier Bobbi Brown does: Ask staff to simply remove the offending item. More often than not, they can and will.
33. Pack an extension cord. Trevor Project’s Amit says it’ll come in handy well after you’ve juiced up at the airport. No matter where you’re sleeping, it’s a surefire way to make sure there’s an outlet just where you’re used to having one, whether that’s bedside, sink-side, or anywhere in between.