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The Latest and Greatest Travel Products You Need But Probably Don’t Already Have

January 22, 2024
Life , Travel

11 of The Best Travel Products You’ll Need To Get in 2024

Traveling to new places is fun but sometimes the getting there is challenging. After traveling to 28 countries and countless U.S. cities with our now 10 year old daughter we’ve learned a thing or two about how to make travel more comfortable and packing more space efficient. And after trying and testing out all the latest travel gadgets and sometimes useless travel products out there nowadays, I can confidently share with you only the best that have made it past the rugged travels, the test of time and comparison shopping. And I’m not talking about my favorite little candle, scarf or blanket here. I’m talking about the latest advances, upgrades and inventions that you probably don’t already have! Here are the fab finds that should be on YOUR travel shopping list for 2024.

1). Rydir wraps

Don’t you hate when you’re taking a turn with your rolling suitcase and the bag you had on top falls over spilling all its contents? To prevent this, and to prevent the clumsiness of having to carry all the extra things you want to carry onto your plane (but that won’t fit into your carryon suitcase), you might think buying that clip, the cup holder, or baggage straps are a good idea. But those only specialize in holding one thing. The Rydir wrap will hold it ALL and more. It holds weirdly shaped items like the Vietnamese cone-shaped hat I bought while traveling Vietnam (pictured above for instance). And it will keep your hands free of having to carry the blanket, the neck pillow, and the water bottle at the airport. It’s such a simple invention with its stretchy tube top-like design. But it brilliantly holds so much while also packing away into a weightless, bundle when you don’t need it. AND did you realize, it doubles as cover for your precious designer bags? I always found it so cringy that you end up having to stowe away your bag under the seat. This will protect your purse. Simply wash the Rydir afterwards.

2). Universal power adaptor

Back in the day, you might have had to purchase and collect separate adaptors based on whatever country you were planning to visit. No need to stock a full suite of power adaptors anymore. Buy this all-in-one and just store it in your suitcase and you’ll be ready to safely charge up at every destination. Every frequent flier needs this! Here is the best-selling, highest rated one that covers more than 200 countries. It’s on sale now here.

3). Upgraded packing cubes

Upgrade your old packing cubes to the latest compression packing cubes with hanging hooks and you’ll never look back! Pack more in with the zipper compression and layering system. Then at the hotel, forget individually transfer items into the closet or cabinets. Just pull this out and hang. Instantly, you’re unpacked AND organized. You no longer have to throw around all the contents of your luggage to find what you were looking for! It makes repacking so quick and mindless too.

IDEA! Add 1head-to-toe fully styled outfit for each tier. Or use each layer to easily organize each family member’s beach/swim items….or maybe it’s the underwear/sock drawer for each person. Tell me in the comments how you’d you use this convenient system. It’s 20% off right now, so add to cart ASAP here!

4). Amazon FireTV stick 4k Max streaming

My husband showed me the joys of this remote and magical USB stick so I have to give him credit for this fab find. You know how when you travel, you have to either sift through all the shows in another language, or if you’re in your country, you miss getting to skip through all the commercials and having access to your favorite streaming services? No need to splurge on expensive on-demand movies. No need to pine over your missed favorite shows. This small USB-powered device gives you access to all your favorite pre-recorded shows and movies wherever you are in the world. It’s currently on sale here.

5). Digital luggage scale

Overweight baggage fees are bound to happen when you stuff your baggage, shop at your new destination and then have no way to weigh your check in bags. Save yourself the overage fees at the airport and the embarrassment of having to unload your suitcase in front of everyone by buying this cheap, portable luggage scale. Just $6.99 HERE.You’ll use this every trip!

6). Noise cancellation headphones and earplugs

No matter whether it’s a crowded, train or bus, a crying baby on a plane or too thin hotel room walls, there will be a time when you simply want to drown the noise out. Concentrate, sleep and rest better with these noise cancelling headphones which of course will double as your personal speakers for that music, podcast or ebook you are into. BONUS! You can tune out the kids when at home too! These pretty blue ones are currently on sale with amazing reviews and are on my list!

7). Best neck pillow

Do you still have the standard, U-shaped neck pillow? Then you know the frustration of it not offering enough support to keep your head neck and chin in place and/or the discomfort of the back of the neck being so full that you end up having your head pushed forward because of the position of the airplane seat. Time for an upgrade! This Bcozzy is a total game changer for stability, versatility, and comfort. I attribute my full night’s sleep to it in fact during my last international trip! Trust me and the almost 29,000 fans who’ve reviewed it positively! It’s also machine washable, and it comes in variety of sizes and colors too. I’m getting an extra one in a kids’ size cuz it’s perfect for car rides too! Shop here.

8). Hanging amenity case

Hotel counter space is notoriously small especially when you’re traveling with others. Avoid having to fight for space on the counter to lay your toiletries down with the latest hanging models. Hold all your hair, beauty and skincare needs without taking up any valuable space. You can easily hang it from the bathroom mirror or any door and all the little compartments will make getting ready so much easier. Here is a chic one at an affordable price with clear lining so you can easily spot what you need. What color would you pick? Beige, black, pink, mauve, grey or this blue (my favorite)?

9). Best portable charger + electronic organizer

The organizer is a must with all the cords, chargers and adapters a family needs these days. Never get all your cords and chargers tangled again and never fumble around trying to find your airpods at the bottom of your bag. It is waterproof in case of spills too. Pick your favorite color here.

10). Just 1 cordless, rechargeable toothbrush for the whole family

No need to bring the toothbrush charging attachment anymore, and no need to pack separate toothbrushes for everyone, just different heads. Pack one of these battery operated toothbrushes that come with its own cover instead and one charge will last 90 days. It’s on sale and comes in a variety of colors here.

11). Collapsible water bottle

Leakproof, BPA free, and saves room. Never have to waste your money on single-use plastics at the airport or while traveling again. Hurry and catch the 33% off sale going on now HERE.

Would you like a part 2 for best travel items for road trips? Did I miss any of your favorite travel items for international trips here or did you see anything in this list hat you’ll be adding to cart? If so, I’d love to have you let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and as always, you can follow me for daily adventures and more tips and inspiration on Instagram where I post daily in stories. @stylishlystella

To read more travel tips, click here.

Some items in this post were gifted to us by brands for us to review and consider for this post. Many did not make the cut.. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

How to Host a Squid Game Party! Game Decor & Costume Ideas!

April 19, 2023
Celebrating

Want To Host a Squid Game Themed Party?

As THE most popular Netflix series EVER, it’s no surprise that people would be interested in hosting a Squid Game themed event! After all, the world was obsessed with this show! But how do you host squid games without having to kill your guests and how do you play to the end if you don’t have as many people needed for team rounds? Moreover, how do you make a squid themed party more family-friendly? Those were the questions I was faced with when my husband told me he wanted to throw a squid game party. Read on for my tips and ideas!

Obviously, a Squid Game themed party revolves around games. Luckily, the game concepts are simple enough for anyone to play and for anyone to execute. Popular amongst school kids, the games featured in the movie mostly take some patience, luck and minimal skill. Since it’s been a while since most of you probably watched the movie, let me remind you of the

6 games featured in the show:

1). Sugar cookie cutout

(A round cookie in a tin with embossed shape in the middle must be carefully cut out with a needle without cracking the cookie and before the time limit). The cookie is called a dalgona cookie or sometimes called a honeycomb cookie.

How to: Purchase the tin kits here. It will include everything from the base from which your cookie is formed, to the lid from which it is concealed (so your guests blindly choose their indentation shape), to the needle that you poke the cookie out with.

Use this 2-ingredient recipe to make the sugar cookie. The hardest part is timing the inner shape indentation piece just right and taking it out before it cools and sets in there permanently. But don’t worry if this happens like it did with my first round, you can crack and crumble it, add it back to the pan and start over. This will overly brown your resulting cookie but it’s not important to get the color correct as it’s just about creating the cookie challenge and game. Once your players have blindly chosen their (closed) cookie tin, set the timer and rank who finishes getting their cookie out the fastest before time runs out!

TIP- It’s great to kick off your game series with this one since it doubles as an ice breaker. Contestants can easily chat while sitting and sharing some laughs while competing AND not even breaking a sweat! 😆.

TIP! Motivate players by pre-event asking adult contestants to each agree to pitch in a set amount of cash! Each of our adult contestants put in $20 each making a grand prize total of $120. While far from the movie’s 2.2 billion won amount, you’ll be surprised how (any) lump sum of money will incite the greed out of all your guests and increase the stakes for everyone! (You could also punish your guests along the way by requiring losers to drink after each round which we did not do because a couple of us were allergic to alcohol and likely could have actually died playing this version of Squid Games). lol.

Family-friendly TIP! We had adults competing against one another and found ways to get kids involved throughout the day. Most kids haven’t seen the movie and will simply enjoy watching parents get silly playing kiddie games and or have fun playing a 2nd round themselves. Because the cookie cutting game involves a needle though, you can ask the kids to judge while the parents compete and have them provide live commentary. OR, you could encourage them to try and draw one of the iconic movie characters while you do this particular game.

2). Marble game

There are tons of ways to play and you could replace marbles with whatever small balls you have around the house. In the movie though, a player holds a number of marbles in their hand. The other player guesses if the number is odd or even. If the player guesses correctly, he gets the same number of marbles as he’s holding (his wager).

Because we were using a ranking and point system to prevent having to eliminate players from playing further rounds, we kept score and didn’t let players “die off.” Also, because we didn’t have marbles, we decided to tweak this by gathering small balls to roll across the lawn. Whoever got it closest to the end point (wall in our case), without actually hitting the wall won and got the high score. If you hit the wall you got disqualified and subtract points off your total score. Person with the most points at the end of all game rounds wins!

3). Glass floor

In the movie, players had to cross a glass bridge but some of the glass squares would cause the player to fall through. In our version, paper squares were laid down and the backs read real glass or fake glass. “Fall” or “safe” could have been written too and instead of paper squares, cardboard boxes (some stable with something under them to be able to hold a human up vs some empty so the person falls when they stand on top would be great too). But we didn’t have enough cardboard boxes nor did we want to store that many for the game.😅.

TIP- to decide on order of who goes first, you could randomly draw numbers, give priority to those who ranked best from the last game, or have the kids each represent a # and have the parents each choose a child to find out what order they go in.

4). Red light green light

Probably the most memorable and iconic squid game from the movie (thanks to the unforgettable larger-than-life, head swiveling doll leader), is a fun one for all ages to try! Again, we had the adults compete against one another. Kids took turns saying the famous green light red light song in Korean (while dressed in soldier red) and holding a soldier (water-filled) gun. Each child was assigned an adult to watch and was instructed to squirt them if they saw them move when they weren’t supposed to. The power evidenced in these kids’ eyes when we told them all this was ridiculously scary! haha This was the of course, the kids’ favorite part of the party!

TIP, draw a chalk line for start and finish. Have only one child take turns at a time and say the famous phrase at a time, “Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida.” And find water guns at your local dollar store! Next time, I’ll not only have the kids dress in red like the Squid Game soldiers but I’ll have the adults all dress in green like the Squid Game contestants!

5). Tug of war

We opted to skip this game in fear of someone getting hurt. But it can easily be replicated with any rope and a soft landing spot (grass or sand).

6) Squid game

It’s a game of tag with offense, defense and teams. We had a small, unbalanced male to female group, so making teams didn’t make sense and being that this was a more complicated game to explain the rules for, you may want to skip it too. For full rules and explanation, click here.

How To Create the Ambiance

Here’s a link for a kid’s red soldier costume, here are our masks, here’s a kiddo green soldier costume and here’s an adult green soldier costume if you wanna get real extra! Having these costumes at the party will bring the theme to life when you can’t exactly replicate all the movie sets. Wouldn’t this theme party be so fun for Halloween??

And if you want to decorate, go with a black white and red theme. Check out the themed balloons here. You can also easily create gift bags or backdrops by drawing in or taping the simple triangle circle and square symbols.

Share this!

Know someone who’d love a Squid Game themed party? Share these ideas with them by sending them this blog post or pin this to your Pinterest using the first image in the post for later!

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Instagram where I post more fabulous inspiration for celebrating the everyday in a stylish way. It’s where I also have saved video highlights from past parties that I’ve thrown! Or search “party” here and get more in-depth tips and ideas!

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