---

 

---

For those new to the Lead Safe Mama website:

Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).

• Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
• Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
• Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for 5 product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
• Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February 2023 (March 2023 print edition) and The Guardian in November 2023.

---

This is an ad-free article.

We have published this article without advertisements to make it easier for you to read. If you would like to support our independent consumer goods testing by contributing (which will also help us keep our more widely-read articles ad-free!), click here. Thank you! 

---

Published: December 23, 2023 — Saturday

Hey all! I try to keep up with readers’ requests for gift suggestions around the holiday, but it is so hard for me to come up with new ideas of things you might be interested in (especially since, fundamentally, I would prefer that people buy less stuff or NO stuff — not more stuff). So, in giving this some thought, I decided to share a list of things I like (smaller things, things I personally own, things I like to travel with, too).

Since I spend so much time traveling for work (and — simultaneously — traveling with my kids for their education), I try to pack light and bring very little with me on my journeys. That means the things I do bring with me are items I really like and feel are critical for traveling (especially traveling with kids). They are also mostly small and easy to put in stockings — since, combined all together, everything below fits in my suitcase!

So here’s MY list (Tamara’s list) of things I might have asked for in my stocking (if I celebrated Christmas, and if I didn’t already have all of these things)! A couple of these items may be too big for a stocking, however, but I guess it depends on the size of your stocking! 🙂

If you like any of these shopping ideas, perhaps there’s still some time to get some of these last minute (next day shipping?) from Amazon. If not, you can add them to a “for later” or a “next year” list… or a list of things you might purchase with any gifts of cash (gift cards?) you got for the holiday!

Here’s my list — these are all items that I currently have with me in our bags on our trip (we are away from home for six months)! I have no concern for Lead (or other toxicants) in any of these items (given their usage when used as intended), but I have not done full XRF testing on all of these items. (Although I have done testing on some of them!)

1. My son’s headphones. We got these last year to help with travel overwhelm (he has disabilities from Lead poisoning and an Autism diagnosis). They have been a lifesaver AND they are on deep sale right now on Amazon.
2. My USB-powered electric lighter (this is not my exact lighter, which is sold out, but one very similar).
3. My stainless steel nail clippers. (This is an absolute favorite thing I own! Expensive but worth it!)
4. My favorite tweezers. (These are a “must have” for splinters!)
5. My reusable travel coffee cup (this is an absolute favorite thing I own! It’s glass with a hard-plastic cap).
6. My rechargeable headlight (this is an absolute favorite thing I own, too! The exact one I have is no longer in stock — this is the newer model of the same item).
7. Zipper bags to keep things sorted inside my luggage (I use one for “camping gear,” another for “first aid” supplies, another for “dental stuff,” and another for a “sewing kit”).
8. S-Biners to clip things to luggage or in rental cars when we have things (another absolute favorite thing).
9. My electric toothbrush.
10. Extra toothbrush heads for above electric toothbrush.
11. Some flossers for the kids.
12. My son’s Sesame Street pants (not mine, but he loves them and they pack small)! (Charlie’s!)
13. Phone case (this is an absolute favorite thing I own — it’s so simple and so useful/ does the job well)!
14. My favorite organic coffee — yes, I bring it with me! (This is an absolute favorite thing I own!)
15. The portable speaker for me to use for work (and the kids sometimes, too).
16. My husband’s favorite socks (my kids favorite socks, too).
17. My favorite pants (I wear these nearly ever day, they are a must have cargo pants with lots of pockets good for when traveling with kids)!
18. Moleskine notebooks. (This is an absolute favorite thing I own!)
19. My son’s favorite masks (for the airplane).
20. My computer sleeve. (I got pink, but black would have been a better choice. I love the pockets!)
21. My Little Pony nail decals. (They are Charlie’s! And yes, he brought them with us on our trip!)
22. Lead-test kits (must-have kits, will travel well).
23. Glowing Lead-test kit (haven’t used it yet, but have it with me!).
24. My travel jewelry box (this is VERY useful for keeping track of tiny things like earrings).
25. Animal balloons. (My son Avi brings with him everywhere, along with juggling balls, a magic wand, and a deck of cards!)
26. Travel scale for luggage (this is an absolute favorite thing I own — it saves $ when traveling overseas, so useful)!
27. Bathing suit. (My husband found this on a list of “flattering suits for bigger girls!”)
28. A magnifying glass. (This one is Charlie’s!)
29. Passport sleeves (we got different colors for each family member, plus they hold a vaccine card, which is needed for some travel).

Each of the links above is an Amazon affiliate link. If you purchase something after clicking on a Lead Safe Mama, LLC affiliate link, Lead Safe Mama, LLC may receive a percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.

---

More Christmas Buttons
(Article & Category Links)

    

~ End ~

---