Your Guide to Surviving Holiday Travel

The holiday season is jam-packed with fun festivities, mouth-watering treats, and family get-togethers. And then there are the airports.

There might actually be nothing worse than traveling on Thanksgiving. On top of the delays, long lines, and crabby strangers, air travel breeds bad eating, sleep deprivation, and disorganization.

This year, make your life a little easier by treating yourself to the below items, which will help keep you healthy, satiated, and ready to rock.

1. Boiron’s Jet Lag Relief, $13.49 for 80 pellets

If you’ve got family on another coast—or another continent—you’re probably super-familiar with that extra-special brand of exhaustion that comes with holiday travel. After all the holiday parties, shopping extravaganzas, and travel delays, you might find yourself sleepless. Enter Jet Lag Relief. You want to actually enjoy the holidays—without passing out face first into your English aunt’s roast dinner, so pop five pellets the day before you travel and then five more on the day of to promote restful sleep.

2. The Vitamin Shoppe’s Melatonin Gummies, $9.99 for 60 gummies

Let’s say you’ve tried everything you can think of to get a good night’s sleep— you’ve hit the gym, had a mug full of warm milk, meditated—and still, nothing. What about taking a melatonin supplement? Melatonin modulates our sleep and wake cycles, and can help support successful snoozing. Take two gummies 30 minutes before bedtime, and prepare for slumber bliss.

3. BlueAvocado Travel Bag, $6.79

When you cram all your toiletries into different tiny suitcase compartments, it makes finding any of it impossible later on—and easy for TSA agents to single your bag out for unidentifiable random objects. Why not get a roomy travel bag that reduces waste, is eco-friendly and TSA-compliant, and even machine-washable?

4. Quest Nutrition’s Protein Vanilla Milkshake Packets, $26.99 for 12 packets

We know what you’re thinking—milkshakes and planes don’t mix. But that’s not totally true. You can have all the creamy goodness of a milkshake—plus a proper dose of protein (23g!)—by mixing one pouch into 16 oz of water. Plus, there’s less than one gram of sugar per serving so you won’t, er, crash at your destination.

5. Nature’s Way Zinc Lozenges, $3.99 for 60 lozenges

We truly hope you don’t come down with a bug, but let’s be honest—buses, trains, and planes are basically petri dishes filled with germs. To promote strong health during the icky cold and flu season, pop one of these berry-flavored, vitamin C- and Echinacea-filled lozenges every two hours (up to six lozenges per day).

6. New Wave Enviro Products’ Bottle Gallon, $8.79

Have a particularly long road trip ahead of you? You’re gonna want to stay hydrated without having to shell out cash for bottled H20 at every other service stop. Pick up this easy-grip, BPA-free  gallon bottle and make your drive that much easier. (Port-A-Potty not included.)

7. Building Better Solutions’ Pill Bag, $5.79

You wouldn’t dare dream of traveling without your meds and supps, right? Trade in your cumbersome pillboxes for easy-to-use, 3×2 resealable plastic bags that make storing all your capsules super-easy. Plus, they’re moisture-resistant (unlike most pill boxes), lightweight, small enough to fit into your pocket, and easily disposable.

8. Quest Bar’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar, 1 box for $24.99

When you’re on the road, there are a lot of temptations along the way: fast food, warm hot chocolate from those not-so-trustworthy vending machines, gas station candy, and so on. Instead, reach for a chocolate chip cookie dough bar that’s sure to give your taste buds a treat without putting your waistline or blood sugar at risk. They’re gluten-free, have less than one gram of sugar, and they offer a solid 21 grams of protein.

9. Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lip Balm, $2.89

You already know that Dr. Bronner makes incredible all-natural, 100 percent vegan, skin-friendly, heavenly-scented products. But while you might use the all-purpose soap on the regular, you’ll want to also keep this soothing lip balm in your pocket to help your lips stay chap-free during the wintry weather.

10. SheaMoisture’s Virgin Coconut Oil, $11.49

Whether you’re stuck fending off eight hours worth of stale, dry airplane air—or are just visiting a relative in a particularly dry climate, you’re going to want to keep your thirsty skin happy. Cue SheaMoisture’s 100 percent coconut oil, which treats your skin to all-natural, fair-trade ingredients like coconut milk and Acacia Senegal (known to promote skin health). At three fluid ounces, you’ll be able to pack it into your carry on.

Shop the full travel guide on VitaminShoppe.com.