Summer is around the corner! Along with summer camps and long days out in the sun, most families will spend time traveling and making memories. Although our family will be staying local this summer, last summer was one for the books! Summer 2018 brought us a few short road trips, a weekend cruise and a 3-week trip to visit our family in Chile. Talk about needing to get organized! By August I felt confident that we could travel anywhere with our two boys. I also knew I needed a vacation from all of the vacations! As you get ready to start your travels, make sure to stay ahead of the game with a few tricks learned through our own family travels.
Reuse
A water bottle, reusable snack bags, and a mini lunch bag (that can flatten out) are key to have. Every person in our family always carries their own reusable water bottle. Heading on a plane? Fill it up once you pass security. Bring along a small bottle of dish soap and give it a rinse at any point. Reusable snack bags allow you to fill them up and take them with you. And a small lunch bag lets you toss in your snacks and other food you grab as you go explore.
Snacks, Anyone?
My goal while traveling is to make sure no one (including Papá) gets hangry in between meals. Enter the big Ziploc bag! Every family member, including me, gets their gallon-sized Ziploc bag to put snacks in. Crackers, nuts, cookies, snack bars, fruit, and gummies are just a few things THEY can choose from. Our boys build their own snack bags with things they like to eat. This way when it’s time to choose a snack they can’t tell me there’s nothing they don’t like!
I take extra of our favorite snacks with us in our luggage to refill and have while we are out and about. Ready for our family secret? Hot chocolate packets! If your kids are like mine then they always need their milk in the morning and at night. Hot chocolate packets are perfect for travel, all you need is some hot water and you have happy kids!
Entertainment!
Keeping kids entertained is always the fun part. When we first began traveling our boys had small backpacks that didn’t fit much. Most of their things ended up in my bag! We quickly moved them to a regular school book bag with pockets and space for everything. Before any trip, there’s always a visit to a dollar store or Target to get some new coloring books, crayons, and a small toy. Mini puzzles, small Play-Doh, a bouncy ball and a set of cards are a few ideas of what to grab. These surprises are given to them the day we leave to keep the excitement level up. I also hide a few things in my bags to use during the trip. They choose toys or stuffed animals they want to bring in their book bag, and we taught the boys that they would have to carry their own.
After all the planning and prepping we have to remember that things will happen. All the emotions we are feeling but aren’t able to express come out through our kids. They scream, cry, throw tantrums, pout. Take a deep breath, pull out your bag of snacks or tricks, and keep on snapping pics. Oh, and make sure you get in them too!
Moms, we would love to hear from you! Share your tips below on how to make traveling with children as smooth as possible!
