Holidays can be stressful, but travel doesn't have to be! 
It's a popular time of year to be on the road, the rail or in the air to get to a celebration with friends and family.
I am sharing some helpful tips (and reminders) to reduce stress and increase happiness during a busy travel holiday season!

Tip #1
Leave yourself TIME
Being late and worrying about missing a plane, train or bus can be very stressful. It causes us to rush which leads to forgetfulness and clumsiness (yup, my headphone case spilled from my bag on my last trip and I was in too much of a hurry to look down and notice!) If you leave yourself plenty of time, you can travel more calmly and avoid a headache later.

If you are traveling by plane, consider taking a car service to the airport. Leave the driving to someone else so you can begin your vacation the minute you leave your home!  (Perfect Limo is my go to and they offer my clients a discount, simply use the code SunlitTravel)

If you prefer to drive yourself to the airport, try a parking lot with a shuttle, such as The Parking Spot or Purchase Park 2 Fly. You can leave your car in good hands and shuttle directly to the terminal.

Tip #2
Bring an extra battery bar.
Phones are useful for directions, keeping track of travel plans, emergency phone calls or just simply passing the time. I don't care how old you are, you are probably going to use your phone at some point during your travels and you don't want to be caught with a dead battery.

Tip #3
Pack Wisely
We all know to pack medicine in a carry on bag but as a reminder - it is worth repeating! Also helpful is a small, laminated card listing your medical needs. I use the FARE (Food Allergy Research Education) chef card template to make cards for myself and my clients with allergies. It is especially helpful for translating to other languages.

Tip #4
Packing Cubes
My absolute favorite way to pack for ANY trip but especially to help keep organized for the holidays. These bags are understated by themselves, but use them once and you will be amazed! The compartmentalization can organize any type of traveler!

Tip #5
Don't Wrap Gifts
If you need to go through any type of security, they will likely want to know what you have hidden beneath the pretty wrapping and bows. Do yourself a favor and pack presents without the wrapping, bring the paper and ribbon for later, believe me, it's not worth the scrutiny. (yup, I once had to unwrap all my presents in the airport - wasted tons of time and left me an unorganized mess)

Tip #6
Bring your sense of humor  (well isn't this just great advice for just about everything!)
Wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday season with great travel stories!

Summer is almost here and that means… VACATION!  Exposing our children to new places, people and activities helps them learn, which is a great benefit! We plan our summer getaways with anticipation and excitement. As mom's we know that when traveling with kids - getting there is part of the journey! Whether driving or flying, keeping kids busy while in the car or on a plane is part of the experience.

My personal criteria for a good travel activity was that it was light, easy to transport, not too messy, and something I wouldn't mind leaving behind (like in the trash can!). I find that some of the most basic things can be entertaining to toddlers, children, tweens and even teenagers! There are MANY blog posts with lists of airplane activities and road trip activities, it can be overwhelming. My list is pretty simple, you likely have many of these things laying around your house, why make it more complicated than it needs to be?

Below I listed a few of my favorite activities to take in the car or on a plane. This list is very manageable, affordable, easy and offers something for every age.

Enjoy these suggestions of ways to entertain your kids while traveling:

Personal Favorites:

• Wrap up a few 'presents' and open one every X minutes (your choice how often!) - I used to hide small toys for a few weeks before a trip and then wrap them up, along with some new ones from the dollar store and let my kids unwrap them every hour during a long car ride!

 

• Silly putty/Model Magic - this would entertain my daughter who never could sit still!

 

• Pipe cleaners - a forgotten craft that is as versatile as your imagination! Light and easy to transport too!

 

• Bag of rubber bands - make a rubber band ball - then you also have a toy when you arrive! You will be surprised how some kids really get into this activity!

 

• Slow Down - when you let your child do things without help, you're not only teaching them to figure things out on their own, but it also takes longer! The extra time they spend opening a package, peeling tape, buckling, etc. - the less time you need to spend entertaining or planning the next activity.

 

• Travel Journal - great activity for any age and only requires an old notebook and a pen! Toddlers can put stickers or cut out pictures from a brochure and glue them into a book. School aged kids and tweens can write something simple like their favorite activity of the day. Teenagers can be more elaborate writing observations, thoughts, creative poems, a blog or a story.

Tried and True:

• License plate game - write the license plates from every state you see (or count how many of each state you see). We never started with a pre-printed list, we had to write the state ourselves (helped with penmanship and spelling!)  Bonus points for naming the capital of each state.

 

• I spy - Find something of a color or shape that you see and have others guess what it is

 

• I'm going on a picnic - not necessarily for travel, but always a great way to pass the time

 

• Count American Flags - this is especially great on a Fourth of July road trip! 

Things I wish I knew when my kids were younger:

• Baggie of water - fun to squish, doubles as a magnifying glass, easy and cheap since water is available everywhere! (I frown upon single use plastic, but in the name of ease and travel with kids I would definitely make this exception!)

 

• Cookie Sheet as a magnetic tray table - a tray table but even better - magnetic! There are so many things you can do with magnets from alphabet magnets to magnetic travel games you buy in the store!

Whether your summer plans include traveling by plane, car or simply staying local - I hope you have a fantastic summer break!
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Share your favorite travel activity below in the comments!

1. Sand Jar
Place a few small toys or household objects such as a button, paperclip, lego, golf pencil, rubber band, etc. in a jar (spice jars work nicely) then fill the jar with sand. The child needs to spin the jar to find all the objects – a stationary scavenger hunt!


2. Presents
Put aside some small toys that your child will not notice are missing or go to the dollar store and buy some inexpensive toys/books/activities. Wrap them up like presents. You can even wrap a present inside multiple boxes so they have to open lots of wrapping and boxes and anticipate the gift even more! (careful, this one can get messy!) Every so often during the trip, give your child a new present to unwrap and enjoy!


3. Don't help!
Make everything last longer. I know this sounds simple, but it really helps. When putting away a toy to take out something new, let your child help. Let them peel the banana themselves – it takes longer – that’s the point! If you are giving your child a wrapped present, don’t help them open it. Let them take time undoing the tape or finding the edge. That extra 5 minutes they are busy, happy and occupied is less time you have to be playing activity director.

4. Stickers
I know, you are thinking this is not unique – here’s what is – make the stickers yourself! Use photographs of your family, place you are visiting or anything else your child loves. Sticker paper can be found at office supply stores, amazon or big chains. Print out a page with small pictures and cut them into fun shapes. You can bring a coloring book and use the stickers to create a story with your family in the scene.


5. Play with your food
Use your best judgement on this one but here’s what I mean… I used to eat slices of cheese. My mom would break it into pieces and we would make letters of the alphabet. So maybe we would make a B using 6 pieces – then eat the bottom piece and you have an R, see if your child can get from an R to an F, etc. You can come up with words that begin with that letter or objects you see around you with that letter. Of course there’s always the stringing of cheerios game too!


6. Water in a Ziploc
Most moms carry plastic bags just in case. Bring a few extra – you can get water on the plane. Put some in a baggie and let your child shake, rub, pat and play! Add some ice to make it interesting! Note: you may want to double bag it to make sure it doesn’t rip or leak or if you are really feeling ambitious, you could bring some duct tape to seal the ends. Plus, water is a magnifier, put it up to your eyes and see what happens!