The top 5
Holiday Travel Tips
We have driven far distances and traveled on connecting flights with three young kids in tow.
The experience is mostly survival with some spontaneous fun as we journey outside our safety zones of routine and home. Some young children are more comfortable traveling than others, and as they all get older it’s easier.
A few ideas for smoother travels:
1. Snacks. We present the kids with their own bag of snacks for the trip. On airplanes, the snack bag goes in their backpacks, or ours if they’re not old enough to carry one. Snacks may include prepackaged crackers, chips, granola bars, carrot sticks, nuts, peeled tangerines, apple slices, juice, raisins, and a water.
For shorter drives, we’ll put their favorite milk or diluted juice in a sippy cup by their seats for a surprise when they get in the car.
2. Toys. On those shorter drives, we leave a new ball or other little toy next to the sippy cup by their seats. Longer drives and airplanes we pack an activity bag that we give them at the start of the trip–or the snacks and toys are in one Surprise Bag. On car rides that take more than one day, we refill the Surprise Bag each morning.
We look for small toys that keep their fingers busy and are different than what they have at home. Anything with buttons or wheels and no noise. For art stuff, sticker books, small box of crayons and paper, invisible pen books for preschoolers, beeswax or modeling clay. Kids also like looking at books.
We might wrap the toys in tissue for airplanes, in the car the trash gets too much. On flight layovers, Kelly frequents the Salt Lake City airport kids store and lets the kids each choose one small activity toy. The older they are, the more time it takes them to choose–sometimes a benefit, other times not.
3. Games. We play our own version (as in no set rules) of I Spy, What Am I and make up silly games. We also sing songs, each taking a turn when we want to extend the experience, and tell stories.
4. Loveys. We always bring loveys on car rides. Kids often want their loveys on airplanes too. Loveys may help them drop off to sleep in their seats.
5. Playground breaks. A playground is any place the kids can get out of the car and run around for half an hour. We’ve used McDonalds playgrounds, and grassy fields we find by asking at the gas station. It’s sometimes just ten minutes jumping around in the corner of an airport. The brief moment of freedom changes the kids’ energy when they get back in their seats.
Last thought: We’re not always prepared. Grabbing from home a small car, little stuffed animal or doll, and pack of crayons with paper go a long way. If we remember the lovey, we can manage the rest.
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