Spring Break will be here before we know it! Are you traveling with your kids? I used to travel a lot pre-pandemic/pre-parenthood. I had my packing down to a science and I zipped my way through security without a care in the world. Then I became a parent and then I had to take my kid on trips with me - the same ones I had previously perfected on my own! If you're like me and dreading traveling with your kiddos, here are a couple Friday Favorites I have with me to help me take on the journey!
Packing Cubes
I'm not sure how they work (because it's not like I'm packing less clothes) but these packing cubes make my clothes fit beautifully in my suitcase - with room to spare! I like to group my outfits by days or types (like outerwear) to make the unpacking process easier too. Best thing about these packing cubes? All the little toddler socks and big girl underwear stay in one place, not floating all around my suitcase when it is inevitably tossed in the underbelly of the plane.
Portable iPhone charger
The last thing I need is for my iPhone to lose its juice when we are waiting extra long on the tarmac...especially if my phone is also being used to entertain a squirmy toddler who was already over traveling the moment we boarded our plane. This charger is slim and works really fast to recharge my phone. Don't take my word for it, check out this list of the best of the best!
Stickers (and lots of them)
The focus, the dexterity skills, the creativity, and the self-directed play - how can you not love stickers?! Give her a baggie of loose sticker sheets, and she goes to town stacking them on top of each other, creating weird scene-scapes and adding them to her outfit for the day. Mom tip: remove the white edges from around the stickers first; this makes it much easier for your kids to get them off! (Does the sticker-book obsessed little kid in me cringe at the whimsy of how my daughter rips stickers off and haphazardly places them wherever she wants? Yes, but that's for a different blog post.)
SmartSweets Lollipops
Do I bribe my child to stay in her seat, keep her seatbelt on, and keep her comments to a minimum with a lollipop every 20 minutes? Yes, yes I do. People have their own opinions on candy and additives and dyes etc etc - but these are the lollipops that we choose for our kiddo when we have a long travel day ahead of us. With 1g of sugar for every two lollipops, we don't feel bad if she has 4 before we even take off the runway.
TSA PreCheck®
Have you ever tried to wrangle off shoes and jackets on little ones who already had to wait too many minutes to go through TSA? Have you ever had a toddler exclaim very loudly "I don't like to wait! Why do they get to go fast?! I want to go fast!!!!" I have stood in the regular people travel check-in line too many times to finally realize the benefits of TSA PreCheck®. Did you know it's only $78 for 5 years and that children 12 and under can join a parent/guardian with TSA PreCheck®? You also don't have to worry about taking off shoes, taking out laptops, liquids, belts, or jackets. For those of us whose family members all live out of town and traveling to see them is common - TSA PreCheck® pays for itself in time saved alone! P.S. some of you may already be eligible for TSA PreCheck® through your credit card!
