Getting Ready For Spring Break Travel

We've used magnetic story boards for quite a few trips and found them to work quite well. I have girls so they've mainly been magnetic paper dolls, but I've seen ones with airport or town scenes. Packing snacks that need to be put together by the children--cheese and cracker sandwiches or fruit with dip can also take up some time. We also do the surprise new toy and bring books to read together.

I second the change of clothes and the splitter for headphones. Both have come in handy in our house!

Sounds like you will have a great trip!

Hi there!
Looks like most everything I was going to mention has already been said...but wanted to ditto on the extra change of clothing for the kids and an extra shirt for you! You never know if one of them will get sick or spill something, and it's nice to have a dry clean shirt of your own as well! Also, ziplock bags are great then for the dirty clothes, or just corralling all the trash/messes. We travel back and forth from the states and South Korea with our son - who is now 4 - and having something new to eat or play with every 20-30 minutes is a great thing to have...just small things that you don't mind losing (lego pieces fall all over and then you have to be under seats looking for them!). The novelty helps the time pass - for both kids and mommy! Good luck and have a great spring break!!

I got an Aqua Doodle Travel pad for my daughter to draw with on a special airplane trip...It works well and You don't have to worry about a mess...

I've traveled a number of times by myself with the kids, like the time I flew from FL to Japan with a 4, 3, and 1 year old to meet my husband who was in Japan for 3 months of training. And this was before portable DVD or movie players. The most important thing is for you to be relaxed as you can be, kids tend to pick up on our feelings and if you're enjoying the trip, the kids will most likely also. I had little things wrapped up for them to open every hour or so, they had things to look forward to. Crayola Air Dry clay is much better than play doh or silly putty (don't leave Silly Putty on any fabric, it will never come out) it is light weight and comes in many colors, you can find it at Target or any craft store. Remember to wear shoes that can easily be taken off and put back on when going through the security, having to tie 3 pairs of shoes is a drag. Croc's or a slip on type of shoe is great.
Now my kids are 16, 15 and almost 13, we are going to fly from FL to Alaska in April and we can't wait, but they will pack their own backpack and even suitcases, and they know how to travel light.
Enjoy your trip above all else.

Stickers, stickers, stickers! Before every flight with our daughter I would go and buy about $15 worth of stickers and a composition notebook. As a toddler she would have to take her time to peel them off. It would keep her busy for a couple hours!

Try a Belkin 5 way to have the kids listen together to a movie with their own headsets. Small and easy to carry. http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-RockStar-3-5-mm-Headphone-Splitter/dp/B0017PG8KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298945149&sr=8-1

When we travel I use a natural product (called Travel Ease made by Naturopharm in New Zealand) - its a bach flower combo thats good for travel sickness - my son and I both get car sick on long trips. The thing about this remedy is that its really good for that "displaced" feeling that can sometimes happen when one travels through several transitions and takes a few days to settle into the new home away from home. Not sure if something like that would suit your little ones.
If you were interested ask at your local health shop - especially good if its operated by homoeopaths or naturopaths. (Don't realy know how things like that work in the US though)

I would suggest gummy bears or fruit snacks for take off/landing.

Don't forget Tylenol or Advil...just incase.

If Anna is potty training/trained don't FLUSH with her in the potty...my son about screamed the walls down...he thought he was going to fall out of the plane! OMG...it was horrible!

Magna doodle (travel sized) are one of little guys fav's.

Good Luck! have fun!!!

Alcohol.....lots of alcohol!!! Heehee!!!!
Have a great trip!

I use playdo all the time on the airplane and I have never left a mess.

They make triangle shaped crayons that won't roll of the tray table. After picking up what seems a million crayons on our travels...so worth it. Also...pull up and not diapers. Always. Good luck!

North Carolina is a beautiful state. Several years ago, my girls and I visited Biltmore Estate, Chimney Rock, and the Smokey Mountains. Folks who live in the South are some of the nicest people I have ever met and children there have the most incredible good manners. We lived in Georgia for 2 years before returning to the PNW. We saw alot of the South during our time there. Asheville, Savannah, Charleston, and Atlanta....all amazing cities.

Someone may have already suggested this, but they make splitters for headphones. We picked one up before our last flight with the kids at our local electronics store. Great planning. I'm sure your trip will be fantastic!

I've flown solo with my 2 boys since they were young (now 10 and 12). We like the 1 to 10 game when they ask 'how much longer' - 10 is we're there and 1 is just set off. This way they can understand the concept of how far we are and I always underestimate - you never know if you'll hit a line up once you land.

Also, I pack a few surprises in their backpacks and they think it's just wonderful to open a new small thing every hour or so. Books, small puzzle toys etc. Top Trumps games have been popular for several years now -they need 2 players though.

Whilst waiting in lines, the 20 questions game was popular when they were younger - you can play with any genre. We used to play with Bob the Builder characters (Is it a truck? Is it a person? etc).

Happy & safe travelling! :)

Karen in Toronto

How about the smaller doodle pro writer? Target sells those cheap, esp in like an Easter treat aisle or at the checkout aisle. Good luck.

I always keep something "new" for the trip back home. I find the kids to be more impatient on the way back home. Safe trip to all three of you!

Ok pick the Kiwi - but what the heck are 'goldfish'?!?! I assume they are a treat/sweet/snack food? I have never heard of them before - unless you are into eating actual fish - LOL!

Sounds like a great holiday! How long does Spring break go for?

This post brought back many wonderful memories of traveling when our kids were small. Like you, we have a boy & girl. I have done overseas (l o n g) flights alone with them. I was glad to have something new tucked in their backpacks that they'd never seen before. I would recommend an extra change of clothes for them in YOUR bag - just in case. (The craziest things can happen) We had a book about traveling on an airplane that we read 100x before our trips. They usually carried their "Quillows" which are travel size quilts that fold up and tuck together to form a pillow (made by Grandma!) to make for cozy nap time. Have a wonderful trip!

Sticker books (some really great ones with tons of stickers @ Costco for around $7), I Spy books, Colorforms, Card games....all these were favorites with my kids. Small, easy to carry and keep them entertained for long periods of time. I also liked the suggestion of pipe cleaners for the same reasons. I don't like play dough on planes because it gets in everything and is messy. My kids love legos, polly pockets, etc. but they can be problematic if they drop them...lost pieces can be upsetting to kids. Mine are older now and mostly watch movies or play video games on the DS or phone...they still like lots of little snacks :)

I've travelled on planes with my 3 kids a lot - ages 2 thru 13 - and contrary to a comment above, by far the best time occupier on the plane, I've found, is play-dough. Just one colour, in a tin. With a few plastic cutting tools. They roll it out on the trays, it cleans up in a snap, and it entertains everyone. ENjoy!

definitely do not forget your camera ;)

Hope you're still seeing comments on this post. I went on a long plane trip from California to the Carribean with my 4 and 7 yr old girls this summer and here are a few things:

Those airplane plugs that relieve the pressure buildup in the ears really, really work. I could not find the kids size anywhere locally so ordered at Amazon. My older daughter didn't wear them the first landing and screamed the whole time. Wore them the other times and no problem!

http://www.amazon.com/EarPlanes-Childrens-Ear-Plugs-Disposable/dp/B000052XG5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299056609&sr=8-1

For headphones, try out a couple first. Both my girls did not like the headphones with the band across the head (even the kids size kept falling backward) and the kids earbuds were too big to fit well. Mine liked these earhook type:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHK3020-27-Earhook-Headphones/dp/B0018BN066/ref=sr_1_43?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1299056031&sr=1-43

Stick to carryon only, and make sure all your carryon has wheels. Nowadays many connecting flights are in terminals far apart. At Miami airport it took us 30 minutes of sprinting to get to our connecting flight.

My last tip, bring lots of snacks, including protein like cheese sticks. Even if you're ready to spend the $$$ for their food (which we were), they actually run out of food. And even if you think you can pick something up at the airport, if you have a connecting flight you might not have time if they have you running clear across the airport!

Hope you have a better experience than we did. We want to go to Florida for our spring break to see the Space Shuttle launch and
Disney World, but both my girls are not looking forward to another miserable plane ride. (the horribly timed/placed connections and lack of food weren't the only things that had us disliking the airlines)

Head phone slitter

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16855999624&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Headphones+and+Accessories-_-Belkin-_-55999624

Have a safe trip.

Larger ziplock bags for poopy diapers (if Anna is still in diapers).
Stickers/sticker books/acitivity books are also useful.

I would add to your list a package of pipe cleaners. I flew from Ohio to Colorado last year alone with my two-year old. The pipe cleaners were great...We made people and letters and bracelets and on and on. My sons, ages 6 & 7, like to play with pipe cleaners in the car on long trips.