Grab-and-Go Snacks Preparing snacks can be a time suck when you are in a hurry to get somewhere, therefore Ashley Muir Bruhn preps "grab-and-go" bites the night ahead. She occasionally bakes miniature berry cakes and tosses them at a zip-top plastic bag. Another tip: Freeze yogurt sticks immediately to make to get a sweet little handle the next day.
Makeshift Game Pieces Cheerios make good game bits when you're on the move with your children. Ashley Muir Bruhn enjoys to thread Cheerios on pipe cleaners, "fish" for Cheerios out of a raisin box with tweezers, or perform Tic-Tac-Toe with Cheerios (simply sting an O in half to distinguish your slice from your child's).
Crayons and Paper There's a motive family-friendly restaurants hand out paper and crayons for free: They are invaluable tools for maintaining antsiness at bay. "I always carry paper and crayons in my purse," says Ilana Wiles, creator of Mommy Shorts. "If you want to be the kind of family which goes out to restaurants, then you need to have stuff available to keep the children busy while they wait for their food."
Umbrella Stroller It is tempting to ditch the stroller in favor of a infant carrier when flying with your small one, however, strollers can be invaluable on excursions. "Not only is it easier to take a child through the airport, it's really useful while on holiday because you can get your kid to take their nap without needing to stop what you are doing to go back to the hotel area," says Ilana Wiles. "While in Cancun, we got our daughter to sleep with wheeling her in laps around the pool"
Travel-Size Games Keep kids busy in the car by bringing along the travel edition of your favourite board games. Joanna Goddard, founder of Cup of Jo, entertains her two sons with SET, Bananagrams and Apples to Apples.
Mini Magnetic Boards For kids who like playing with letters and numbers on the fridge, why not take the fun on the street? Purchase a miniature magnetic board, pack some letters and numbers from a plastic baggie and, voila, you have some enlightening (and non-digital!) Entertainment for the car. You can also use the board for a play surface for magnetic toys like Magna-Tiles.
Bento-Style Snacks Gina Kirk of Is She Really organizes her kids' dishes in these attractive Bentgo Kids Lunch Boxes. "Although we utilize them as lunch boxes during this week, they are perfect for carrying numerous snacks around the weekends," she says. The attractive design makes parents appear super-organized and also allows for an assortment of foods.
Comic Books and Graphic Novels Add interest to your child's portable library with age-appropriate comic books and graphic novels. Nathalie Laitmon, publisher of Suburban Misfit Mom, recommends the Big Nate novels, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the go-to classic Batman.
Wine Bottle Tote If you're driving somewhere with the children, Asha Dornfest, writer of Parent Hacks, recommends organizing your essentials in a wine bottle bag. Not only are these totes already compartmentalized, but also the pockets are heavy, offering plenty of space to store items such as snacks, toys, napkins and sippy cups.
Stroller Stabilizers Do you typically hang coats or shopping bags in the handle of your stroller that is lightweight? Is it true that your stroller tip over when you take baby out of the chair? Asha Dornfest offers a fantastic way to prevent stroller tippage: Strap a pair of ankle weights to the front wheels and you've got immediate insertion.
Fully Charged Tablets "I don't care what the naysayers have to provide, if I didn't have fully billed iPads for a road trip or even sometimes while going out to eat, we would never make it out alive," states Adrian Kulp, founder of Dad or Alive. "Children watching iPads while out to dinner not only offers us the ability to get through the meal, but everyone else around us as well."
A Bin to Call Their Own When Adrian Kulp along with his wife take road trips, they package three small storage containers, one for each child, and label each bin with the child's name. "We fill it using individual snacks, surprises and often a new movie they can take turns watching about the DVD player in the vehicle. It makes them excited and keeps them occupied on a 10-hour haul," Kulp states.
Restaurant Snacks If you want to bring kids everywhere, especially dinner or lunch, pack snacks to tide them over in case things takes longer than anticipated. "In a restaurant, we order and it might be five minutes, or it could be 25 minutes," states John Kinnear of Ask Your Dad. "The children do great with five moments, but at about 15 we're always glad we have some crackers to hand them"
Two of Everything Maintain the sibling peace by bringing two of everything when potential, while it's coloring books, snacks or beverages. "Regardless of what we bring, we do our very best to have two of everything. Whatever one child gets, another child wants," says John Kinnear, father of 2. "For today, the duplicating of toys and actions is exactly what keeps us sane on extended drives."
Airplane Safety Harness If you're flying with a child who is between 22 and 44 lbs, you are able to leave the car seat at home (or at least check it) and use this FAA-approved CARES harness rather. "After our boys were big enough, the CARES airplane exploit was a huge help in travel, as it meant we didn't have to continue automobile seats any more but might feel confident that they were safe," states Chris Routly of The Entire Routly.
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