Happy summer my friends! I hope you’ve had a lovely summer and been able to spend lots of quality time with your family. 🙂
If you’re anything like else like us, you probably took some time this summer for a family vacation to make memories you’ll always cherish. The hubby and I decided to beat the heat in LA this summer by taking a family road trip to Seattle – one of our favorite cities! As you probably know, traveling with kids is NOT easy, but I found these simple tips made our family vacation much more enjoyable this summer!
- Always carry healthy snacks. Okay this is mom rule #1. But because we’re so busy we sometimes end up picking up quick snacks at the grocery store like fruit roll up that are FILLED with sugar and cause major meltdowns for my kids. Lately I’ve been experimenting with making my own portable snacks made with healthy fats and proteins to keep the kids satisfied for longer without the sugar crash. I love sliced apples with almond butter or homemade granola bars with lots of nuts and fruit. I like this recipe which I add chunks of dark chocolate to. My kids love them and making them myself means I can control the ingredients and sugar!
- Packs lots of wetnaps! If you’re snacking in the car or on the go it’s always best to wash the kids up before and after their snack. Who knows what germs they have on their hands and after we do NOT want chocolate all over our car! I like portable packs for my purse and the big plastic container pack of wet naps for the car. They’re better value and when you have the room in the car make a lot more sense! You can even make your own by googling it – I’ve never tried but I plan to soon!
- Say no to ipads and yes to games. We’re all guilty of sitting our kids in front of the iphone or ipad so we can have a moment to ourselves. During a long road trip this is especially tempting but I find my kids to be less than pleasant with too much screen time. Instead I prefer them to play games or read books. One fun game to play in the car is ‘I Spy’. I know this is super old school but it really keeps their attention and is a really fun way to actually notice the beautiful places you’re driving through! Plus it makes for amazing memories you and your family will always cherish.
Those are my top three tips for traveling with kids this summer! I know these tips were a lifesaver on our most recent trip. If you have any other suggestions please let me know in the comments!
Bye for now,
Michelle