So you’re off to Grandma’s (or other loved one’s) house with the kids in the next few days. Here are a few last-minute tips from Kidsized Budget Travel to make your journey more enjoyable without adding expenses:
- Pack your own snacks. This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised. Do not depend on stopping someplace along the way for snacks. It’s much cheaper and convenient to fill a handful of plastic containers or baggies with snacks than to buy along the way. Try to have a mix of protein and carbs so that the snacks are not empty calories, but remember you don’t have to get fancy. I like to bring Goldfish, nuts, chocolate chips and Cheerios as well as a separate container of apple slices with peanut butter. Also, while it might be cheaper to depend on the airline for free snacks in the air, do not let that be your sole source of snacks. If your child is hungry or needs a distraction before or after that flight, don’t be caught without snacks.
- Print out coloring pages and worksheets. My daughter has enjoyed coloring new pictures when we travel, but buying more coloring books for every trip adds extra costs. Instead, I print coloring pages off the internet before we leave. I staple them together and – voila! –a fresh new coloring book for the road. Here are a few sites to try: Crayola; WS; and Supercoloring.
- Keep learning! My daughter also likes to do math when she doesn’t “have to” so I print off worksheets for her to do on the way. I go to the site and either pick the grade she’s in now or the one she just left and find some worksheets. These pages are just for review, so don’t use harder concepts than they’re used to. You want them to be able to do the work independently so they will stay busy and feel successful.Here are sites to try: Education.com; Scholastic.com; and Kidzone.
- Keep learning — online: I consider travel time our family togetherness time, however, I recognize that sometimes our kids need to do their own (quiet) thing while we do ours, perhaps waiting in the airport or after some time on the road. A number of free websites and apps with educational games are available to keep kids learning and playing instead of passively watching a movie. Try abcya.com, pbskids.org and Cool Math Games.
Enjoy your holiday visits. Stay tuned for Kidsized Budget Travels, which will be available on Amazon soon!
Kidsized Travel 