See ‘Stranger Things,’ Labubu Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats
Take a look at seven new floats and five new balloons joining this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The holiday season often requires traveling for families visiting grandparents, cousins even siblings, which can be challenging for those with young children, but there are some things you can do to help make a stressful journey easier for kids.
Packing games, toys and other practical items can make traveling easier, according to family traveling websites. For instance, the Local Passport Family — an active blog from a traveling family of six — recommends taking a mini sound machine, a travel bed for infants, a luggage strap, buildings toys like Legos and other items.
And carrying the right snacks can keep kids placated between meals.
Here are some travel hacks for the upcoming holiday travel in and out of Michigan:
What should I pack for the trip?
According to the Local Passport Family, here are some unique accessories to make traveling with children easier:
- Mini sound machine for white noise to help kids sleep.
- Kidco peapod, a baby travel bed for babies or toddlers that is lightweight enough to pass through checked luggage.
- Expandable, color-coded packing cubes to help organize the kids’ luggage.
- Carabiner clips to easily attach things in a rush, like a jacket or water bottle, to a bag.
- Lightweight soft-sided baby carrier with pockets, adjustable for different sizes.
- Yoto mini audio player for a mobile, wide-range entertainment sold at Target or Amazon.
- External charger for charging electronics in a pinch.
- Cozyphones, a headband headphone for kids that are comfortable for airplane seats.
- Luggage strap used to keep things tidy or as a car seatbelt.
- Lightweight building toys like putting Legos in a zipped lock bag or wikki stix.
How to make a long road trip feel shorter with young children
For a long road trip, entertaining can be difficult in a limited space. Here are some hacks, according to the blog With the Blinks (another seasoned traveling family):
- To avoid an “are we there yet,” try a guessing game. Laminate a map and track the trip with a dry erase marker.
- Prepare a “snackle” box of foods (a box with several compartments similar to a tackle box) with a variety of vegetables, fruits, crackers or candy.
- Create a magnetic puzzle. Glue small magnets to puzzle piece and have kids put the puzzle together on a metal tray.
- Purchase a mechanical grabber to pass things to the back of your vehicle with ease.
- Make a mini trash can with only a plastic bag and a cereal container to keep things as clean as possible.
The blog also suggests making “every hour surprise bags.” This requires you to fill a bag with a different activity or item customized to each kid — such as a new book, fidget toy, fun pen, movie or any random toy — and revealing one bag per hour to keep the trip exciting.
Active For Life, a nonprofit, national organization based in Canada, suggests taking lunch breaks at parks or green spaces if possible to let kids burn off energy and use the toilet. If you’re traveling in Michigan, the weather may be unfit for an outdoor lunch, but it could still be helpful for those traveling out-of-state to warmer areas.
What are the best snacks for a plane flight?
For plane travel, messy snacks are not a great idea. TSA guidelines (for instance, liquids over 3.4 ounces are not permitted) and potential allergens for your kids or other passengers can narrow down food options.
Here are some food options for flying according to bbox.com, a company that sells bottles and food containers for kids:
- Trail Mix: Combine nuts, chocolate, granola, and raisins for a healthy, filling snack.
- Rice cakes: Large, mess-free.
- Rice pudding cups: Pre-packaged treat.
- Edamame: Can be cooked or dried.
- Cucumber slices: Hydrating, nutritious.
- Fruit cups: Easy to pack and doesn’t require an ice pack.
- Fruit strips (dehydrated fruit): Good for chewing during take-off and landing.
- Cheese cubes: Serve with crackers or pretzels.
- Dark chocolate pieces: A sweet treat, though they could melt and leave chocolate-covered hands, so bring wipes.
- Dried seaweed snacks or baked kale: Good alternatives to chips.
- Wheat thins: Can be eaten with fruit or dips.
What are the best snacks for road trips
For a minimally messy car, here’s an assortment of road trip snacks recommended by Yummy Toddler Food:
- Granola bars.
- Dry cereal, such as Cheerios, Kix, Chex, or store-brand equivalents.
- Snap pea crisps.
- Clementines.
- Pears.
- Bananas.
- Raisins.
- Smoothies in a reusable pouch.
- Sandwiches.
- Lunch meat.
- Shredded or diced chicken.
- Hard-boiled eggs.
- Pretzels with peanut butter.
- Celery.
- Homemade muffins.
It’s a good idea to pre-pack a variety of snacks in lightweight containers to make travel easier by avoiding limited roadside or airport options.
Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com
