Traveling with Kids Tips and Tricks

I'm a travel junkie, and if I can find a good deal on a flight or hotel, I'm there. With two pre-school aged kids in tow, it's essential to have entertaining distractions to keep them happy while waiting for a layover to Portland or during the six hour car ride to Pennsylvania.

Here are my most successful finds so far:

Color Wonder and Water Wow coloring books are amazing. For real. I picked up three of each for a recent six hour car trip, and they were a huge hit. My kids played with them for hours and hours, and the Water Wow pages dried quickly on the dashboard as we worked through the rotation. I even tucked them in my purse for a dinner out so the kids could color while waiting for our food. I especially like that the Water Wow books are reusable and not as disposable as other coloring books. Did I mention that both of these won't get colored marker on your kids hands, clothes, nose, or seat? Yes, please.

I'm not a fan of fast food, especially when sitting in the car for hours with a heavy burger in my gut. When we're in the car, or even heading to the airport, long enough that we need to eat a meal, I pop into our local grocery and pick up their Munchables for the kids from the deli cold case. They're like Lunchables, only not over-processed and gross. My son likes one with turkey, crackers, cheese, and grapes. My daughter goes for one with chunks of chicken, pita, grape tomatoes, and a cucumber dipping sauce.

DVDs and ear phones with splitter are a requisite for any trip over three hours. Don't feel guilty about letting your kids plug in, either. Nobody has time for that kind of kid guilt.

Audio books  are great for passing time and enjoying longer books that would otherwise take you weeks of bedtime sessions to get through. I like to stock up on them at the library before each trip. We've especially enjoyed The Cricket in Times Square, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Farmer Boy.

On that note, library books and DVDs are budget friendly resources and feel new to your kids and keeps them engaged. Traveling is expensive enough, so I don't want to blow too much money on entertaining the kids on the way there. The library is the perfect solution.

A packable pail and small pool toys are well wroth their space in the suitcase. My kids are huge fans of these new Finding Dory dive toys.

Vacations mean an escape from the ordinary, and that goes for food, too. When picking up ordinary car snacks, like banana chips and peanuts, each member of the family gets to pick fun vacation snacks, too. My kids always pick Annie's gummy bunnies, and my husband and I gravitate towards salty, crunchy junk food like Gardetto's Snack Mix or a bag of Munchos. Go for it.

What are your travel go-tos?