Giveaway ZAiA Tickets for the Family

Status
Not open for further replies.
Always plan ahead when travelling with kids and family, where to go, play and what to bring.

i have 2 kids, a soon to be teen and an infant.

for my teen-to-be
make sure she brings her PSP, iPOD, Word Search and a Book to read and her mobile phone

for my infant
bring enough Milk, Diaper, towel, Portable DVD with his favourite show to watch, comfort towel, extra clothes, pacifier (if needed), activity book, paper and crayons for him to scribble with, his favourite toy car.

In general, i'd pack first aid, general medicine, thermometer. hand sanitizer, wet wipes, extra print of e-tickets just in case and medical cards.
 
Last edited:
1. I try to remember to request baby/child meal when booking a trip. Somehow, some travel agents don't book these for you.
2. I'd make sure to make copies of all important documents like passports and IDs, also of credit cards, in case they got lost or stolen. Put the copies in another bag/luggage.
3. Carry extra passport size photos of everyone on the trip. Sometimes needed for visas in some countries, even on arrival.
2. Try to research and save important phone numbers of the place you are going to visit in advance, i.e. emergency numbers, your hotel number/info.
3. Get my son to choose what he would like to pack in his little backpack. Couple toys, 1 comfort item, 1 book and colouring book with crayons. He feels very proud of himself and happy to carry his things.

Cheers
 
My family travel tip is to take a lot of patience and humour with you - and the ability to make something out of nothing !

Paru
 
Having traveled a lot by myself with our two little ones (now 1.5 and 3.5), most recently a 24 hour trip from CA to Hong Kong, I have learned a few things:
- Bring a front carrier for the baby, you need your hands free. I love the Ergo baby carrier! It has a pocket with room for wallet (good size one even!), passports, tickets, itinerary, etc.
- Always pack your carry-on for the what ifs. What if we get stuck on the runway for 2 hours? What if someone throws up/poop explosion/dumps a cup of water. This means, plenty of snacks, small toys, diapers (I pack about 1 per hour traveling, I do NOT want to run out of diapers!), lots of wipes, and several changes of clothes.
- Planning, planning, planning. My husband sometimes makes fun of me for this, but he sure enjoys the fact that I know good eats, what to do, opening hours for museums/parks, etc.
- If you need to eat right around the time of a flight, try to save it for on the plane (and bring finger foods that take a while to eat). Kills at least half and hour of flying time :-)
 
We actually bring no toys/books as find it a hassle to keep track of them etc while traveling. We try to make games out of what we find on the airplane or bus or train - for example we get the kids to tear pictures out of the duty free magazine and play 'shop' - one child sells to the other - quite fun as can name their own price etc. What we do bring is Scotch Tape, Blu Tack, Band Aids - I always have these in my handbag, as my kids will use the scotch tape to stick things to the window, Blu Tack to stick things to their tray, and bandaids to play vet with their stuffed animals that they bring to sleep with - or sometimes hubby and I pretend we are ill (quite easy really on those long flights!) and the kids then 'look after' us - bandaids, blankets, pillows etc and then we have to 'rest' - which means we put the blindfold thingy on and then they can't disturb 'the patient' for a while. Another top travel game we have is the Flight Night Silence Competition. We play this before going to sleep on the plane: The rule is to be absolutely quiet no matter what anyone does - so no talking at all, no laughing and shouting and giggling --for example- I say things like 'Oh look, there is a purple dinosaur coming out of the bathroom wearing pink shoes', and then usually one child says 'Where Mama? Where? I want to see it?' -then they are out of the game! Winds them up for a bit and then someone who is playing really well usually falls asleep with the effort of being quiet..
 
surprise them!

we always bring a NEW (not extravagant) toy/book that she hasn't seen before, and pull it out if there is any sign of fussing...she tends to stay preoccupied with it for much longer than her familiar ones
 
Set your expectations low...

and expect everything to take three times as long. That way, even if you only end up leaving the house for half an hour, you have still achieved something and hit your goal! Remember, the journey can be as much fun as the destination - try to relax and enjoy it.
 
best tip - dont forget a blanket and socks for aironditioned HK

I always pack a pair of socks and take a blanket for my toddler. No matter a local taxi, bus, a ferry to Macao, or a long haul flight. The smell of home and a familar comfort makes my girl settled and the trip just gets easier.
 
travel tips

i learned a hard lesson for taking my 14 month old to Italy. since then, I limited my travel time to 2 hour on the plane only if you still have a toddler in your family. This makes our trip a lot more relaxing. after all, kids at a young age are just happy to be with mom and dad no matter where we go. And yes, it helps if they get to have their own little backpack to keep their crayons and stickers.
 
If flying with infants and toddlers, breast feed / bottle feed on take off and landing to help relive the pressure in their ears - saves alot of screaming!
 
My biggest tip is to bring lots of baby wipes! I bring both the regular water ones (for wiping baby's hands and face) and also the disinfectant ones. They are so good for wiping down airplane trays etc before baby starts eating, and also great for wiping the chairs, baby's clothes, etc after baby finishes eating! I just went traveling to Canada with a one year old and my baby was weaned with blw, so she makes a huge mess with food and refuses to be fed! Baby wipes saved my clothes (great for getting out stains too!) and saved us from getting dirty looks from the air stewardess. It's also great for wiping down her favorite stuffed toy after she's dragged it all over the floor of the plane and decides to cuddle it to sleep!

To entertain her, we pack lots of new and favorite toys. We also get the free kid's packs from the plane and try to work our way through each one. And we sing kids songs (softly) along with our iPhone loaded with favorite clap along songs. Our bb would not wear headphones so we could only play the songs out loud (softly) to entertain her. Might be annoying to other travelers, but it's better than her crying out from boredom!
Posted via Mobile Device
 
My top family travel tip is to stay calm and laugh at all the little hiccups that happen during the journey. Children are unpredictable and there is no way I could fully prepare for everything that could go wrong during the trip. I believe how I react will determine how enjoyable the journey will be for myself and my kids.
 
My best family travel tip is to go with the flow. Travelling as a family is pretty stressful but I always treat each trip we make as a big adventure and make jokes, tell funny stories and even make puppets out of the sick bags. It usually calms a stressful moment down.
 
snagito said:
We actually bring no toys/books as find it a hassle to keep track of them etc while traveling. We try to make games out of what we find on the airplane or bus or train - for example we get the kids to tear pictures out of the duty free magazine and play 'shop' - one child sells to the other - quite fun as can name their own price etc. What we do bring is Scotch Tape, Blu Tack, Band Aids - I always have these in my handbag, as my kids will use the scotch tape to stick things to the window, Blu Tack to stick things to their tray, and bandaids to play vet with their stuffed animals that they bring to sleep with - or sometimes hubby and I pretend we are ill (quite easy really on those long flights!) and the kids then 'look after' us - bandaids, blankets, pillows etc and then we have to 'rest' - which means we put the blindfold thingy on and then they can't disturb 'the patient' for a while. Another top travel game we have is the Flight Night Silence Competition. We play this before going to sleep on the plane: The rule is to be absolutely quiet no matter what anyone does - so no talking at all, no laughing and shouting and giggling --for example- I say things like 'Oh look, there is a purple dinosaur coming out of the bathroom wearing pink shoes', and then usually one child says 'Where Mama? Where? I want to see it?' -then they are out of the game! Winds them up for a bit and then someone who is playing really well usually falls asleep with the effort of being quiet..
Click to expand...

Definitely the most creative ideas/tips. You are the winner!

PM me your email address and will help you organize your trip to ZAiA
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top