Children's Travel Activities & Travel Tips
in association with
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Julia Odgers, KidsTravel2
Laura Morris, Rentabuggy
Hello Travelling with kids can be fun, exciting, rewarding and at times challenging. As parents of young children ourselves we appreciate this and are pleased to bring you our own tried and tested travel tips and activities in our first e-book. We hope you enjoy them, find them useful and would love your feedback! Print them out now and stash them in your glove box or travel bag ready for your next trip. Make sure you enter the colouring competition and don't forget to sign up with us on facebook for more handy tips & downloads in the future. Happy travelling Julia & Laura About Us: KidsTravel2 are specialists in children's luggage, travel games for kids and other family travel accessories. Rentabuggy allows families to ease cashflow and rent top selling pushchairs on a monthly basis as well as offering a great value Holiday Rental Service Nationwide.
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What's inside our e-book .... Travel games & activities
1. What's in the bag?...................................................................................................................................4 2. The sausages game ...............................................................................................................................5 3. Spot the cows........................................................................................................................................5 4. The category game.................................................................................................................................5 5. The alphabet game..................................................................................................................................5 6. The quiet game.......................................................................................................................................5 7. Lucky dip presents .................................................................................................................................5 8. Get spotting...........................................................................................................................................6 9. Coloured cars..........................................................................................................................................6 10. Wobbly map.............................................................................................................................................6 11. Who am I?................................................................................................................................................7 12. I went to the shop and I bought..............................................................................................................7 13. Scissors, paper, stone! ..........................................................................................................................7 14. Ready, steady, get arty.........................................................................................................................8 15. How many telephone boxes?...................................................................................................................8 16. I name that tune!....................................................................................................................................8
Downloadable activities I spy.............................................................................................................................................................9 Seaside wordsearch...................................................................................................................................10 car registration game................................................................................................................................11
Travel tips & advice Choosing the right pushchair for your holiday...........................................................................................12 10 mess free travel snack ideas for kids...................................................................................................13 10 tips for making a holiday with the kids a holiday for you......................................................................14 10 tips for travel sickness with children...................................................................................................16 Top tips on travelling with children...........................................................................................................18 Our recommendations for happy camping..................................................................................................19 Colouring in competition.............................................................................................................................21
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1. What's in the bag?
Kids love the lucky dip nature of this game. It requires a bit (but not a lot!) of preparation beforehand, but is worth the effort for the reward you get and remains a firm family favourite of ours. Essentially you have a bag with a number of questions each written onto an individual slip of paper. These are placed in the bag and players take it in turns to take a slip of paper and see if they can answer the question / perform the task. Guaranteed to keep the kids busy for ages while you are travelling and can be easily slipped into a handbag or glove compartment. You can adapt this game according to the age of your children. Older children will be able to read out their own tasks, and the tasks themselves can be a bit more complex. You can make them personal and get everyone in the holiday spirit by asking questions about previous holidays to test everyone's memory. Younger children may need help reading them out, or you could read them out, and their tasks may need to be a bit simpler. You can even have 2 separate bags, each suitable for different ages. Here are 10 ideas to include in your 'what's in the bag?' but you can tailor this to suit your own family, your history and experiences. And, if you're looking for a pre-holiday activity and plan on preparing questions for a younger child as well as an older child, why not involve the older child in preparing the questions for the younger child? ‌. Good luck! 1. Name 5 animals with 4 legs. 2. What was Grandma wearing at the barbequeue last Sunday? 3. Who fell in the swimming pool when we went on holiday last year? 4. Count backwards from 10 to 1. 5. What do you get if you add mum's and dad's ages together? (apart from a very big number :~) ) 6. What's the name of the holiday cottage/campsite/town we are going to and can you spell it? 7. What is Daddy's favourite band? 8. Shut your eyes. Now, describe what everyone in the family is wearing today - no peeping! 9. Sing your favourite song. 10. How long can you hold your breath for?
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2. The sausages game We call this the sausages game but really it could be any word you like - choose one that will make the kids laugh, maybe the name of a favourite TV character or toy. One person asks the questions and the other person, no matter what the question, must answer with the chosen word eg Sausages. The aim of the game is to make the person who is answering the questions smile. Their aim is not to smile. See how many questions it takes to make them smile! Ask away .... 'What did you brush your teeth with this morning?', 'What would you like for your birthday this year?'.....
3. Spot the cows OK, it may not sound like much fun but young children love counting! If you have more than one child you should agree different animals to count - cows, sheep, dogs - and a target to aim for depending on how long you want the game to go on for! You can obviously vary this one by choosing other things to count eg letter boxes, pubs etc
4. The category game You can adapt this to the age of your children. All you do is choose a category, for example 'animals with four legs' or 'the names of parks that you know' and then see how many things you can name between you. You can either take it in turns and score a point for each one you name, or just work as a team and see how many you can come up with together.
5. The alphabet game An old classic which can be simple but fun. All you need to do is spot each of the letters of the alphabet in turn - on number plates, on road signs, on other signage. The first to get to the end of the alphabet is the winner!
6. The quiet game Silence is golden. This game is quite simply where you sit as quietly as you can for as long as you can. The last one to make a noise is the winner.
7. Lucky dip presents
My top tip for keeping the kids entertained, especially on long flights or car journeys, is to wrap up little presents in scraps of tissue paper to hand out at tricky moments - it need only be something tiny (an eraser, a few stickers, a hair clip), but the fact of having a present, and unwrapping it, always helps distract them when distraction is needed!
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8. Get spotting
When travelling on long journeys with my 3 and 5 year old we have a check list of things to spot on the journey. They each have a picture list and tick things off as they are spotted. Once they have got them all they get a small prize (something else to keep them occupied preferably!) It keeps them interested and occupied for the journey!
9. Coloured cars
We play games & listen to story telling CD'S. One game we play is we each pick a colour and for half an hour (if on a long journey) we have to count how many cars we see in our chosen colour. The child with the highest number gets to pick the new game, which is usually eye spy or animal hunting where the children are the first to see an animal.
10. Wobbly map
We play a game called 'wobbly map'. The children have a piece of paper and a crayon (or pencil) which they hold to the paper and as the car jerks and turns etc can see how their map turns out.
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11. Who am I?
We play a variation of the 'yes/no' game where somebody chooses a character from a children's book, nursery rhyme or television programme. They keep it a secret and the others have to ask 10 questions which can only be answered 'yes' or 'no' to try to guess the identity of the character
12. I went to the shop and I bought....
I play the memory game with my children which they love. It starts off "I went to the shop and I bought some...." and you just make something up to buy, like bread, for example. Then the next person has a go; they have to say what you bought and then add something themselves eg "I went to the shop and I bought some bread and a pair of socks". Throw in some silly suggestions to make it more fun eg "I went to the shop and I bought some bread and a pair of socks and a monkey"! The aim is to keep going as long as possible. For added educational value, or to help with remembering, you can play a version where each item has to begin with the next letter of the alphabet eg "I went to the shop and I bought an apple, a beach ball, a crocodile..."
13. Scissors, paper, stone!
It reminds me of going on journeys in my childhood! It's a game for 2 people. On the count of 3 both players have to shape their hand either like scissors (fingers snipping), paper (flat hand), or stone (clenched fist). Scissors beats paper (cuts it), paper beats stone (wraps it up), and stone beats scissors (blunts them). You can play first to 3, 5 or whatever you prefer.
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14. Ready, steady, get arty
I find things like the coloured pipe cleaners you buy in crafty type shops great for keeping my children entertained in the car as they are re-usable, take up no space in a bag, and can be used to invent new games. We play games like a competition to see who can make a cat, for example, in a given time frame. Then we have a laugh looking at what each of us has made. A bit like the generation game!
15. How many telephone boxes?
Simple but effective. We ask them to count the telephone boxes and the first one to reach a number gets a prize.... post boxes is another good one.
16. I name that tune!
We play this with our 3 year old and he loves it. We take it in turns to hum a favourite tune - it could be a nursery rhyme, a tune from a children's TV programme or a song that you all know as a family. It's a game that everyone can play and enjoy.
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B E A C RA L U Y I HE E S C C A N WP A K RL R E L C E B B T O R DT U WL E V A C F L I P F K R Y A B R M A E R CE
B O WT E A T K A MA C L E H S L N N P S H U A WC S D L OP E E A V R C I MT
Can you find the hidden words? crab bucket spade shell beach
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flipflop icecream sunhat lolly wave
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Choosing the right pushchair for your holiday
Depending on where you are going for your holidays then taking the right pushchair can have a big impact. Here are a few pointers and some of the best models for various popular holiday destinations:Beach – Probably the biggest holiday destination taken by families involves a child friendly resort with a relaxing beach. Any All-Terrain pushchair is perfect for this surface and I would also recommend a 3 wheeler variety. Using chunky tyres and added suspension it gives a more comfortable ride. The ‘Out and About’ Nipper is a perfect choice. Walking/Camping Holidays – With rocky footpaths and uneven surfaces the Phil & Teds Vibe is great for any walking holidays. The chassis is made from a lightweight aluminium frame and is well designed, hard wearing and practical. The wheel bearings will make pushing easy and comfortable whatever the terrain. Even better… if you have two children by adding the doubles kit behind the main seat, it turns this practical pushchair into a double one instantly! Skiing – For any Skiing type holiday I would recommend the Mountain Buggy Mountain Terrain Pushchair. This pushchair has a fixed front wheel because it gives superior off road qualities because of it. Its robust aluminium frame is designed just for rugged off road use and it’s even simple to fold. City Breaks – For City Breaks the best pushchair to have is something lightweight and manoeuvrable for the streets. The Bugaboo Bee is a compact, one-piece foldable stroller for parents who live life on the fly. The unique swivel-wheel system also makes it easy for 360 turns around corners and down cobbled streets. Alternatively, if your baby is over 6 months old, and for a cheaper but still great quality alternative then you can’t go wrong with the Maclaren Techno XT Stroller. It has an umbrella fold and is lightweight and easy to carry.
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10 mess free travel snack ideas for kids
Travelling with children can often be a challenge. Travelling with hungry children takes things to a whole different level. The ideal solution is obviously to factor in rest breaks on your journey for food, the toilet & to let off steam. However, it isn't always practical to do this and you may need to eat en route. Finding the right kind of foods for children to eat by themselves without too much assistance can be tricky. The best food & snacks are ones that will fill, sustain & entertain your children, without causing a huge mess or sugar rush. Here are some favourites of mine which I hope you will find useful - please join in and share yours! 1. It may sound obvious but having experienced cream cheese and houmous smeared around the inside of my car I generally try and avoid anything too messy like dips or sandwich fillings that will drop out all over the place. Call me a control freak but I now cut cheese into slices instead of grating it for fillings and often use pitta pockets or wraps instead of sandwiches to 'hold' the food in place more. 2. Wrapped packs of crackers/oatcakes are another good alternative to crisps and even sandwiches if your children will eat them. Mine are not so keen on plain crackers but really like the cheesey oatcake variety and I always carry these as healthy snacks when we are out and about. 3. I ususally like my children to still have some veg en route and the best I have found is to slice cucumber & carrot sticks into tupperware pots. Avoid tomatoes unless you like squirty pips everywhere! 4. Pack small tupperware pots with dry cereal snacks as a good alternative to crisps or sweets. My children like cheerios & the mini cereals variety such as the 'blueberry wheats' from Sainsburys. 5. If your child suffers from travel sickness avoid fatty foods altogether. In this situation you may find your child is better without any food at all while you are travelling, or perhaps with just a few of the dried snacks mentioned here to sustain them. 6. Dried fruit is often less messy than normal fruit and children enjoy having their own small carton or box to open and shut - thumbs up for added entertainment value here!
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7. If you prefer fresh fruit grapes are a good one to bring - not too sticky & nothing to peel. 8. Yoghurt or fromage frais pouches are a good way of children still having a yoghurt without having to worry about a spoon. We call them 'drinky yoghurts' and favour the ones with the screw on lids as the opening is quite small (fewer spillages!) and sometimes my daughter won't finish a whole one in one go so the lid can be put back on and saved. 9. If you don't have a cool pack or prefer not to take foods which need chilling, fruit pouches are a great alternative for a 'pudding'. 10. Drinks - try and avoid sugary drinks as children tend to guzzle these quickly and you'll find yourself stopping more frequently for toilet stops. If your child complains water is boring you could try popping their drinks bottle in the freezer the night before - children love having a cold bottle to hold and waiting for the ice to melt will add interest to the experience and keep them entertained.
10 tips for making a holiday with the kids a holiday for you 1. Understand everyone's expectations of the holiday For you it may be all about getting a chance to relax and read a book - after all, how often do you get to do that? You other half may be wanting to whisk everyone off to some cultural hot spot and the kids probably just want to find the nearest park and play. Understanding what everyone wants out of your holiday, and on some occassions meeting half way, is my first top tip for making sure everyone gets the holiday they want. 2. Take it in turns to choose activities Once you've understood what everyone would like to do, if there are differences, you might want to take it in turns to choose what you are doing on a certain day. Beach one day, followed by trip round the zoo the next, or a visit to a local market. Maybe not exactly 'go with the flow' but many young children like to know what is happening when and this way everyone gets a say! You could even make a game of it and write suggestions down, pop them into a 'hat' and pick one out at random. 3. Bring your own portable entertainment kit If you have young children be sure to have plenty of portable activities to hand should you want to stop for a drink or a bite to eat. We find things like stickers, crayons, a few bits of lego or pot of play dough don't take up much room and can make the difference between having to dash straight off as soon as the children have put the last bit of food in their mouths, and being able to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine, or after dinner coffee. 4. Find company for your children Most children like being with other children, and if they're happy, chances are you'll be happy. If you can't face going on holiday with family or friends who have their own
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children, or being in the mele of a child orientated holiday park, try dipping in and out - find a local park, or perhaps choose a holiday villa with a shared pool where your children can mix with other holiday makers. 5. Keep things easy If you feel like a break from the kitchen while you're on holiday then just keep things easy. Eating out or simple meals like pasta will give you a well earned break. And, if you have young children, you may well want to stock up on tried and tested favourites before you travel like jars of baby food that you know your little one likes, fruit puree in handy pouches and healthy snacks. 6. Compile your own CDs Why not spend a bit of time before you go compiling a few new CDs to listen to in the car or at your holiday destination? Choose tracks together that won't drive you bonkers having to listen to them time and time again! 7. Create a travel journal A simple idea that kids of all ages love and enjoy is creating a holiday journal. Buy a scrapbook or notebook before you go and some small tubes of pritt stick. Then when you are out and about they can stick in tickets of places you have visited, leaflets, postcards and decorate it with drawings they like. Another great way of keeping the children happy and entertained while you sit down for a break in a cafe or pop out for something to eat! 8. Share the routine It may sound an obvious one but sharing the routine can give everyone a break. If you have early risers, why not take it in turns to have a lie in, or do the evening baths? Sometimes it's best to divide and conquer so that you can all have a bit of time out and rest if that is what you hanker after as part of your holiday! 9. Try new things together For me, part of the fun of a holiday, as well as trying to recharge the batteries, is about trying new things. Most children love experimenting so why not try some fun new things together that you don't normally get the time or opportunity to do. It may be as simple as going to a local farmer's market and tasting the cheese or trying a new activity together such as a family bike ride. 10. Bring some home comforts Many children feel happier and more secure with a steady bedtime routine and often it is best not to rock the boat when you are away on holiday. Bringing along their favourite bedtime toy, book or blanket to cuddle can do wonders for smoothing the way into a peaceful night for everyone.
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10 tips for travel sickness with children
Travelling with children can be challenging enough - throw travel sickness into the equation and you bring a whole new meaning to the concept of challening travel! Having been there more times than I care to remember with our son we have pulled together a handy list of tips and remedies you might find useful as well. What causes travel sickness? Travel sickness, or motion sickness, is essentially caused by the brain not being able to match up different bits of information it is receiving. For example, if you are reading a book in a moving car then your body and eyes are telling you that you are stationary, but your balance receptor in your inner ear is telling you that you are on the move. Some people can handle this fine, others can't and will start to feel nauseous, tired and generally unwell. How to avoid it & how to deal with it. 1. Avoid large meals before and during traveling, particularly dairy & acidic foods/drinks. That bowl of weetabix your son had for breakfast just doesn't look that great when decorating the inside of your car! 2. Try the off the shelf travel sickness tablets before you travel - find one that works well for your child. 3. If you don't like the idea of taking any form of medication there are travel sickness wristbands and aromatherapy products that might help. 4. Don't let your child read for long periods on moving vehicles - get them to sit still and look out of the window so that their eyes are in tune with what is actually happening. 5. Take their mind off it - if your child is worried about feeling sick, the worry is probably just going to contribute to feeling unwell. Instead, try to keep their mind off things. If they complain that looking out of the window is boring then you might want to try some of our car travel activities which will keep them looking outside and distract them at the same time. 6. If your child feels sick and you can stop, then stop. This is obviously not always immediately possible. If you are in the car, then open the window to let some fresh air in and encourage them to take some deep breaths. Nausea tends to go in
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waves so try and 'coach' them through each bout. Most children like counting so you could get them to breathe in slowly for a count of 3 and out for a count of 3. Count along with them to help them through the poorly phase. Try getting them to breathe in through their nose and out through their mouth. This will help calm their bodies down and give them something positive they can focus on doing. 7. If you are on a mode of transport where you can't stop then try to find the place with the least motion and sit, or preferably lie, there. If you are on a ferry, wrap up, get onto the deck, use the breathing exercises above and get your child to look at a point on the horizon, and if you can see land, then to focus on that. 8. If you carry a cool bag with you, take along a clean, damp flannel in a plastic bag and keep it in there. Place it on their brow if they start to feel unwell and again, as well as soothing them, the act of holding it in place will give them something to do. 9. Carry a receptacle incase you do reach the point of no return and your child is going to be sick. We find an old tupperware box works best as it something firm to hold onto, rather than a bag, and you can put a lid on it afterwards! 10. Finally, if you are going on a journey with a child that is prone to travel sickness here is a useful checklist of items you should pack before you go. We just pack them in a carrier bag and have it somewhere handy with us if we need it. Checklist - essential travel sickness kit: • • • • • • •
Old tupperware box for child to hold if feeling sick Old towel to lay on their lap Wipes to clean up your child Antibacterial wipes to clean up any mess made Cool, damp flannel to soothe brow Plastic bags for peeling off any messy clothes into, and one for any rubbish - that way you can tie it all up and bin it as soon as you reach somewhere convenient. Change of clothes - just an old t-shirt and leggings/tracksuit bottoms will do. Also for you! This is from bitter experience of a bout of travel sickness whilst taking the ferry to France. Our son threw up all over us and we didn't have any spare clothes to put on.
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Top tips on travelling with children
Your holiday is booked and now all you have to worry about is how to entertain your little ones on the journey. Oh, and then there is all the packing and the ‘extra’ items you need to take! Whether you are going abroad or holidaying in the UK, there always seems so much to organise. We have our top 5 tips for travelling with children: 1. Entertainment - For long trips whether it is in the car or on a flight, make up a little pack of ‘new’ toys/activities that you can give to your little ones before the journey starts. Because, they are new it also means that they won’t get so bored easily. You don’t have to spend much money either. You can include a pack of cards, a small pack of crayons and a little colouring book with stickers. Fuzzy Felts is always a good one too. 2. Rest breaks - If you are driving, always take a break. This will ensure that your child has a chance to stretch their legs. It is also a good idea to take some finger snacks or fruit and some drink within the car. Some good ideas are raisins, bananas, breadsticks etc. 3. Multiple use – Only pack what you need to minimise packing and make it work hard for you eg nappy bags are great for holding wet swimsuits and baby wipes are essential. They are great for cleaning hands, bums and any other messes along the way. 4. First Aid Kit - Always, remember a First Aid Kit especially if in a foreign Country. It is easy to forget a First Aid Kit but it is essential. If you use Calpol or any other related medicines, it can be difficult to find or even ask for this abroad, so always take what you use, as at least you know what you are using and its safe. 5. Consider renting - Lastly, if you are struggling to get everything in the car, hire the equipment. Rentabuggy provides a Holiday Rental Service Nationwide. We stock a range of Pushchairs, Travel Cots, Highchairs, Stairgates, Sterilisers and more. We have also just launched our Holiday Welcome Packs, full of all the essentials you need for your holiday. All items are delivered and collected from your place of stay so it minimises your stress too! You can find out more information and book online at www.rentabuggy.co.uk.
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Our recommendations for happy camping
Children love the sense of camping outdoors and having nature surrounding them. If you are thinking of going camping as a family then don’t be put off, read our recommendations first! 1. Find a well located campsite Camping is a great option for the family but really you only want to use it as a base as most of the time you will be exploring. The UK Campsite website (http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk) will show you a list of Campsites by entering either a Town, County or Name. It will also show the facilities available. 2. Involve the children. Children love to feel like they are helping and even helping putting up a tent, will not only teach them a new skill but they will love the fact they are helping. You can even go further and strip back to nature and build a bonfire and roast marshmallows! 3. Pack lightly & double Up We've said it before but it's easy to get carried away with how much stuff you can pack. Remember many items can be used for more than one thing. Nappy wipes, are not only great for wiping bums, but cleaning stains, sticky hands and mucky faces. A great product to always pack is a little bottle of hand sanitizer (fab for the go). If you have one take a simple plastic box - comes in very useful for taking along a few toys for the kids and can also double up as a bath for the younger ones (better than trying to use the basins in the shower room!). 4. Plan for the weather. We all know the weather can change all the time, so plan for every element. Make sure you take your waterproofs and wellies too as some campsites can get very muddy in wet weather. Also flip flops and wellies are ideal for slipping on and slopping about in even in the middle of the night when you're half asleep. 5. Encourage new play. Yes, do take some toys but don’t overload your car with them. There are plenty of other games you can play with objects surrounding you. Take a teddy bear and plant him in the woods along with clues to help find him. See how many different objects they can find starting with a letter. Do take some small items, you can print off colouring sheets from the internet free and take a small bag of crayons too, which is great for the journey there! These can also be used as a great way of bathing more than one child. 6. Arrival pack If you've got young kids and are worried about them wandering off when you first
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arrive why not take an 'arrival pack' to keep them entertained? Pop a few simple toys into a bag they can play with by themselves - crayons, colouring book, stickers, a new book, bubbles to blow, stacking cups etc. Another great idea is a blow up paddling pool - fab diversion for kids of all ages which won't take up much room at all.
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Colouring in competition Colour in the picture and then take a photo, or scan it in and email it to julia@kidstravel2.com by 30th September 2010. The winning picture will win a ÂŁ10 KidsTravel2 voucher.
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