Guest Post {Getting There is Half The Fun}

Traveling with kids can be daunting. There’s always SO. MUCH. STUFF. To pack, to carry, to think about. My husband and I both have pretty serious wanderlust and we’re not usually happy unless we have at least one upcoming trip- near or far- on the calendar. Because of this our kids are pretty well traveled. At the tender ages of 2 and 3, my kids have been on more airplanes and logged more road trip hours than I had by the time I was 20.

So needless to say, when we were invited to Toronto to spend Passover with my husband’s cousins we immediately accepted. We have very close friends there as well, and since our kids were out of school for a week it was perfect timing. We had planned to drive (tips on long road trips with kids coming soon!) but after a quick hunt we found plane tickets that totaled about what we would have spent on gas for the 1,000-mile round-trip drive. A total score, especially given the propensity towards car sickness my munchkins have. 

A trivial matter for some but one I find quite annoying is managing the car seats. I hate them for the pain in the you-know-what that they are to uninstall and reinstall. But, since we were fortunate enough to have use of a car for the duration of our stay, it made sense for us to bring our own car seats as opposed to rent them upon arrival. It’s a bit of a pain but it doesn’t take long to uninstall them and pack them in travel bags. You can check car seats for free and they don’t count towards your baggage allowance.

In my experience, at many airports they will pull families with small children to the front of the security line. Don’t be afraid to ask, especially if the line is brutally long! We had plenty of time and minimal lines this time. My rules for surviving the airport are this:

1. Bring a lot of snacks. Well-fed kids are happy kids. 
2. If ever there was a time for an ipad/ipod/dvd this is it. 
3. Walk as much as you possibly can before boarding the plane. I do whatever I can to tire them out while we are able to move around freely. We have played Red Light/Green Light and I Spy for hours in airports. Sometimes I let them run up and down the hallways. (Go ahead. Judge me. I promise this is better than screaming kids with too much energy and no way to displace it on the upcoming flight.) 
4. Let them walk around the plane. For this flight it didn’t really matter since we were up and down within 80 minutes, but we’ve done quite a few transatlantic flights and you’ll usually find me walking up and down the aisles with one or both of my kids. Same rule applies. Better we are up and moving and pretty quiet than strapped into the seat and screaming. 
5. Lollipops are ideal for takeoff and landing. The swallowing helps those little ears deal with the changing pressure. 
6. Keep the sick bag handy. (My kids have been known to puke at inopportune times. Like right before landing after a long flight and 3 hours into a 10 hour drive. I guess every time is inopportune when it comes to vomit.) 

Happy travels!