My Five Best Travel Tips for Families

Taking a trip with the kids? While I have no tips on making them be perfectly behaved on the airplane flight, or adventurous diners in new locales, I do have a few travel tips from our family trips:

1. Pack Downey Wrinkle Releaser. This stuff actually works, and is great to de-wrinkle clothes after they've been packed in your suitcase. You can get Downey Wrinkle Releaser in three sizes, including one that's small and perfect for travel. It also helps eliminate odors which is a feature that can come in handy on a trip, too.

2. Bring something fun for the kids to play with that's new to them. Even if your kids usually pass the time while traveling with screens and books, it's always fun to bring along something unexpected to capture their amusement for awhile. A friend told me about surprise balls, and they are the perfect addition to a trip. Surprise balls are filled with trinkets and candy, and kids have to peel away the layers of streamers to reveal the treats. My kids, ages 5 to 11, loved unwrapping their surprise balls. We got our from Reveries & Fancies on Etsy, and they were perfect ($8 - $18 depending on size, lots of fun designs available).

Another great pick for a travel to is the Tegu Pocket Pouch Prism ($25), which is a set of six magnetic blocks with a carrying case that is just the right size for on-the-go fun and is good for all ages.

3. Make sure your kids carry a bag. Depending on their age, this may be more for their own amusement, but as they get older you'l find that even a small bag shouldered by a kid is one less bag being shouldered by you. There are so many cute options for kids from backpacks to tiny duffel bags, to rolling suitcases. One innovative option is Trunki ($40) which is a ride on suitcase made just for kids.

4. Make sure you can find your stuff. Tie a ribbon on the suitcase handle, add a stripe of colorful Duck Tape to the side of the bag, but nothing is worse than arriving at your destination and having to hunt for your luggage. I love these whimsical luggage tags from Miamica ($5).

5. Look for discounts on museums and other attractions ahead of time. I had no idea there were so many deals if you buy tickets before you go, not to mention that a ticket in hand often means you can avoid entrance lines. CityPASS is a great deal, offering significant discounts when you purchase a book with entrance to multiple places within a single city. You can buy CityPASS online for various cities including Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta and Philadelphia. The price and number of attractions varies in each city, but all offer big savings as well as the ability to bypass most lines.

I received a free sample of Downey Wrinkle Releaser and a Manhattan CityPASS. All other items our personal picks from years of traveling with my kids.

Disney Goes On the Road to Philadelphia - and so do I!

Last month I was invited to join in a truly magical day - the Philadelphia stop of the Disney On the Road Social Media Moms Celebration.

The buzz online prior to the event had my expectations pretty high, so I was thinking to myself how the event would never live up to the hype. But of course like all things Disney are amazing, so was this event.

It was my first Disney Social Media Moms event, and it was friendly, incredibly well-run, and full of surprises, too.

I also got to meet in real life many New Jersey bloggers I had only known from our online interactions, so that was one of the big highlights of the day. Here we are showing our Disney Side with a side of Jersey!

Another highlight was getting to meet Debra from The Harried Mom and Gary Buchanan, who does PR & Social Media for Walt Disney World & Disney Parks.

At the event there were several fantastic speakers, including a few from Disney who are experts in social media, blogging and online engagement in general. Here are just a few of the many tips I learned at the conference:
- Always, always, always take video horizontally. It's a simple rule, but it's an important one, too.
- When possible, write posts as a series on your blog. A series on a specific topic really pulls readers in and keeps them there.
- Provide the background and history behind things - people love getting the full story.
- Look for sneak peaks and insider information you can give your readers. Anything that is news about what's coming in the future, what goes on behind the scenes or that readers can't get anywhere else is very compelling content.

Speaking of which, here's some Disney insider information I got at the conference:
- There are lots of cool changes coming to Disney Parks, like the recently opened New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World, which also includes a brand-new parade, The Festival of Fantasy, filled with music and dancing.
- Also recently opened is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, an adventurous family coaster (riders must be at least 39 inches).
- Disney always has ongoing re-imaginings (that's Disney-speak for remodeling) in its restaurants and other spaces.
- Disney has a commitment to creating interactive queues which themselves are part of the ride experience, and as a mother with 3 young children, I couldn't be in more support of that very important initiative.

Thank you Disney for a truly magical experience at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in Philadelphia, I even got to meet Mickey!

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post or attend the event. I did receive a fabulous gift bag for attending.

Month In Review: It's July Already?!

How is it already July?! It seems like just yesterday the blank slate of June was in front of me, and all of my good intentions to scritch scratch my entire to do list off during my self-declared Being a Grown-Up Month.

Being a Grown-Up Month was an epic fail: I got nothing done. But in my defense, Being a Grown-Up Month's success was stymied by all the things I had to do because I am in fact already a grown-up, so I'm giving up on the idea - at least for now. July and August are no time for being a grown-up in general, let alone for tackling endless lists of things to do. (Unless your my husband, in which case you should feel free to get on all those home repair projects I like to nag you about right away.)

Last week, we took our annual family vacation to Delmarva which was great as it always is, photographic evidence here:

You may notice the absence of any photos of Magpie - she missed our trip because she is at sleep away camp, and while I want to think she is sad to have missed it the numerous photos from camp say otherwise, as does this letter in which she spends the entirety of it making her case to stay at camp longer.

 

In case you can't read it, the last line is "I miss you... sarcastic font."

In addition to taking a vacation, I also wrote some stuff, including:

Golf Courses About in the Westfield Area - public and private courses as well as where to mini-golf!

Music, Movies and More - Summertime Fun in and Around Westfield - so many fabulous events and things to do for families, most of them free!

Great Stationery for Sleepaway Camp - there are tons of awesome ideas for camp stationery, but not so many ideas on how to get your kids to actually use it.

And last, but not least, I won a VOTY! If you aren't a blogger, this will definitely mean nothing to you (and if you are a blogger, it probably still doesn't mean anything to you) but all the same, getting the email that my post I'd Like to Thank the Academy was one of twenty selected by BlogHer as a "Voice of the Year" in the humor category was better than another email from a Nigerian Prince about my riches that never seem to materialize. Way better.

Click here to read the full list of VOTY winners.

And Happy July!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Photos from our Family Vacation to Ireland

Thanks to my brother Ethan for letting me lift these photos from his blog, American Vernacular Landscapes.

All photos taken 12 years ago next month, which seems like a very long time ago but also sorta like it was just yesterday.

If these pictures look familiar, it's because I also posted them last year.

For more St. Patrick's Day posts from the Random Handprints archives, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Kids Chillin' in Florida

We spent Thanksgiving in Florida visiting my Dad.

We had a great time, we were all happy to see Grandpa (and he, us of course), the warm weather was delightful, and we got to introduce the kids a lot of cool stuff in Florida - a trip to Miami, a visit to famous beaches, and grits and fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast.

But I think one of their favorite memories will be of just chillin' in the big hammock.

Ah, to be a kid...

Kay and Big Duckie

When we were on vacation at the beach we had one particularly long rainy day, so we spent part of the afternoon taking photos of Kay and Big Duckie (don't ask how that guy got to come along on our family vacation).

She's emulating a once (very) popular website, which I think goes back as far as the 1990s. I don't think we called it a blog back then, but that's what it was.

I just checked and the site is still alive, although the last two updates were once in 2008 and once in 2006. Let's hope he (or she) has gone on to bigger and better things.

Does anyone else remember this site, or am I the only one who was a fan?

Linking-up to Finding the Funny at Kelley's Breakroom and My Life and Kids. Check it out, you'll laugh (not cry).



At the Playground: Ocean View, Delaware

Every summer we vacation in Bethany Beach, Delaware.

In addition to all the other great things about the place, there is a really fantastic - and shady - playground in Ocean View, the next town over.

This year my two older kids spent their mornings at tennis camp, which meant Ziggy got to spend his mornings at the playground.

Which of course, meant I got to spend my mornings at the playground, too.

But I'm not complaining, because I know all too soon he'll be at tennis camp, too.


All photos taken by my brother at John West Park, Ocean View, Delaware.

Old Photo Friday: Down the Shore on July Fourth

Every year for July Fourth, we head to our family house down the shore as I call it since moving to Jersey. I think prior to moving to New Jersey I just said we were going to the beach.

I went through the photos from three and four years ago, and here are a few favorites from summer's past.

And here's are photos from last year, so Ziggy isn't left out of any old photo fun.



There are some photos I think we must recreate this year, assuming I can get willing participation.

I would so love a re-do of the pillow on Magpie's head, the Uncle and Kelly leg lift, and Ziggy and his tie-wearing, stroller pushing walk on the boardwalk.

And of course, we'll be taking old timey photos like this one of Ziggy from last year.

Happy July Fourth!!

If you're looking for craft and cooking ideas for celebrating the Fourth of July, or random photos of my family celebrating the holiday, check out the July Fourth archive.

This is my weekly installment of Old Photo Friday. If you have an old photo of your own to share, leave a comment below and I'll come by and visit!

Old Photo Friday: The Memorial Day Beach Special

I will admit: I do love digging around the old photos on Fridays.

Tonight, I found this gem.

Me, around age 6, wearing a red, white and blue bathing suit.  How perfect for Memorial Day weekend!

This awesome, arty photo was taken by my brother who was all of about eight at the time.

And here we are, enjoying a nice summer day at the beach.

Nice visor, bro.

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I post old photos on Fridays. I'm not quite sure why. Happy Weekend everyone!

Old Photo Friday: Me Ten Years and One Week Ago

This is me, in Nevada visiting the scenic sites of Hoover Dam and the Red Rock Canyon, exactly ten years and one week ago today.

One marriage and three kids later, I'm sure I haven't aged one bit.

Being Thankful

This post is from 2008.

Our little clan had a tropical twist on Thanksgiving this year, with a non-oft vacation to celebrate in Puerto Rico.

On Thanksgiving, right before bed, after eating too much, sunning to much, and swimming way too much, I exclaimed"Hey! We should all say what we're thankful for!"

Mike and I said some boring platitude stuff, Kay added an inspiring "me too" and Magpie stole the show with: "I'm thankful for Hashem for this perfect little sister," and kissed Kay on the head.

Happy Thanksgiving.

What are you grateful for?

Wordless Wednesday: In Mommy's Shoes

Last weekend, my husband and I went to a dear friend's wedding. In Chicago. Without our kids. It was fantastic.

Before we left, I let my kid take a trip down the hallway in mommy's fancy shoes.

He was delighted.

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Coming next week, the Polly Pocket retrospective I thought I'd have done already. It's taking longer than I thought it would. That girl has got a lot of shoes. And purses.

Sorta Wordless Wednesday - Our Bethany Beach Vacation

We took a vacation, which is using the term loosely as I was alone with my three small children most of the time, and let's be honest that makes a vacation at best vacation-ish.  (MannahattaMamma pointed out to me it was actually a family trip and that vacation doesn't figure into it at all.)

Still, there were lots of good times. We went peach picking...

... which lead to homemade Peach Cobbler. And was it good, and easy to make. I'll post the recipe soon.

We also ate a huge amount of my favorite food in the world, and local speciality, Maryland Blue Crabs. I am proud to say my kids liked them too - and why shouldn't they like food you get to smash with a hammer?

There was my son Ziggy's delight of steering the car carts at the local grocery store:

And my introduction to an incredibly delicious cookie I never even knew existed (and probably shouldn't), Bergers Cookies from Baltimore:

We read Misty of Chincoteague (a favorite book of my childhood) and got a non-fiction book about Assateague as we planned our August visit there to see the wild ponies:

There were trips to the zoo, the beach, the boardwalk and the local nature center. I'm so grateful to Mel of Delaware Beach Families for sharing all her tips and insider knowledge. If you are planning a visit to the Delaware Beaches follow her @DeBeachMoms on Twitter, she is an incredible resource.

We also got lots of fun ideas and guidance from the awesome duo from Host our Coast, also on Twitter, @HostOurCoast. If you have questions about places to go and things to do in the Bethany Beach area and beyond... they have your answers. And, my kids and I were even lucky enough to meet them in person!

And kids being kids, there was a skinned knee, photographed to email to Daddy:

And when my daughter Kay worried that the photo did not show the true extent of the severity of her injury, there was this (somewhat staged) photo so he would know her anguish:

Not to be outdone, a few days later there would be a visit to "Camp Beebe"

And photos emailed to Daddy of his patched-up daughter in the ER:

Needless to say, we were happy to see Dad when he showed up at the end of the work week to join us for the drive back.

And it was nice to be home again in New Jersey.

Note: It would have been even nicer to be home if my husband and mowed the lawn and watered my beloved garden. Which by the way were the only two things I asked him to do. But that, dear readers, is an instruction for another time...

What I'm Thinking About Sunday Night: Pirates, Boardwalks, and All Things New Jersey

It's Sunday night, and we're back safe and sound in New Jersey. We had a great two-week vacation at the beach where we celebrated July Fourth for about a week, and then spent the other week dressing up like pirates. Oh, and my son also spent a good amount of time grooming his inner toddler metrosexual.

It was all fun times, but I'm glad to be home just the same.

For those of you who are long time Random Handprints readers (for which I am super crazy thankful) you might remember back when I announced I was now writing for ShePosts and Momtrends. 

And today I get to share the exciting news that I am now also a writer for New Jersey Family magazine.

So far, I've written about free outdoor movies and free outdoor concerts, as well as about July being National Blueberry Month and National Picnic Month.

For all the Jersey readers, please let me know if you have anything you'd like me to cover... I'm totally on it.

It's Pirates Week at the Beach!

Our week at the beach has been all about the pirates.

Starting with our neighbors, who my kids are fairly certain really are real-life pirates:

The always popular pirate mini-golf:

My son wearing his ever-present pirate costume:

And my daughter, Magpie, also enjoying the pirate garb:

And look! How cute, pretending she is a pirate with an eye patch like the one on her tee shirt:



And today? That's right, in a stunning example of life imitating art, here is my daughter sporting her very own eye patch:

Which leaves me with just one word left to say... AARGH.

PS The kid (and her eye) is gonna be fine. Her mother - after a trip with three kids to the ER - needs a vacation from her vacation.  I am reminded why I am a vacation avoider in the first place.