travel product - Pitstops for Kids

Travel gift for families: The Family Traveler’s Handbook

December 13, 2013 By Amy Hagstrom

Today, instead of offering a travel gift idea for kids, we’re reviewing a great travel gift from which the whole family can benefit. The The Family Traveler’s Handbook by Mara Gorman is a slam dunk of a stocking stuffer for any family on your list this season. This guidebook isn’t geared toward a single destination or style of travel; rather, it’s your new bible for family travel inspiration and how-to. Whether you love camping, road tripping, luxury travel, international travel, or any other sort, the Family Traveler’s Handbook helps you get started. Once you’ve targeted a destination, the book also carries you through your trip, with practical sections on making the most of your trip and traveling smarter.

What’s between the covers:

The Family Traveler’s Handbook answers the big questions first: where should you go on your annual family vacation? Should you fly or drive? How can you book hotel rooms or vacation homes smarter? I know from experience as a family travel expert that many parents get stuck right here. Travel can feel overwhelming–after all, it’s a big expense and you don’t want to mess it up! The Family Traveler’s Handbook offers answers that help parents identify what type of vacation would work best for them, and how to go about planning it.

Of course, you need the nitty-gritty, too. The subsequent sections of the book cover all those details you might not even think about, but make any family travel experience richer: how to keep your kid napping on the road. How to save money on food. Should you use public transit? Why or why not? How about public parks or local restaurants? How to know which are worth your time? All ages of kids are covered, helping parents plan whether they have toddlers or teens.

What sets The Family Traveler’s Handbook apart:

See these kids? You’re going to get to know them. And if you read author Mara Gorman’s blog, The Mother of All Trips, you already do. Let’s be honest here: even the most travel-crazy among us get bogged down reading a highly technical or practical travel guide. Instead, we want real, from-the-road stories, and in Mara’s book, you get just that. The practical information is there, don’t worry, but it’s peppered throughout with real-life anecdotes about real family travel…the good, the bad, and the hilariously funny. In other words, you’ll learn all you need to know about planning a family trip without even realizing it, you’ll be so entertained.

Read more testimonials, from additional family travel experts I know and trust, on the Traveler’s Handbook website. Pick up your copy on Amazon for just $15 or at Barnes and Noble or in ebook format. You have plenty of time to get one for the holidays!

In full disclosure, Pit Stops for Kids and yours truly are quoted in The Family Traveler’s Handbook, as we offer camping and outdoor adventure advice. However, I’d recommend the book regardless and was not compensated in any way to promote it. You can be sure it will be under our own tree this holiday season.

Follow our year-round Travel Gear We Use series, as well as our current Travel Gifts for Kids posts throughout December!

Product review: Little Passports

June 28, 2013 By Amy Hagstrom

We’re always on the lookout for educational products that teach kids about global destinations and cultures in a fun way. When we can’t travel the globe or the US, the next best thing is to learn about new places from home! Enter Little Passports. This subscription series is a home run: it’s creative, engaging, educational, and affordable.

What is Little Passports?

Basically, it’s a subscription for your kids. For the cost of a few magazine subscriptions, your kids get a package every month with activities, workbooks, art projects, and cultural lessons centered around one country or two US states. We’ve tried other educational subscriptions, but never have I seen one with so many features. Each monthly package comes with crafts, tangible items that represent the location, postcards, photos, and (actually fun) workbooks. In initial ‘Discovery’ kit includes an excellent world or US map.There’s a storyline every time which ties all the package elements together.

What sets Little Passports apart: We love the storytelling angle of Little Passports. The first month of subscription, your kids will receive a play suitcase filled with introductory materials. They’ll ‘meet’ Sam and Sofia, the two Little Passports characters, and learn their backstory: they’ve discovered a magical scooter which can take them to any state or country. (Think Magic Treehouse.) In subsequent months, Sam and Sofia return with a letter explaining what country or state they’re writing from. We find this to be a nice theme to hold the concept together: kids can immediately relate to the materials because of the fictional characters.

1. Choose the World Edition or the USA Edition:

We tried one of each, and are not sure which we like better. Our sample World Edition package was on Japan: we received our letter from Sam and Sofia describing the country and fun activities kids do there, such as origami and sushi rolling, then the kids were able to reach into the package to find a packet of origami paper and instructions, and a sushi eraser to use with the included worksheet. They got postcards from Japan, and a sticker to put on their suitcase or in their passport. Our USA Edition package included two states: California and North Dakota. There was a paper craft for each state, plus a workbook (one half on each state). Postcards, photos, and a letter from Sam and Sofia completed the kit.

Uses for your subscription: homeschooling, road trips, air travel, rainy days, boring weekends

Age range: both my eight-year-old and 11-year-old were engaged. The USA Edition actually has harder workbook materials in it for older kids, but the crafts and activities are geared to any age. My opinion: ages 4-6 with parent help (reading and helping with projects), ages 7-12 independently.

Can kids share? Absolutely. No need to buy more than one subscription per family.

Can you choose which destinations you receive? No. Therefore, Little Passports isn’t intended for travel planning or preparation in the direct sense. Rather, it’s intended for keeping kids excited about travel even when they’re at home, and for educating them about countries and states they have not visited (and may not have the opportunity to visit).

2. Choose a subscription plan:

You can buy month-to-month for $11.95, or can choose a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month plan. If choosing a plan, you’ll pay upfront, but save money. My suggestion: opt for the 3 month plan to try it out.

Pit Stops for Kids was given a sample of Little Passports at no cost, for the purpose of review.

BubbleBum travel booster seat product review

August 8, 2012 By Amy Hagstrom

It’s not too often that I am presented with something completely new in the travel with kids product line. When I received the new BubbleBum booster seat
for review, however, I was surprised: how could a small, lightweight, bright purple cinch bag contain a child’s car booster seat?

And yet it does. The BubbleBum is the first (to me, anyway) completely portable, travel booster seat for traveling families. The BubbleBum is lightweight, surface washable, and bright purple (a color tested and approved by kids of both gender). And yes, BubbleBum meets all US Federal Safety Standard regulations by the NTHSA. Watch a demo video of how Bubble Bum works.

Our review of the Bubble Bum couldn’t have come at a better time. While my kids have outgrown the need for a booster, my nephew (age 4) is in the prime of his car seat years. His mom (my sister, East Coast Pit Stops for Kids editor Kate Lepore), and I tried it out in a very real-life situation many families face: while on vacation.

Kate was flying solo with Homer (4) and Greta (1.5) from Massachusetts to vacation with us in Southern California. Her hands already overflowing with Greta’s 5-point harness car seat, she hated the idea of also lugging along (or paying to check) Homer’s booster seat. Nor did we want to buy a new one at our destination. The BubbleBum was the perfect solution. It packs down to a small sack when stowed, fitting in luggage or a carry-on, and takes less than 30 seconds to inflate (yes, you inflate it) and position. While the BubbleBum doesn’t have a full back, it does include a very helpful attachment to position the car’s shoulder belt to the correct level for your child. It deflates and stores away as fast as it’s set up. When it’s inflated, it’s 13x13x4.5, which means it even fits when your family is using two other car seats in a three-seat back row of a car or van.

We used the BubbleBum our entire week vacation, and Homer found it perfectly comfortable. (Bear in mind, however: if your child is used to having a full backrest to their booster, they may slouch a bit without it…it’s certainly hard to nap in the Bubble Bum.) It was easy to move the BubbleBum from one car to another, or from one seat to another. It will fit in any car with a shoulder belt, and is designed for kids over age 4 and 40 to 100 pounds. Note: The BubbleBum is not approved for use on airplanes (but there’s little use for a booster on-board, anyway).

We’ll definitely be bringing the BubbleBum for future vacations, but Kate took it home with her to Massachusetts, because it will also be helpful for preschool car pools and playdates closer to home. She’s also use it while in taxis in the city.