Hours in the car, long lines at airports, sit down dinners.  Waiting...waiting...waiting. 

Pretty sure I just listed all of your least favourite things to do with small children, am I right? No need to answer that; I can feel your power-nod from here. 

We've all been there! Holiday season approaches and with it comes all of the not-so-fun-but-necessary aspects of travelling with kids and you're dreading it. You've packed ALL THE THINGS and ALL THE SCREENS praying that 50 yogurt pouches and some well placed jellybean bribes and servo stops will get you through. 

What if I told you that you don't need to dread travelling with little kids? 

What if I told you that travelling with your kiddos could actually be...dare I say it...fun? 

Well it totally can be! We think we've done a pretty solid job creating the recipe for fun and smooth travel with little kids, tried and tested by us here at Play Card HQ. 

Travel Tip #1

Set your expectations low. 

Like super low. As low as they'll go. 

If you start any trip with the mental image of two little angels, quietly sleeping in the back seat, only waking to chirp "I love being in the car for 4 hours" then you are definitely going to be disappointed. BUT if you start your trip armed with the knowledge that your kids are...kids...then you will find yourself stressing way less! 
No one knows your kids like you do! If they're energetic, expect they're going to crave some movement and might climb a chair or need a few roadside stops to get their wiggles out. If they're talkative, expect a whole array of backseat chatter and choose to marvel at their curiosity for the world around them. 

Give them the grace to be kids! Then maybe one day they will be driving you somewhere on the holidays and you can repay them with 50 questions about why some cows have horns and some cows don't. 

Travel Tip #2

Take (or make) a travel game! 

Packing a game that is about the travelling you're doing is pure genius! If you're heading on an airplane, try an airplane themed colouring book or spend

some time playing Airplane I-spy! Alright I totally made that I-spy one up but you've got to learn to get a little creative here. 

Travel Tip #3

Make a busy bag! 

This one is a legit game changer guys. These bags of goodness keep my own kids occupied for hours on long drives! 

Think about what your kiddo enjoys playing with and what their needs might be on the trip. Are they going to want to fiddle? Will they be asking for a pen out of your handbag to draw with? Do they crave movement? 

My best advice is to make sure that whatever you pop into their busy bag is compact, relatively mess free (unless you like living on the edge) and needs little to no parental input.  

Here are my absolute favourite busy bag items:

• Small amount of lego in a small Tupperware
• Mini notebook and some pencils/pens
• Small vehicles (think Hotwheels size)
• I-SPY travel game 
• Laminated paper with dry-erase markers
• Stickers
• Peg dolls 
• Pop-it or other age-appropriate fidget toys
• Small books
• Empty spice jar with colourful matchsticks 
• Magnifying glass
• Binoculars
• Paddle pop sticks
• Pipe cleaners
• Clothes pegs
• A balloon
  

You'll also need to be conscious of your kids ages and stages here. Busy bags

are best used for children 2 years and over, when they can independently open the bag and use what's inside. 

If you're not sure what to actually put all this stuff in, our Storage Bags make a perfect busy bag. They're light weight, easy for little fingers to open and serve the dual purpose of holding your Play Card decks when you get home.

So there you have it! 

Now that you've got all this in your arsenal, we know you've got this in the bag. 

Happy travelling!