With the holidays behind you, time to plan that trip!

Phew.. the presents have been mostly unwrapped, put away, enjoyed, or put into the 'return/regift' pile. As the dust settles, we all start to feel like we need a vacation! Why not?? It's fun to plan one at least, and we think that the 'journey' is as much fun as the destination. At Kids Travel Happy, we have a few tools that make planning a trip an educational and fun experience for kids.

Here are a few picks from our site to get you and your kids thinking and learning about places to visit near and far.

1) This Land is Your Land - Laminated Wall Map of USA, by eeBoo

• grommets for hanging on wall with string or nails, or thumb tacks
• laminated for long time use
• colorful with states and capitals labeled
• shows unique features (plant, animal etc) for each state
• comes with stickers so kids can label where they live, where grandma lives, where uncle lives, etc...
• makes a great decoration in kids room, play room, for homeschooling and more

2) Traveling out of the country? Try eeBoo's Laminated Map of the World

• similar features (colors, laminated, grommets) as above
• has a separate legend explaining the world's landmarks, agriculture, natural resources, wildlife, industry
• one corner dedicated to Biomes
• one corner dedicated to the 7 wonders of the world
• one corner dedicated to the solar system
• one corner dedicated to the parts of the atmosphere
• all of the world's countries listed around the edge of the map as well as on the map itself
• great way to teach kids their 'place' in the world

3) Noom & Raj Start a Business - a kit to help children learn about Money

this tool kit includes

• 3 MONEY BOXES - one each for Spending, Sharing, Saving
• Moonjar band to hold the boxes together
• a Passbook to keep track of where the money is going
• a guide to teach how to save, and how to keep a passbook
• a book with the story of Noom & Raj starting a business
• This is an excellent way to have a child save their spending money for a trip, and to teach them the value of spending, sharing and saving

Please visit our website for more details, and other ideas (such as a book about 1000 Places to see before you Die) for trips and products to make it more enjoyable for everyone