Travel Essentials you can find at your home

(click on photo to learn more about Maine Maple Sunday)

As I was packing today to go to a Maine Maple Sunday event (including samples of REAL Maple Syrup on Vanilla Ice Cream...YUM!), I realized how many things I pack up that are from the house yet seemingly essential, even for just a 5 hour 'away from home' day of activities. It got me to thinking that I could pass this list on to others.

Here's what I make sure to have in our 'essential kit'.

• snacks for kids (NEVER leave home without them, we find that our boys - nearly 3 and 6 - will even eat the "big people's snacks as well!)
• water bottles for kids (or, juice etc, but water is economical! try a stainless steel bottle)
• band-aids (preferably distractingly colorful, characters or designs)
• antibiotic ointment (for above!)
• reusable bags (for small toy parts, dirty diapers, trash, etc.- you'll be amazed at the uses)
  
• small tissue packs (you never know when that public bathroom/rest area will be out!)
• baby/travel wipes (too many uses to name!)
• hand sanitizer (check out this cool little 'pen' - ready to go anywhere, inconspicuously!)
  
• dress your kids in similar (brightly!) colored clothing if you are going to be in a crowd, better yet, give them a balloon or other easily recognizable item if they tend to be 'wanderers'
  
• a time (digital or sand timer, or watch timer) - we find that we use the "OK, you can have that for 2 minutes, then your brother gets it for two minutes....". It seems to solve many disputes
• reusable cloth shopping bags - we use these to organize extra clothes, dirty clothes (it IS mud season here, along with 'wet' snow season), groceries, lunch, toys and more. There is never a cloth bag that ever comes home empty, no matter if it's just going to town or on a big trip with hours of flying

The above is just a quick list off the top of my head. I post it here for my own memory as well as to possibly help your family. Please feel free to comment with your ideas for travel "essentials" from home and/or 'no purchase necessary'. Oh, and we highly recommend 'Maine Maple Sunday' if you are in our fine state. Your tastebuds will thank you (and you may learn a bit about sapping, boiling, making real maple syrup, and appreciate it's expense - SO worth every cent!).