The trip is perfectly planned, you've crossed all of the "t's" and dotted all of the "i's", made all of your connections without a hitch. After arriving at the dream beach house, the inclement weather arrives, and you've found you are NOT prepared for this situation.... (oh, and we want to help you NOT turn on the TV.....)
Here are a few things you can do almost anywhere, anytime....
Lean 'em" card toss game: no card reading skills necessary, just deal the cards out evenly amongst the players, choose a spot away from a wall, and try to toss and get the most of YOUR cards to lean up against the wall (obviously easier on a carpeted floor, but take the challenge on a hardwood floor!). Make up your own point system for those leaning tall or horizontally etc.. Different colored decks of cards per player make it easier to figure out who owned which cards (or sort by suit)
Trail Mix: Head to the kitchen and mix up some trail mix. Go traditional and use peanuts and raisins, add chocolate (make it colorful with M&Ms), we also like to add any 'brown' cereal (like bran chex), pretzels, Goldfish snacks - use your (healthy) 'snacking' imagination
Draw a Meal: have a child that doesn't want to help put a meal together? Get him/her a placemat-sized piece of paper (or try one of these DOODLE pads to get you going), and have them sketch out their napkin, knife, fork, spoon, plate(s), glass/cup, etc. - ending with drawing their meal!
Crayon Rubbings: add a piece of paper and rub over any object. Things that are always handy; coins, puzzle pieces, pieces of cloth, bandaids, rubber bands, paper clips
Collage: gather newspapers and old magazines, child safe scissors and some glue sticks and let the creating begin. A great exercise in 'art from recycling!'
Dollar Quiz: can your child find the following: name of the President, where the bill was printed, Series year, value of the bill, how many times the value (number) of the bill is on it, make up your own 'finds'
Learn Sign Language... start with the Alphabet, here's a link to a site we like.
Play the little game of "I'm on a trip, the weather is NOT cooperating, and I wish I'd brought....". We like to play starting with an "A" object, then "B" etc... as the next person has to repeat all previous items before adding a new one, and it makes it a bit easier to remember that way
Silent Game :-) Challenge the kids (and adults!) to 'how many minutes can you go....' without speaking, moving, blinking.... or whatever you'd like them to try. Or just do a charade like game where you must communicate without talking.
A few things we recommned having for an 'emergency'
It's nearing the holiday season, and if your family is like mine, as the shorter days of winter approach, you are looking for a way to keep the TV off and the brains growing! My kids LOVE puzzles (as do I), but we always run into the issue of which puzzle to do, seeing as 'my' puzzles are a bit too challenging and sometimes frustrating for my 4 and 7 year old boys, and 'their' puzzles, well, they don't really WANT my help!
To the rescue.... the Ravensburger FAMILY puzzle. It has 3 sections, with 3 different sized pieces, for variety of ages, starting at 4 years of age. These 3 sections all interlock, making it the PERFECT family puzzle. Fun, fun!! We love it, and everyone is happy!
Keep your eyes on Ravensburger Puzzles at Kids Travel Happy! Soon to come are 'puzzle balls' for fun, holiday decor, even a functional globe (over 500 pieces!!)
I must say, there were many fun people that I met at the Toy Fair, and I frequently find that it's the smaller companies that i'm generally attracted to, as I feel as though they are much like me (or, at least what we strive to be at KidsTravelHappy.com). Ideally, I want to conduct business the Old Fashioned way - provide innovative products, fast/fair shipping, and extraordinary customer service. Through the next few posts, I want to highlight some companies that took extra time to show/explain their product, and made me want to support their businesses even more (hopefully, you will want to also!).
First I would like to thank the Happy Kid Company, a company that is committed to the Specialty Toy Market. They perfer to produce locally, have a top quality product in smaller quantities (and smaller markets), and are not yet tempted by the idea of rapid growth/distribution.
What does the Happy Kid Company produce? Only the coolest 'fort' components imaginable.
ALL of their 'fort' options are great because they can be used indoors or out, promote creativity and imagination, are very high quality, washable, and we love that they are easily portable. More specifically, these are the offerings....
The Original Fortamajig Single Layer: this is an 8x8 foot square of durable material. With a built in window and door, it's easy for kids to make custom playspaces (nearly anywhere!)
The Original Fortamajig Reversible: same as above butis a double layer/double color construction, for even more durability and fort making color options
The Original Fortamajig Connectables This is the ultimate in travel fun, comes in it's own ready to go backpack with 6 colorful squares, the Connectables allow you to have fort-making tools anywhere - for sunny days, or rainy ones.
Best of all, for 2010, the prices for each of the items has gone down, further proof that this company is determined to provide a high quality product for a fair price.
One of our top picks for "imaginary journeys", yet easy enough to take along on any "real" one.
It's raining, you're on a wonderful trip to a tropical setting (or, maybe you are JUST at home!), with the beach in mind, but the weather is NOT cooperating. A couple of young children (but mostly YOU) are bummed about being inside. What to do?
Of course, you can do things like go to a movie, find a Children's Museum, or other activities that cost money. BUT, we find this is the best time to take those "imaginary journeys", make the best of it, and hope the weather is perfect (or at least adequate) soon.
preschoolers: 'super-heroes', wizards or princesses, as the silks can be tied as a cape or as a headdress
for school-age: dress up is still a great activity, or use the silks to make forts with chairs; we also like to use silks for play surfaces; green for magic forests, blue for mythical oceans
One of our favorite school-age (and up) 'imaginary' journey activities is the Think-ets Storytelling Game. Why you may ask? It's a simple concept - a small mesh bag with at least 10 little random trinkets in it. There are many variations, but basically, the idea is for someone to pick one, begin a story, the next person then picks one, continues, and so on. One could also pick multiple 'trinkets' to start the story. Never the same story twice, and you can even add your own little treasure 'trinket' pieces to expand the options. OR, get multiple sets!
Want to go all out? Don't want to sacrifice the furniture to the 'hideout' or 'fort' building? Try a Crazy Fort Construction Kit, and make a castle, an igloo, or just a cube and throw any old sheet on top. Better yet, take an old sheet and let the kids draw details on their creation. Packs easily back in the box it comes in, and simple to take along for emergency 'bad weather', especially for road trips, or visits to Grandma/pa's house!
Where were all of these innovative things when I was a kid??
Before you know it, the weather will improve (or at least everyone's mood will!) and you'll wonder where the time went.
For more 'Rainy Day' or 'At the Destination' ideas check this LINK. And, remember, sometimes the best journeys go no where at all except in the mind.
We thought finding a quality Hula Hoop for our shop wouldn't be so difficult. We've had a few requests at our storefront, and thus went 'on the hunt' for a match between quality, and packability (keeping in mind that we are primarily a TRAVEL activity store!). Well, not many companies offer a solid Hula Hoop that comes apart. After searching near & far, we are so psyched to have found and to offer an 8-piece Hula Hoop unlike any other (at least in our humble opinion).
The Hula Hoop is 'wavy' which helps keep the hoop on the hips more easily, especially for beginners. The basic hoop one weighs about a pound, and we also carry a 1.5 and 2.0 pound version. All versions pack well for travel. You will be wanting this classic activity to borrow from your kids for fitness! We believe it's a great way to keep kids (and adults) active during travel or anytime. At $8.99 for the 1 pound version it's hard to resist! And, although the 1 pound is described as for 0-60 pound kids, we find it the perfect 'one size fits all' Hula Hoop.
We recently had a Hula Hooping Contest at a local fair in Bethel, Maine with the 1 pound version, and the winner kept it orbiting around his for over 33 minutes, and may have been longer if it weren't for an unsuspecting spectator. (OK, the challenge has been set!) We thought this would be a fun thing to giveaway. Our experience last weekend had us realizing this is something that brings out fond memories for 'big people' and renewed curiosity in the next generation of hip "swayers"!
Would you like to win one?! One lucky winner will receive the 1 pound, 8-piece Sports Hoop, and FREE standard shipping within the U.S. We always extend the FREE shipping offer to any additional items you care to order, but, of course, there is no obligation to do so.
It's easy, here are several ways you earn entries (feel free to enter in ONE method or ALL or any amount in between!)
become a follower of our BLOG (on the right-hand column of our BLOG)
follow us on Twitter, comment here with your twitter name so we can check
RT about this contest and include @kidstravelhappy as proof, and comment here that you tweeted
go to our home page and join our newsletter (sign up is lower LEFT of screen, you may have to scroll down)
leave a comment about a Hula Hoop memory you may have
visit this link, and tell us what other classic toy/game you like from our site
blog about this giveaway, and leave a comment here with the link (this is worth 5 entries, so leave 5 comments about it)
Remember, basically, you should leave a comment for every way you participate so that you earn the proper entries, we will check links etc.
WINNER to be ANNOUNCED on August 5th (NOTE: this has been extended as we posted this contest late this month), with help from Random.org. Entries received until August 4th at 11:59PM Eastern Time.
We're very excited to have found and added some really fun, exercise-based activities that pack small for travel. This week we feature the company "Just Jump It" as a NEW addition to our lineup of offerings.
Remember 'Romper Stompers'? Just Jump It offers their 'modern' version, the 'EZ Stepper'. Strings are adjustable to make handles for those small or tall, and they hold up to 100 pounds (this over 100-pounder, has done NO damage to them yet, however!!).
Next on the list of easy to pack, fun to play, is the 'skipper' - a nicely weighted ball with a bell (makes a soothing 'jingle' when it is shaken) on a sting with a loop that is stepped into and positioned on an ankle. Place the ball behind you and kick forward to get it going. Very little space is needed to get kids moving - use in an airport, at the playground, waiting for the bus, or at a rest area to get the 'blood' flowing. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the challenge.
Lastly, from Just Jump It, is a solid-colored, polypropelene (and washable!) jump rope. You can get an 8-foot, solo rope, or a 16-foot 16-foot ropes for 'double-dutch'). These do NOT come with handles, but for good reason - adjust the knot at the end of the rope depending on the size of the user, and it's a one-size fits all, high-quality jump rope. We really like the 'swing weight' of the rope, and it's a good value at $5.50 for the 8-foot rope. multi-player rope (or, TWO).
These were so popular at a recent festival in town, we almost ran out! We think you'll LOVE them too. Not only are they a perfect travel activity, they add some exercise to any summer outing.
(Hmm... maybe a good future GIVEAWAY item?). Stay tuned for MORE ideas for on-the-go exercise toys and activities!
This topic occurs to me as I'm siting at the computer and my kids are running out the last of their evening's energy. Balls, any kind, size, or form see to spark the imagination and play of almost any child (or, adult for that matter).
We have a rule in our house about how high a ball can go (knees or below) EXCEPT when we play toss around the living room. It DOES have to be a soft ball, and if anything breakable becomes at risk we DO end the game, but oh what fun. We each choose a corner of the living room, and begin by tossing a couple of balls around. Simple, cheap, nothing to plug in, nothing to do the thinking for you (or the kids). OK, I must say, I couldn't resist and had to join in the fun with "Daddy" and my 2 boys, 3 and 5 years old. This lasted 30 minutes or so, until it was time to get PJs on and transition to bedtime stories, but would've lasted longer had we started earlier.
This got me to thinking, never leave without some sort of ball to pass the time. What can we offer at KidsTravelHappy.com? Here are a few easily packable suggestions....
Guatemalan Footbag: perfect for a game of toss anywhere, or to 'hack' around, indoors or out
Inflatable Globe Beach Ball: packs flat, educational, blows up to a fun-sized beach ball, and ready for hitting back and forth
Hi Bounce Ball: great for rest stops or super-bouncing, not so great for inside, as it's quite hard
Juggling Balls: aside from learning/practicing one's juggling skills, these toss well too
