Traveling with a toddler can be an … adventure. Mason did really well and was so much fun at this age. Here are my five favorite things that made travel with a 2-1/2 year old easier:
PLAY-DO: This was a HUUUUGE hit. A medium-size lump came in its own resealable bag and kept him occupied for an hour while on the plane. It wasn’t too messy and cleaned up easy. I bought plain white (not on purpose) but was glad I did in case it got stuck to his pants. I also brought five or six little dinosaurs that he used in the Play-Do and that doubled as bath toys.
SOMETHING NEW: It was nice to have a sippy cup with a straw that folded under the lid, in case he dropped it on the ground. Regardless, he just liked having something new. The wisest lesson I’ve learned while traveling with toddlers and babies: sippy cups with flip-up straws will spray all over when you first flip the straw up after they’ve been pressurized in the plane for a while. Open slowly or risk spraying the row in front of you like we did a couple years ago!
NANA! We learned our lesson when just Matt & I took Mason to Mexico last year. It’s just easier and more fun to vacation with family or friends when you have little ones.
ADJOINING ROOMS! I don’t know if my parents would agree but we had the luxury of a door between our room on the cruise ship, and nana and papa’s room. It was nice to be able to hang in mom and dad’s room and chat or watch TV while Mason napped in our room (we just cracked the door between us). A few mornings when he woke up too early we told him to go see nana and papa, but before you think we’re the stinkers, keep in mind they pretended to be asleep.
A STURDY UMBRELLA STROLLER: I bought this Maclaren Volo umbrella stroller more than a year ago and it has held up so well. It was a breeze to fold up and even carry over my shoulder if I needed to. There aren’t any fancy bells and whistles (or drink holders – boo) but it’s lightweight and gets the job done. Mason even napped in it a few times. My one lesson learned is to not buy a light grey stroller; ours is always filthy looking, even after cleaning it.
*****
If I were to add one more, I’d say go to Disneyworld in January when it’s raining! Nothing makes a toddler less happy than standing in line for an hour for a ride that he can’t even go on. On the day we were at the Magic Kingdom, it poured for most of the morning but it was still about 75 degrees. The result? 5 MINUTE WAIT LINES AT MOST RIDES. At Disneyworld! Craziness.
Warm rain? 10 minutes to get on Splash Mountain? Sign me up! (you’re going to get wet anyway)
Bennett + Williams 