Air Travel with Toddlers - 8 Tips to Make Toddler Trips Easier!

If you are gearing up for the upcoming travel season, we can help! It can be an adventure traveling with your children (especially toddlers).

Here's a short checklist for any parents who are traveling with their toddlers!

◻️ Talk about the trip with your child BEFORE you leave home

◻️ Find a game/stuffed animal to help your child pass the time in the security line

◻️ Pack your own TSA friendly/kid friendly snacks in a gallon sized bag

◻️ Find out if the airport has a mini playground or museum before you leave home

◻️ Pack new dollar store toys for every hour of your flight

◻️ Play "find it" with the in-flight magazine pictures

◻️ Make sure each child has their own backpack (you can even pack clothes in there)

◻️ Clean the tray tables, arm rest, and windows when your family is seated

Have a great week and plan for upcoming travel! Also, check out our book about family travel! - http://tinyurl.com/familytravelhacks

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

About Weekends Count - Weekends Count is a Millennial Family Travel, Fun, Food and Activities blog based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. We review hotels, travel and household items, and millennial family experiences!

Authors - Jennifer and Tony Edwards

Here's a link to our press kit/media kit - http://www.weekendscount.com/p/our-media-kit.html

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Granbury TX 76048
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Remember to Purchase or Download Our Family Travel Book on Amazon! - Family Travel Hacks and Tips for Any Budget!

10 Millennial Friendly Items Your Hotel, City, or Airport is Missing!

As a millennial traveler for business and personal purposes, I value extra amenities available in airports, hotels, and shopping plazas! If you think about the needs of Millennials, we usually travel with our digital devices which feature money-saving loyalty apps, enable us to engage on social media with those around us and those who were not fortunate to join our journey, and allow us to check-in before we arrive to our destination.

1 - Mobile Check-In for Hotels

This feature enables millennial travelers to chose our own customized, personalized experience when visiting a hotel. Based on the mobile app, we are able to: check-in the day before we actually arrive to the destination, choose the time we would like to have our room ready (which is GREAT for an early morning arrival), and choose when we would like to leave! Some loyalty programs actually enable us to choose a 4pm check out time! I LOVE THIS!

2 - Mobile Ordering and Payment in Airport Terminals

Mobile apps like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts enable travelers to order their meals ahead of time, notify the restaurant when they would like to pick up the meal, pay for the meal via the app, and then the best part - EARN POINTS!

3 - Hotel and Airport Lounges! 

Even though these travel concepts have been around for years, the travel industry should prepare for the influx of traveling Millennials who are looking for the value added experience. These lounges offer an experience for Millennials who are traveling for business to engage in an informal social setting, grab 

"free food", and document this coveted experience on social media.

4 - USB Plugs and Desks

Millennials like access to outlets throughout their hotel rooms and airports when they are on the go! Yes, this seems like a college or university concept (to have outlets everywhere), but as a college professor, I LOVE these as well! I am always on the lookout for USB outlets for my various devices!

5 - Free Wi-Fi

I know that this seems like a given, but Millennial travelers (and everyone else) appreciate free wi-fi and we are willing to give surface-based personal information or walk a block or more to take advantage of this amenity!

6 - Tours that Depart from the Hotel

As Millennials, we are all about the local experience and we do not want to embark on a long journey to have these experiences. We want the experience to come to us! This is definitely true for millennial business travelers and millennial families. If a tour departs from our hotel, we are more likely to take it! 

I am a fan of Grayline Tours, because they are safe, reliable, and they are located in many cities, states, and they also have international tours!

7 - Local Food Fare and Beverages on the Room Service and Restaurant Menu

Yes, millennials are all about the local experiences, but this also includes local food fare! So, if it is too cold, too hot, too rainy, or too stormy to experience the local environment, we will definitely try the local food and brag to our friends about how great the local [insert local food or beverage item here] was and how others who are visiting the area should try it!

8 - Internet Friendly TVs in Hotel Rooms

Yes! This has been one of the most amazing items that I've experienced as a millennial traveler. It is just like watching the Internet at home. I just log-on to my YouTube account, Hulu account, or Netflix and I am able to watch all of my shows from the comfort of my own...hotel room!

9 - Amazon Delivery to Hotels or Highlight the Amazon Lockers within a Block of the Hotel

We use Amazon at home and we would like to have access to all of the snacks that we had to leave at home due to packing our TSA and airline compliant luggage. For example, I have Smartwater nad snack bars delivered to my home each month to prevent an additional trip to the grocery store. Hotels should highlight the Amazon delivery address or nearest Amazon locker on their website!

10 - Learning Experiences in the Airport

Our entire existence has been focused on learning. Why stop learning when we are on the go with our businesses or with our families. The Atlanta Marriott Gateway Hotel highlights TED talks on their website and on the Internet TV in each room. The Atlanta Hartfield airport features various learning opportunities for travelers by having several National Park Service kiosks with actual artifacts in their terminals. This was a great learning opportunity for each member of our family. Also, the kiosks enabled us to engage with the exhibits via QR codes and also through a common hashtag I learned a lot!

How to Save Money on Domestic and International Airline Fares!

 

We love saving money on trips! As a result, we like to read our local paper, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, because it always features new tips and ideas for travel!

Travel-Friendly Toddler Toys! - Order from Store for Knowledge!

During the past few weeks, our family has been in Christmas planning frenzy! The top of our list including purchasing toddler friendly toys and planning 2014 trips to new family-oriented locations.

This year, we are searching for travel-friendly toys from local small businesses!

One of the best businesses that we found so far is the "Store for Knowledge"! They are an online retailer located in Stephenville, TX and they ship around the world! They have EXCELLENT customer service and an amazing selection of toys (especially Melissa and Doug toys). Here are some of the toys we ordered from Store for Knowledge!
*Great for travel! Especially for layovers in airports!

Tips for Traveling with Babies, Toddlers, and Kids - Fly in the Afternoon

I love, love, love flying with my little one! She is well behaved, but I really enjoy when she is QUIET on an airplane! When she is quiet or asleep, I can breathe a sigh of relief because I know that she is not disturbing other passengers.