Weekends Count Magazine - Helping you maximize your weekends through travel and DIY experiences.: Family Travel

Showing posts with label Family Travel. Show all posts

45 Items to Pack for Your Traveling Family & Travel with Kids

If you are planning to travel with your family this summer, you MUST look at this amazing set of tips from Texas bloggers! This is an amazing opportunity for parents to learn (and incorporate) several "Travel Tips from Bloggers".

Here's one - Pack a "travel cube" with kids, meds-bandaids, children's Tylenol, Benadryl, Neosporin, Dramamine, etc. because not all airports have the same meds available.Keeping them in a cube make them easy to find - KristinBarclay @Zanymomintx

First, please check out the @WeekendsCount magazine! -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ksp1kOv0hJ5Smm8su8fb7-sV2myw-NXe/view

Here are 45 Items to Pack for Your Traveling Family!

First, let’s start with a few general items. Craft these into a packing checking list for your family.

🧳 0-2 Years Old:

Diapers/Pull-ups
Wipes
Changing Pad
Formula/Breast Milk
Bottles/Sippy Cups
Pacifiers (if applicable)
Teething Toys
Baby Carrier
Stroller
Blanket and Favorite Toy

🧳 3-5 Years Old:

Snacks
Books
Small Toys
Coloring Books/Crayons
Electronic Devices
Audiobooks
Motion Sickness Remedies

🧳 5-11 Years Old:

Books
Games
Electronic Devices
Headphones
Journal and Pens
Small Crafts

🧳 12-18 Years Old:

Books
Music
Portable Charger
Camera/Phone
Journal and Pens
Snacks and Drinks

Here's another one - "Watch YouTube Videos about Your Destination BEFORE Traveling. It Can Help You Become MENTALLY Prepared for Travel" - J. Edwards - @WeekendsCount

One more! - "Look for AAA, Veterans Advantage, & Student Advantage, Travel Discounts" - J. Edwards @WeekendsCount

Enjoy the journey, but also enjoy the discounts and the experiences along the way. Embrace the innovative chances we have to make travel an easier experience for ourselves and our children

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family

Follow Us!

⭐️ Instagram/Twitter - @WeekendsCount

⭐️ Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/weekendscount/

⭐️ Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/weekendscount/

⭐️ Blog - http://www.weekendscount.com

Send us an Email! We are PR friendly! - weekendscount@gmail.com

Have something for us to review? - Here's Our Address: Box 501; Beckville, TX 75631

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

Contact Information:
1030 East Highway 377 Suite 110
Box #145
Granbury TX 76048
817-382-8475
Send us an Email! We are PR friendly! - weekendscount@gmail.com

Our Social Media Channels:
Check Us Out on YouTube! - http://www.youtube.com/weekendscount/
Become a Fan of Facebook! - http://www.facebook.com/weekendscount/
Follow Us on Twitter! - http://www.twitter.com/weekendscount/
Look for Us on Instagram! - http://www.instagram.com/weekendscount/
Discover the Weekends Count Blog! - http://www.weekendscount.com

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

How to Teach STEM Activities at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels, Texas

Travelers - When you are headed to a water park, you definitely need to prepare for sun and safety, but you can also plan for summer learning as well.

Recently, we were presented with a great opportunity to travel to New Braunfels, Texas and to explore the Schlitterbahn Waterpark. Also, I want to emphasize that the term waterpark definitely means something different to individuals who experience the waterpark. This park is definitely an ADVENTURE!

To add to your adventure and to prepare for your children for the park, I created two summer learning activities: "Tubing and Buoyancy Reflection Activity" AND the "Weather Reflection Activity". These activities are geared towards Grades K-5 and then Grades 6-12. These are focused on Schlitterbahn, but they can be used for almost any waterpark. However, we definitely recommend Schlitterbahn!'

The "Tubing and Buoyancy Reflection Activity" focused on buoyancy (Grades K-5) and displacement (Grades 6-12). This activity is easy to incorporate the during the evening after visiting the park or the second morning before visiting the park for the second day.

The "Weather Reflection Activity" is great during the day BEFORE traveling to the park and perhaps the next morning before visiting the park on the second day. This activity is focused on weather observation (Grades K-5) and then Weather Preparation and Tools for Grades 6-12.

Here's the link to the Incorporating STEM Activities at the Schlitterbahn Water Park (just click the picture or link below).

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ksp1kOv0hJ5Smm8su8fb7-sV2myw-NXe

Have a great week and plan for the weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions about the program. I am happy to help!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

Read the Weekends Count Magazine - Spring 2019 Issue (Dollar Tree, Granbury, Weekend Reading, and Much More)!

Weekends Count Magazine - Spring 2019 Edition

Read the Weekends Count Magazine - Spring 2019 Issue

Check out the Table of Contents!

- 9 Top Teaching Tools from the Dollar Tree

- How Parents Can Survive Tax Season

- 3 Tax Tips from Wealthy Weekends

- A Granbury, Texas Day Trip Itinerary for Families

- Weekend Trips to Experience Texas

- @WEALTHYWEEKENDS TIPS

- Weekend Reading Recommendations

- Prepare for Summer Road Trips!

- Engage with the Weekends Count Community

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

The Best East Texas Locations for Families: 12 Hour Travel

East Texas is truly a hidden gem in East Texas. It is definitely off of the beaten path, but it needs to be on your radar! If you are looking for a great weekend trip away, with a reasonable ($75-$90 hotel room) East Texas is your best destination in Texas.

If you do not have children, take a scenic drive through the Piney Woods to East Texas to the casinos in East Texas on Interstate 20 and stop in Terrell, Tyler, Longview, or Kilgore along the way. These are your Piney Woods destinations. There is great fishing available and even zip lines through the very tall Piney Woods of East Texas.

1 - Longview World of Wonders Museum

2 - East Texas Oil Museum

3 - Longview Public Library

4 - Tyler Public Library

5 - Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, Texas)

6 - Ellen Trout Zoo (Lufkin, Texas)

7 - Discovery Science Place (Tyler, Texas)

If you have children, check out these "Seven TOP Destinations for Families Visiting East Texas". I visited many of these places in East Texas when I was a child and I absolutely love them. Lately, I started spending my time with my daughter at my favorite East Texas locations as well!

Have a great week and plan for the weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions about East Texas!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

Read the Weekends Count Magazine - November and December 2018 Issue

Link to the Weekends Count Magazine - November/December 2018 Issue

The newest issue of the Weekends Count magazine is published. YES - the November and December 2018 issue are finally released! Check out the Table of Contents!

- 12 Hour Road Trip from DFW to Austin

- Visit the Erin Condren Flagship Store

- Top Ten Things To Do at the Erin Condren Store!

- Avoid the Holiday Panic & Stress

- Dallas with Kids: 3 Days Outdoors Itinerary

- Black Friday Shopping Tips

- Weekend Reading Recommendations

- Holiday Cooking & Baking Essentials

- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

- 7 Fun Things to do with Kids in East Texas

- 10 Must Have Family Travel Accessories

- Thanksgiving Family Food and Fun

What did you like the best about this month's magazine? Write your comments below!

Engage with the WeekendsCount Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/weekendscountcommunity/

Copy of September. by jennifertedwards

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

24 Hour Travel - From DFW Airport to Denver, Colorado on United Airlines

What happens when you want to travel and you only have from 5pm on Friday to 6pm on Sunday? Yeah, you know the typical workweek? You just have to plan around it!

So, this means that we have to book a ticket a couple of weeks to two days ahead of time (yes, I am famous for this as well). Recently, we booked a ticket from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) to Denver, Colorado Airport (DEN) on United Airlines. We arrived at 8:30 am and then we quickly checked-in at the Westin Denver Airport hotel, which was FABULOUS!

9:00 am - Then, we purchased light rail tickets from the airport to downtown. The ride was around 25 minute and it was a scenic trip for our family to view the terrain of Denver. Then, we realized that the 24 hour rail pass included MANY routes (that we plan to explore soon). We disembarked at the main downtown station and we walked around downtown Denver.

10:00 am Tattered Cover Bookstore - Our first stop was the the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. It featured an amazing mannequin in the bookstore and this is definitely a bookstore picture stop! Also, the children's reading section was excellent!

10:30 am - Centennial Gardens Park - We also visited Centennial Gardens Park to view the gardens. In addition, the gardens, there is a great under the bridge photo opportunity! While we were walking under the bridge we saw several Lime Bike Riders. It seems like a great way to explore the city!

11:00am - Confluence Park - After our visit to the park, we walked to a downtown falls area (Confluence Park) and it was absolutely beautiful! Great for pictures and then for a quick bite to eat (we brought food from Texas and it was still cold)!

12:00 pm (Noon) - We visited 7-11 downtown because my little one wanted ice cream. So, we purchased three pints (with spoons) and walked downtown to eat our treats in the downtown gardens area).

1:00 pm - We walked to view the Big Blue Bear and then we visited the local Convention and Visitor's Bureau for more information about downtown. THEN, they told us about a local (and free) music festival that was by the downtown library and capital building. We walked four to five blocks and the festival was great! Many vendors, many free samples (Haribo, Sahale Snacks, and a milk company).

4:00pm - Then, we walked back downtown to find this mini golf area by the Westin Hotel and my little one LOVED it! It was free and she is such a mini golf fan!

5:00pm - We ordered a gluten free pizza (with napkins and plates) and then boarded the light rail from downtown Denver to the Westin Airport hotel.

6:00pm - We arrived back in the hotel and then we ate the pizza in the hotel room while watching a movie.

7:00pm - We began preparing for bed for a 8:00am flight the next morning.

As you can see, we had a fun-filled, great time that lasted for 24 hours instead of an entire week. This was fabulous for our work schedules and we were able to accomplish MORE in less time!

Travel to Denver, Colorado on United Airlines from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is a quick and easy flight from Texas. We embrace 24 hour travel during the weekends for our busy Texas family. In Denver, we played free mini golf downtown, enjoyed the downtown parks. We stayed at the Westin Airport hotel and it was a simple train ride to Downtown Denver. We enjoyed seeing the big blue bear outside of the convention center. Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

24 Hour Travel Adventure in Minneapolis - Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America

When you find the perfect indoor theme park for your family, you HAVE to embrace it! Recently, when we discovered CHEAP tickets from DFW Airport to Minneapolis, Minnesota on United Airlines and I had to research the city.

So, I discovered that Minneapolis was the home of Prince and the Mall of America. I KNEW that Mall of America also contains Nickelodeon Universe. During dinner, our family watches theme park videos and Nickelodeon Universe was one of the recent videos.

In Minneapolis, we traveled via the light rail from the airport to the Mall of America (a 10 minute ride). When we arrived there, we walked through the mall with our luggage and headed to our hotel (the JW Marriott in the Mall). After organizing our items in the room, we headed down to the Nickelodeon Experience. We had a GREAT time! Then, we visited the American Girl store and it was EPIC for our little one! After everything we experienced in the day, we headed to the Flyover America and it was a great way to end the evening, but WAIT there's more!

We grabbed some noodles from Noodles and Company and we were SURPRISED by a light display (with amazing music) in the Nickelodeon Experience. We definitely enjoyed the experience! You should definitely take this cheap trip from DFW Airport or Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Have a great week and plan for the weekend! Remember to give the video a thumbs up!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

Seven Travel Books for Children - Road Trips with Kids and Great Christmas Presents

As an only child, I had to discover ways to discover the world through other people's eyes in a book. Books enable children to visit places around the United States and the world without leaving their house. Through our local library, the Sammy Brown Library in Carthage, Texas, I traveled to China with Big Bird and to France with Madeline.

Your children can travel to unique destinations as well. Through the bookstore or the public library, you child can develop their own unique taste in travel. Here are some books that can help your child develop their own travel adventure OR can prepare them for their own REAL travel adventure with their family. Here are the Top Travel Books for Children:

1) Curious George Takes a Train

This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We provide easy links for you to click to make your busy lifestyle easier!

2) Maisy Goes on a Plane: A Maisy First Experiences Book

3) My First Plane Trip - Flying For Kids Airplane Book (Children's New Experience Series 1)

4) Train: A Journey Through the Pages Book

5) My Plane Trip (Dover Coloring Books)

6) Trains: Steaming! Pulling! Huffing!

7) National Geographic Kids Ultimate U.S. Road Trip Atlas: Maps, Games, Activities, and More for Hours of Backseat Fun

Also, you can check out Amazon Kindle Unlimited! We read a book each week and I never have to leave the house! Just one flat fee!

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Sincerely,

The @WeekendsCount Family!

Make Your Weekends Count!

Explore the Weekends Count Magazine