We recently showed you the Insider’s Look at the ABC Expo, where you learned that two of our editors traveled to Las Vegas to attend the ABC Kids Expo. We scouted out the best of the best products to feature on Daily Mom in the future, and are so excited to share those items with you. During our traveling adventures, we got to test out, first hand, many items that ease the burden of traveling for you and the kids, and make the process more fun. These are our hand picked, favorite, time tested travel products that really made our lives easier and our kids happier.
Traveling with small children isn’t always unicorns and rainbows. Schedules are thrown off, meal time is much different and way more “on the go,” and jam packed days lead to overly exhausted and sometimes sleepless nights. We aren’t guaranteeing that the following products are magical fixes, but we can attest to the fact that the more you can make your living environment inviting and comfortable for the family, the better off you’ll be.
Style:
Babiators
When you’re out and about with your little one, everyone knows to pack the sunscreen to prepare for a long day enjoying the outdoors. Just as you’re more comfortable in the sun wearing (stylish) sunglasses, your child will be too! Designed for a child’s face, Babiators are the perfect choice to pack in your diaper bag for a trip to the Las Vegas desert.
With Babiators, you never have to worry about your child breaking or losing their stylish sunnies, with their awesome lost and found guarantee. Did your child misplace them while diving for rings in the hotel pool? Lost, or broken, Babiators will replace those glasses – for free. Protecting your child’s developing eyes is so important, and that’s why choosing the right sun glasses to block those harmful UVA/UVB rays is just as important as packing the sunscreen.
SHOP
EXPLORE AND CONNECT
Shoes for Travel: Sea Kai Run
We are fans of See Kai Run, we make no bones about it. But we REALLY put their shoes to the test during our Las Vegas and California trip. Heat of Vegas, cold evenings in the mountains, cool ocean breeze of Santa Barbara, chilly mornings of Santa Ynez mountains, horseback riding, puddle jumping, lots of running and then another 5 hour flight. No, they are not undestructable. But they are perfect for change.
Traveling usually means limited access to clothing and shoes. You have to be picky. One pair of See Kai Run sandals and 3 pairs of their sneakers (really we could do with one, but they are SOOOO pretty) and you’re set for two weeks. Or longer. Rain, shine, cold, hot – they take it all with comfort, absence of blisters or toddler complaining. Seriously. In all the active 2 weeks that we have been conquering the West, our toddler has been doing it in See Kai Run shoes with zero complaints.
Food and Snacks:
SWEETIE PIE ORGANICS
Packing snacks to take on vacation is tricky. You want it to be healthy and yet tasty enough that your toddler will ask for a snack, rather than begging for a hot dog while passing a roadside stand. Sweetie Pie Organics makes it easy for kids to love eating their fruits and veggies! These convenient individually wrapped packages are ideal for travel, as you can throw some in your diaper bag, or load them into a snack cup. These snacks are made from the finest quality organic produce, that are freeze dried to preserve natural taste and packed in recycled packaging.
No preservatives or questionable ingredients are added, and the “melt in your” mouth design makes them perfect for younger kids as well.
SHOP
Sweetie Pie Organics Fruits & Veggies Snack
EXPLORE AND CONNECT
Sweetie Pie Organics | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
Silikids Placemat
Silikids is an awesome company to begin with, selling products that quickly become an essential in any household. Silicone? Hello, it’s only the best material ever. Heat resistant, pleasant to touch and safe. But our favorite Silikids product of the moment is the Silikids Map Placemat. What better way to introduce your child to the United States than while traveling? Our 2 year old was quickly able to show where from and where to we flew, and where we drove in a car on our 2 week long roadtrip. And the kicker? Every time she would use the map, she would make sure to point out the last trip we took: “We flew from Florida, this way this way this way… To Nevada… Then took a car here to California.” A germ protector, easy to clean AND an educational tool! Amazing!
Out and About:
Jackery Power Bank
When traveling with gadgets, battery life becomes somewhat a concern. On a longer flight, it becomes a paramount concern. What if your preschooler’s ipad battery dies? How will you survive without your ebook reader or iphone to answer some emails on? Most power banks are not “powerful” enough. Those that pack a punch are so massive it becomes travel prohibitive. So what do we, technology obsessed editors of daily mom, do during long unpowered travel? We go straight to Jackery – to the biggest power bar of them all (which really isn’t that big to begin with). It does pack a punch in the charging department. Jackery Giant Plus.
Totally pocketable in your purse or carry on, it can charge two devices at once and provide up to 220 extra hours of operation time. Forgot to charge it before you took off? No worries, it holds a charge up to 6 months with an advanced power lock technology. Charge it once, use it when you need it and if there is power left, you will have it if you need it up 6 months later. Do you want to know where else it has proven itself useful? Hotel rooms! It’s dark, your child is sleeping, you need to use the bathroom, you bang your foot on the sidetable. Ugh! How frustrating! Just grab the battery with its 2 LED flashlight and proceed straight to wherever it is you’re heading in a dark hotel room.
Character Headphones by iHome
Flying 5 hours nonstop is no joke, especially for a toddler who likes to be active. The only way that entertaining a 2 year old on a plane becomes feasible is if you pull together all the forces of books, coloring and the trusty iPad with Daniel Tiger or Frozen. The latter requires headphones. In-ear headphones aren’t recommended for children and bulky full sized headphones are hard to keep on fidgety kids. Welcome character bribery, which is what we call using an item that they dislike and making it fun by opting for their favorite character. Our two yer old LOVED her Tinkerbell headphones and we loved that the character is drawn in an artsy manner rather than a typical tacky cartoon. Green and pink, they are attractive, colorful and extremely comfortable (yes, we tried). The volume control helps ensure that their sensitive ears don’t get damaged and the volume level it goes up to is enough for a noisy plane but not so much that you would worry about headphone dangers. We are yet to use the headphones for reasons other than flying, but given that this pair grows with a child, we can see “backseat of the car use” in the future.
Babyhome Emotion Stroller
It goes without saying that if you’re traveling with a child, you’ll need to bring along a stroller. Needless to say, our trusty favorite, the Babyhome Emotion, racked up many miles at ABC and out and about on the town at night. The Emotion is super lightweight and easy to maneuver through the busy streets of Las Vegas. It’s perfect for babies 3+ months up to 55 lbs! You can navigate with one hand, and fold it easily into a compact size. The seat reclines up to 150 degrees, making it perfect for children to also take a quick nap in while you’re on the go, and they won’t wake up because of the shock absorbers on each wheel. It is portable like an umbrella stroller, but with some added bells and whistles, such as a large storage basket and adjustable footrest.
The Babyhome Emotion is also perfect for air travel, because it’s much more narrow than other strollers on the market today, making it a breeze to whip through the airport pushing your child without obstructing aisleways or people mover trains. You also can’t beat the color selection. The newest mint color is simply to die for, and we were stopped many times at the Expo by strangers commenting on the beautiful color.
Invest in a good stroller bag!
The thought of our stroller being thrown around in the back of the plane and getting its beautiful mint fabric dirty is… well…. unsettling. So we recommend a Babyhome stroller bag. Aside from being a tightly fitting and pretty cool looking product as it is, it allows the wheels to peak through so you can easily wheel it through security checkpoints without adding the weight of the stroller to your already packed shoulders.
AN INSIDER’S LOOK AT THE ABC EXPO.
Photo Credit: The Art of Making a Baby, The Memoirs of Megan
