I actually really like to travel and most of my adult life I have travelled at Thanksgiving, which also means I have my fair share of experience travelling with children of all ages. So today I thought I would share some of the tips I have learned over the years.

• Plan ahead this includes where you are staying as well as preparing for the trip. This year, I have even gone a step further. During the past week, each day we have tried to get one thing off our travel list. For example on Thursday, I organized and packed our food, today I am working on packing clothes. By spreading out the list it has gone much smoother and I am not stressed yet.
• Set a realistic budget. Without a budget it is so easy to over spend and then you are faced with that awful feeling when you get home. As well as trying to figure out where the extra money is coming from. Our budget this year includes $500 for gas and $100 a day for eating out. The hotel we are staying at provides breakfast each morning  and we will be eating with family some but I know that eating out for our family of 6 will be expensive.
• Bring your own snacks and drinks. My family likes to snack, just because we are travelling does not mean this changes. A drink at a hotel or a gas station  is around $1.50 add another 1.50 for a snack that equal $18 for just one snack for my family. Even at just one snack a day that would add up to $100 over the 5 days of our trip.
• Pack for the younger children using slider gallon bags. I am able to fit an entire outfit in one bag. I try to include matching hair bows and socks for the girls. This has worked awesome over the years. First of all the kids then get a choice of what they are wearing that day but I am controlling which items go together. It also helps me not to forget underwear or socks for each day. At the hotel the kids can unpack in a drawer and then they feel like they are so independent picking out and dressing themselves. The added benefit is that I never have to go looking for a sock or pair of underwear.
• Pack a small travel bag with new crayons and activity books for the kids to use. One of the biggest hits at our house has been dry erase boards and markers.
• Rent or borrow from the library DVDs to enjoy on the trip, this way they have a new movie to entertain them.

Finally,  make list…….. I currently have 2 going right now; one of items that still need to be packed. The second is of all the last-minute things that need to be done before leaving. I really like this list so we mark off things as we go and don’t have to worry about forgetting something like taking out trash before we leave.

Do you have any helpful tips?