Annalia's Helpful Tips for Travelling with Children

Soon after returning home from our epic Spring Break Twenty Twelve, the littlest (4) Hooligans and I left on another trip. We had a big birthday to celebrate in Washington...and Tony was nice enough to fly us there (not personally....it's more like we flew on the wings of his credit card and awesome trip planning skillz).

Taking a trip with only my younger kids was scary. (Big, helpful kids are such a crutch. They're hard to give up/leave behind.)

Here are my tips. Give 'em a gander, even though you're super smart and have already thought of every one of them. Still, they're tried and true, and many a airline steward told me how wonderful and polite my children were (while looking askance at the kids sitting in the row behind us).

1. Check your luggage. I know it costs a million dollars, but every one of those dollars seems worth it when you're trying to catch a toddler while lugging two carry-ons thru the airport.

2. Bring lots of non-crumbling snacks, including candy (for bribery purposes only). Your kids are probably already tired and though the excitement of flying might compensate, if you let them get hungry too.....(those are threatening dot-dot-dots)

3. Personal Electronic Devices are your friend. We brought 2 ipods, a DVD player, and a Nintendo DS.

4. Don't let them think playing in the aisle is an option (because it really shouldn't be).

5. Eat whenever they let you leave the plane, because they are so mean that they'll only give you tiny bags of pretzels and little baby cups of whatever beverage you request. (....which my kids thought was the most amazing thing ever.)

We ate "airport Italian" in Wisconsin. I was hoping for an "everying cheese" restaurant, but there was nothing that thematic near our terminal. They had gelato, so we forgave them.

All in all, I'd say it was a highly successful journey....and I would prefer driving....if it wasn't so dang far.