Family Travel Hacks From a Mom of 5 Who Just Survived a Trip to Florida

Ever wish you had your kids’ favorite push car toy or wagon on vacation? Maybe a set of blocks for rainy days? Me too. So I was in total shock when I learned there are baby gear rental companies where local people let you rent their kid gear—like Airbnb but for kid stuff. 

And that’s not even the best part. The baby equipment company I rented from, called BabyQuip, met me right at the rental car parking lot with car seats and a play yard—and the car seats were cleaner than my own. 

I’ve traveled with super small, lightweight, collapsible travel strollers—and they are definitely cool. But when you travel with a horde of children, you need a small bus. I look for strollers with features that match how I will actually use them, such as where I’m going to throw my drink and phone when a kid is having a meltdown, or how I can fit more or less kids on it based on who wants to get on the moving sidewalk.

This trip, after much debate, I took my mega large Austlen stroller. It converts from a single to a double, has a sit-and-stand function, a luggage carrier, and a mom drop zone (as I’ve named it) that can collapse or pull out to have multiple compartments. Never lose a paci again.

Traveling parents know all about repurposing—using that straw from lunch to retrieve a lost toy down the side of the plane seat. Stuffing leftover napkins into the diaper bag for later. And of course, making the tray table on the seat in front of you into a parking lot for little vehicles with painter’s tape…anyone? Just me? Try it—your younger kid will be entertained for hours. 

For travel with kids, I prioritize products that can do double duty. The Keke Grab-and-Go Bag is top of my list for this. Picture a binder with removable pouches. Each pouch has a game or activity in it, such as scratch-off coloring cards or sewing with a shoelace. But these pouches also make excellent holders, all neatly lined up and secure in a little suitcase with handles, for a variety of things—those matchbox cars, hair supplies for little girls, and even overpriced airport candy that otherwise would spill everywhere.

Similarly, I love Bento boxes and other snack organizers as multipurpose tools. The Snackle Box (at Target) is my new obsession for kids’ snacks, but it can also double as a jewelry-making organizer for beads and string—if you’re brave enough to let your kid make jewelry on a long plane ride.

Kid pajamas, especially baby size, that become one-piece outfits by just flipping the feet coverings, are brilliant. That way, a kid who has passed out for a catnap doesn’t need to change and is still cozy in their pajamas with the footies in place. Then when they need to grab their shoes and move to the next location, they can unroll them and pop those shoes on.

My kids are obsessed with bamboo pajamas, so my favorites are Gunamuna convertible pj’s, Little Sleepies “Zippies” and a few others. I also love “dual zipper” products for easy diaper checks along the way, such as Kyte Baby’s romper.

When we travel as a family, each kid has their own checklist to pack their own gear, and they have to show it all to me when it’s packed up, including an empty refillable water bottle, headphones, a change of clothes, and other carry-on necessities. I was surprised how much more smoothly packing went when they were in charge. Each kid carried their own backpack, complete with their own snacks ready.

On trips with the kids, I make sure to pack “stressful moments” bags, with toys that appeal to almost all my kids, such as the universally well-loved Minecraft magnetic blocks that helped me survive a 3-hour layover.  Travel toys for kids don’t have to be elaborate—I’ve packed similar bags with small fidget toys, or even just a new set of markers and tiny notebooks.

Getting kids to sleep at a hotel in a totally new environment can be downright impossible. Since we’ve likely been on screens for some of the trip (okay all of it), I like to help them wind down with an audiobook story. Even though my older kids pretend not to want a bedtime story, I always find them listening and finally dozing off.

When they do doze off on a trip, my kids are pretty obsessed with neck pillows, especially cuter ones with built-in stuffies, like Cabeau’s Evolution Kids.

After every kid is packed and in the car ready to go, I take five minutes to ask myself what would make my own trip easier, in preparation for straight chaos. I grab my favorite coffee mug, Ember, to ensure no matter what kid emergency I run into I’ll still have a cup of coffee actively staying heated up for me. I grab extra keys and extra contact lenses—my two “can’t live without” items.