Packing for a vacation with kids is a job in and itself; trying to figure out what will fit in your luggage is one thing. But if you’ve got young kids, you also have to set aside some room for their favorite toys, especially for those rainy, indoor play days (we’ve had more of those than I care to remember!). Whatever toy we are taking along, I want to make sure it’s worth its weight: a toy that can stand up to wear and tear, offer hours of play and, for a refreshing change of pace, one that is powered by imagination, not batteries. Diggin Active’s new BoxSets line is just what every traveling parent is looking for. These carryall playsets, available as a castle [&hellip
The Traveling Walnuts Archive
Tis the season of strollers! Spring is in full swing and summer, right around the corner. While my 4-year-old and I were in town today, I couldn’t help but notice how the sidewalks were being taken over by strollers. Nearly every which way we looked, moms were running errands with their little ones in tow, happily bouncing along. Since I review kids’ products, I’m always paying close attention to the gear I encounter on a daily basis, and I have to admit: I’m suffering from a mild case of stroller envy. When my first daughter was born, the Bugaboo was the fashionable choice and by the time my little one arrived on the scene, the pram was back in style. Amazingly, today, there are no [&hellip
Sometimes, my 2nd grader likes to speak backwards–not facing away from me, but mixing up the order of her words. She, of course, thinks it’s hysterical; I find it maddening, especially by the end of the day. Because she gets a kick out of making us work to figure out exactly what she’s saying, it’s a real power kick…for a 7-year-old. But I figure there’s got to be a positive side to her punchy behavior. Maybe this strange sense of little kid humor was the inspiration for Sentence Shuffle Fun Deck. Housed inside a Band-Aid-style box are 56 illustrated cards containing a bunch of words that are out of order (for instance, “scaredy cat is a Linda.”) Players must then unscramble the words to form [&hellip
Lunch out with little kids is no picnic. Because many of our local restaurants must keep up with a steady flow of kiddie customers, we sometimes dine atop tables that are, shall we say, not exactly up to snuff? Combine that with having to wait for your food indefinitely, and you have the makings of a rather unpleasant dining experience. For moms eating out with little ones comes a new line of eco-friendly products that won’t make the intended fun turn into a fiasco. Icky Products Color Me Placemats are ideal entertainment for kiddies in waiting (for their chicken fingers, that is). One handy box contains 10 stick-on, biodegradable mats and 3 non-toxic crayons, so little ones can busy themselves and eat their yummy meal [&hellip
I’m convinced that my bag will forever contain remnants of my daughters’ fledgling careers as artists. Broken crayons, dried-out markers and scraps of paper and old receipts have served as the materials and canvases for everything from stick figures to cityscapes. In fact, some of their best drawings have taken shape en route to some remote destination, so I often make sure I am armed with sufficient supplies. For convenient creativity, we’ve got our hands on the latest travel-friendly art kit: Crayola’s Color Wonder Tiny Tube. Looks may be deceiving, as this pint-sized container holds over 10 feet of tear-off activity sheets, along with 3 markers. We love the fact that the drawing sheets have adhesive backing, so they stick on to any surface for [&hellip
Talk to any new mom, and she’ll tell you she doesn’t feed her baby with just any old bottle. If she considers herself an A-list mom who wants the healthiest/safest things for her little one (and what mom doesn’t?), she’s probably done her research and figured out which crib promises the best night’s sleep, which stroller has the smoothest ride and which bottle reduces spit-up and fussiness. Now, thanks to the advent of the Similac SimplySmart bottle, the homework has been done for you. The makers of the well-known powdered formula brand have taken their expertise in feeding and applied it to their first-ever baby bottle, designed to make feeding a more enjoyable experience for moms and their babies. At first glance, you’ll notice the [&hellip
Baby, it’s cold outside…In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be taking in the sights and sounds of the season–and that means dressing for the weather. A huge fan of layers, I always seem to outfit my kids as though they are headed to the tundra instead of suburbia. But regardless of whether you’ll be strolling city streets or hiking through the hills, if you’ve got a little one in tow, that extra layer of warmth will come in handy. This winter, we’ve got our eye on Maclaren’s buggy blankets. These ultra plush, generously sized throws are a love letter to the cityscapes in which they are detailed. From London to Sydney, New York to Paris, each reversible blanket features a detailed map of four [&hellip
One of the most useful, unexpected baby gifts I received was a baby footmuff. I don’t recall the brand or name, but I do remember taking one look at this strange contraption and thinking, “Yeah, right. I don’t think I’ll be taking that out of the box anytime soon…” Little did I know that when my daughter’s first winter arrived, I’d be struggling to fit her puffy coat inside her car seat straps day after day. I imagine wrestling a crocodile was easier than this! After many failed attempts at getting her in her seat without any tears, I had a lightbulb moment and quickly ran upstairs to unpack that suddenly practical present. This is genius, I thought, as I carefully stripped off her bulky [&hellip
I don’t care if my daughter is closer to 4 than 3 years old; I’m not ready to part with her stroller just yet. A trusty, solid ride, her Maclaren Volo goes wherever we go, and has lasted us 7 1/2 years…and counting. While this stroller has seen its fair share of country roads, sandy beaches and other landscapes, it’s naturally had a few bumps and bruises along the way. If your pocketbook tells you that you’ll be hanging onto your own set of kiddie wheels for a while, it helps to maintain the look and feel of a sweet ride. Apparently, the folks at BuggyLOVE had this in mind when they created their line of organic stroller cleaning products. Whether the culprit is dried [&hellip
The first time we took my baby daughter on a long road trip, I dreaded the moment we’d have to pull over and stop to feed her. I kid you not, I must have spent the better part of the car ride wondering aloud if the bottle warmer we had just bought would actually work, whether it would fit into our car’s adapter outlet properly and how long it would take to heat up her formula. (Yes, you can feel sorry for my poor husband; I do, too–in retrospect.) As luck would have it, my concerns were right on the money: after sitting in a fast food parking lot for what felt like forever, the bottle was only mildly warmed. But, if we didn’t get [&hellip