Do you ever travel with grandkids and senior citizens at the same time? I know several families who enjoy taking vacations together. They often have three generations headed to Disneyworld or off on a cruise. Truly a Sandwich Generation trip! This can be a lot of fun but plenty of advance preparation goes a long way to ensure that.
One of the best gifts for the grandparents is to plan well enough that a plane trip combining the grandkids and grandparents goes fairly peacefully. If it’s only a short hop, it’s not that difficult. A two hour flight gets a bit trickier and an all-day trip including a layover can be quite wearing on both age groups.
One idea that I saw put into practice recently can be a big help. I met a mom who was traveling alone with three small children under the age of 5! She told me she always heads for a Dollar store, followed by Wal-Mart or Target. She had enough tiny surprises for each of her children to open one per hour. She popped these out every hour, and supplemented them with little snacks in between. She even had a few extras to share with the grandchild who was traveling with me. The result was happy kids and a fairly relaxed mom. Some ideas for these treats include:
Washable crayons
Washable or invisible markers and/or paint
Coloring books/activity books
Tiny animals
Tiny people
Tiny purses to hold the tiny toys
Molding product that doesn’t leave residue, such as Silly Putty©
Travel games – electronic
Travel games – non-electronic
Travel word game pads – I’ve found tic-tac-toe and Hangman
New books
Kids magazines
The novelty and element of surprise make these gifts extra special, leading to happier quieter grandkids. This, in turn, results in the wonderful gifts for grandparents of peace and quiet.
