Top Ten Tuesday: Great Products for Vacation
When we went on vacation a few weeks ago I kept looking around thinking that I needed to write a Top Ten Tuesday post about all of the things I am glad we didn’t have to live without on our vacation. Really, how did people take children on vacation before the invention of these things? I am glad I don’t have to find out. (Yes, there are a fair number of affiliate links below).
1. iPad – Seriously people! Late spring I asked my husband how much money I needed to collect in Swagbucks to purchase a portable DVD player from Amazon.com. He informed me if we had an iPad it could double as a portable DVD player. It was a stretch for even him, but he was right. We hung it from the front seat and played movies for the little man. When the little man wasn’t watching it, I used it to surf the internet or write blog posts in the car. It was awesome.
2. ERGObaby Carrier – Tessa lived in this. It was so comfy for me too. It gave me extra hands when we were headed on a walk, to the pool or to the beach. One afternoon Tessa had fallen asleep so I had put the shade on over her head. Then it started to rain unexpectedly. She slept right through the whole debacle and our journey home because she was staying dry. I fell in love with it all over again.
3. Ear Plugs – This isn’t what you are thinking! :) My son has tubes in his ears and he just loves these things. I love that I don’t have to fight him to put them in his ears too. And yes, if you really need to you can use them to drown out the sound of the children.
4. Baby Video Monitor – I wrote about our Summer Infant Video Monitor several months back and I continue to love. I especially loved the fact that we could easily take the cameras and receiver with us without any problems when we went on vacation. This meant that we could put the kiddos to bed and still go out back and enjoy some adult hot tub time without having to worry about the kids. It was uber-relexing!
5. Baby Tent – we took this easy to set-up tent to the beach with us several times for Tessa. It was great. She could play in it or nap in it while we ran around after Isaac. And it kept the hot sun from burning her preciously soft skin.
6. Adult Sunshade – This Kelty tent was given to us for Christmas one year and it has been invaluable. It’s greatest asset is that it folds up so small and is easy to assemble. It provided great sun protection to all of us that were not able to be down at the water enjoying the waves.
7. Baby Float – we have used this floaty for both Isaac and Tessa. Isaac would have been almost a year old last year when I used it with him and Tessa has been as young as 5 months when I have used it with her. It hits a wide age range of children. My favorite feature of this floaty is the detachable and adjustable sun shade! I often put a hat on her but in case I forget or want extra protection, it is provided.
8. Car Top Carrier - We have never used one of these but we are definitely in the market to purchase one now! I couldn’t believe all the luggage we fit into that thing and how much space it freed up in the car. It didn’t really cause us extra gas from what I can tell either.
9. Baby Bouncy Seat – this bouncy seat has given us miles an miles of use. I found it on a site like eBay Classifieds originally and the $15 I paid for it from the seller has been well worth it. I took the activity bar off of it when we traveled with it but it was super helpful for both babies. We entertained them in it and I used it to feed Tessa cereal.
10. Snack Catchers – grandma bought these for Isaac and they are BY FAR my most favorite item these days! Whether we are taking a long trip or a short jaunt to a park, they are great for packing snacks. The top allows them to get their hand in and out to retrieve their snacks but if they tip the container or turn it upside down the snacks rarely come out. It is great for keeping the car or the couch free from goldfish raisins pretzels cereal grapes.
This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.
What product(s) do you find most helpful for taking on vacations?
I love your list. I love my portable DVD player, Ergo and car top carrier for trips and have thought about buying a video monitor. I’m going to check out that adult shade thing and baby tent.