By: Mel



For the next couple of weeks, Wanderlittles is taking a peek at how Christmas is celebrated around the world, either traditionally or by expats living in those countries. British-mum-in-Texas Mel kicks it off today with a peek at some traditions she grew up with in England, and some suggestions for those in London or the area during the holiday. 




Christmas in England is a lot like Christmas in America in many ways. However, having lived in Texas now for almost a decade, there are definitely a few things that I miss about the Holidays back home - most of which revolve around Marks and Spencer (quite frankly the best shop in the universe!) It all starts with their Christmas commercial. I’m not quite sure how to put into words how Christmassy it makes me feel, so I’ll let you see for yourselves:

This advert actually depicts a lot of English Christmas family traditions! First of which is what we leave out for Santa (or Father Christmas as he’s known in England) on Christmas Eve. No milk and cookies here, it’s all about the mince pies, a glass of Sherry (yes, Santa would get hit with a DUI in Europe) and a few carrots for his trusty friend Rudolph. “What are mince pies??” I hear you cry!!! Well, they are little mini pies full of yummy mincemeat. Not ground beef as many may think, mincemeat is a gooey, sticky, delicious combination of currents, orange peel, brown sugar, nuts and brandy. We serve them hot with cream or brandy butter. Yes, more booze for Saint Nick!

Christmas morning, the kiddos wake up at the crack of dawn and start eagerly going through their stockings! Stocking stuffers are much the same over there as they are here, however, there are 2 things you will always find in an English Christmas stocking - a bag of Chocolate money and a clementine – or, if you are really lucky – a Terry’s Chocolate Orange! These are seriously yummy segments of orange flavored chocolate, the perfect Christmas treat.

A traditional Christmas Dinner in England consists of a turkey, holiday ham, roast potatoes, parsnips, stuffing, Brussels sprouts (nobody likes these yet we still insist upon them) and pigs in blankets. These are little cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon and roasted in the oven! Mmmmm! At each table setting you will find a Christmas Cracker. You pull it apart with your neighbor and it opens with a cracking sound to reveal a paper crown (which everyone at the table MUST wear), a useless toy or gadget, and a terrible joke.

For dessert we eat Christmas pudding, also known as Plum Pudding or Figgy Pudding (for we all want some Figgy pudding….you know how it goes!)  The pudding is made of many dried fruits and flavored with spices.  Traditionally, when making the pudding, everyone in the household, or at least every child, would give the mixture a stir and make a wish while doing so.  It was common practice to include small silver coins in the pudding which were believed to bring wealth in the coming year to the recipient. To be honest, this doesn’t happen anymore because everyone buys their Christmas puddings from Marks and Spencer!! When the pudding is ready to be served, it is doused in brandy and set on fire! A really fun display at the dinner table.

Once dinner is over, we all retire to the sofa, where Dad usually falls asleep (let’s face it, he’s had to consume a lot of booze on behalf of Santa in the last 24 hours!) and stick on the TV. Christmas Day means all the wonderful Christmas TV specials. All the soap operas and popular shows produce a special Christmas episode which can be funny, tragic, comforting or a full on season finale! The last few weeks have been building up for this special episode. Any of you Downton Abbey fans out there will be familiar with this format! 

Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) is also a holiday in the UK. The family gatherings continue as we attempt to make our way through the vast amount of leftovers from the day before. Turkey pie, turkey salad, turkey curry (Bridget Jones anyone??) or just good old turkey sandwiches.

Finally, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas in England without the Christmas Pantomime. It is a type of musical comedy stage production that begins on Boxing Day and runs for a month or two after Christmas.  Pantomimes always have at least one cross dresser, a ton of audience participation and wildly inappropriate jokes that thankfully go completely over the kiddos’ heads.  Sounds horrendous?? It really is, but utterly wonderful at the same time.  It is British family entertainment at its finest!  As a child, I always went to a panto with my cousins and grandparents. In fact, I dreamed of one day becoming the lady who dressed up as Cinderella on stage.  Little did I realize that panto actors are usually z-list celebs who can no longer get a job on tv!

Christmas is truly a magical time in the UK. If any of you have seen the movie The Holiday, you will have seen how idyllic the countryside can be and that it doesn’t get more festive than enjoying a glass of mulled wine in a quaint English pub.  If you are thinking of visiting London during the holidays, be sure to check out:

• the lights on Oxford Street
• the enormous tree in Trafalgar Square
•  the window displays of Selfridges and Hamley’s Toy Shop in the West End.

There are also many Christmas markets, shows and street entertainers, not to mention a plethora of fantastic bars and restaurants. And, of course, be sure to pop in to Marks & Spencers! :) 

Happy Holidays Wanderlittles! Safe travels and Merry Christmas to you all! 

By: Zosia

Ah the carry on bag. Its so necessary yet produces the biggest dilemma when traveling by air. And when you are traveling with small children the decision as to what to include and what to omit is even more pressing. What items are so absolutely necessary that you can’t be without them for a few hours? A change of clothes for each family member? Snacks? In-flight entertainment to keep kids of all ages occupied during those inevitable delays? And more importantly, how do you fit it all in what seems like a microscopic space? I’ve always strived to be more of a minimalist than a packrat but even I’ve struggled with this issue.
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Tie Chair. What?? Okay, so let me admit that I was skeptical about this one. With my older daughter, I never even had to buckle her high chair, but my super squirmy 14-month old is seriously trying to go pro in high chair surfing. There was NO way he would stay TIED in a chair. And is that even comfortable?! But let me tell you: it actually worked! Seriously, tell me how many times you have had to sit baby on your lap during a family event or in a vacation rental because there wasn't a high chair available. What if you had one of these in your bag? You could just pop your kiddo right into a regular seat. 
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Our Holiday Travel Essentials list continues with Day 5, theMy Brest Friend Travel Nursing Pillow. Why do we see this one as essential during the holidays?  Is it for the plane ride, or to save room on your road trip? No. ​It is because nothing gives you a better excuse to escape from your family like needing to go nurse your baby. ​

Sure, we are all about supporting breastfeeding mother's rights to nurse wherever and whenever they need, whether that is on a crowded airplane or at a Christmas party (just check out our pages of travel advice for breastfeeding and pumping mothers). But in the midst of the noise and the chaos, there is no sweeter feeling than escaping to a nice quiet room and putting your feet up while you feed your baby. In the early days, at least for me, that always meant bringing along a nursing pillow, and the inflatable travel nursing pillow from My Brest Friend is incredibly convenient. You can check out my review here. 
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All giveaways run until Wednesday, 11/25, at 11:59pm CST (so you can still enter to win the Toddler Travel Bed, the Kids Travel Mat/Bag, and the Airplane Activity Box. Today's giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, so feel free to enter even if you are abroad. You may enter by logging in (so we can notify you if you win!) and doing only one of the below things, or you can do extra for bonus entries! Or just go to our Facebook page and like, comment, and share today's post. 

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. Use them to support Wanderlittles. Or not. It's all good. :)

We are on Day 4 of our "To Grandmother's House We Go" Holiday Travel Essentials Product Highlight and Giveaways Week! We have added a few items so all giveaways now end Wed, November 25 at 11:59pm CST. You can enter for each product by going to that day's blog post, or by heading to our Facebook page!
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Today we are going to highlight a product we wish we had known about when our daughter was a bit smaller, although we will definitely take this with us if we are ever putting her in a room with hardwood floors (she actually fell out of a bed onto hardwood floors on vacation this past summer-- argh!).

Soooo, what are you supposed to do when your little one is sleeping in a toddler bed at home, but you are headed to Grandma's where she will be in a big bed?? Well, we highlighted The Shrunks inflatable toddler bed the other day, and now we are showing you something that will take a little less room in your luggage (and by a little, we mean a lot): the inflatable bed rail. 

 The Shrunks has seriously answered your wiggly sleeper woes with this fantastic idea. Sure, we have used pillows in guest beds and hotels before, but they aren't much good because they always flatten out and move around, and your kiddo can just head over the top of them (like I said before, it has happened with us, and it was NOT awesome). 

So we decided to give this rail a try and I have to say it was quick to inflate with the included pedal pump, although you could definitely blow it up yourself if you have a good set of lungs. It fit perfectly under the fitted sheet on this queen bed, and didn't move around despite tons of wiggling when I let my daughter test it out. Impressive! You will want to think ahead to whether the bed is against a wall or not when deciding to order one rail or two (reasonably priced at $19 each). 
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I honestly would think this could be for so much more than just travel-- maybe even for transitioning a kiddo to a toddler bed. I actually almost grabbed it the other night when baby brother was sick and I wanted to just pull him into the guest bed with me to sleep, but luckily his meds kicked in and we were both able to get some rest. But I'm definitely keeping it on hand for the next time. 

Final thoughts: 
The inflatable bed rail takes up an incredibly small amount of space in your suitcase, but gives you a huge amount of peace of mind. 

And where is my model now? Well, I guess it made her feel nice and cozy, because she is in bed reading while I write this post. Another win for The Shrunks!!!

Today we are highlighting the Shrunks Inflatable bed rail but giving you ANOTHER chance to win the Shrunks Toddler Travel bed!! The secret word is "security"! 

Head to our Day 1 post to enter. If you already have, go back and do it again with the secret word this time!

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Thank you to The Shrunks for providing the rail for us to review, as well as the giveaway bed! This text contains affiliate links. Use them to support Wanderlittles! Or not. It's all good. :

Day 3 of our Kids' Holiday Travel Essentials list is here, and today we are featuring one product that helps us with the (absolutely essential) task of keeping our kiddos' entertained on those long plane rides: The Idea Box Kids "Airplane Activity Box" (recommended ages 3-10). 

What is this box we speak of? The Idea Box Kids company was created by a mom of three boys (shocker! she needed something to entertain them on an airplane?!) and offers these incredible little boxes full of wood coins with educational and fun activities that will keep your kiddos entertained for hours (seriously, hours). Here are some examples: 

• Have a staring contest
  
• Have someone hide an object. Can you find it?
  
• Look out the window for 10 seconds. Explain in detail everything you saw. 

Sure, these ideas are simple. Therein lies their beauty (no need to pack a huge back o' tricks). Congratulations, Mama or Daddy, you don't need to come up with activities on your own! Or maybe siblings could even play with each other? Awesome.

Sure, you could just hand your older kids an iPad. Or, you could embrace the adventure and take the time to engage with and enjoy your children on the journey . . . believe me, Mama, that in-flight magazine is nowhere near as important as laughing and learning with your kiddos. At least on the way to wherever you are going. On the way home, you have my full permission to order yourself a little plastic bottle of Chardonnay and open that SkyMall. Because you survived a trip with your children. Go you!

@Stocking stuffer alert!!* The Idea Box Kids also makes nearly SIXTY different types of boxes for all occasions: 

• Date Night (for kids!)
  
• Big Brother/ Sister (what a cute way to let them know they are going to have a sibling, or a great baby shower gift for the older sibling!)
• Chores
• Caring (acts of kindness)
• Party favor mini boxes (Pirate, Princess, Science, Backyard)
• Tons more!

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All giveaways run until Wed, 11/25 at 11:59pm. You can like, share, and comment on our Facebook post, or enter below. Good luck! (US only, but if you are abroad you can always enter and have it sent to your parents' house!). 

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This post contains affiliate links to Etsy. Thank you to The Idea Box Kids for providing the giveaway!! 

Day 2 of our "To Grandmother's House We Go" Holiday Giveaways is here! (Did you enter to win Day 1 Shrunks Toddler Travel bed yet?). All giveaways run until Wednesday night!
 

By: Steph

Ahhh, Paris; the city of light and the setting of every girls' Audrey Hepburn fantasy. At first thought, it's the last place on Earth you would think of taking a vacation with the kiddos, but let me explain why I think it is EXACTLY the place you should take them.

Call me crazy but I packed up my kids, all three of them, and flew to Paris for a once-in-a-lifetime 10 day trip. We had more than a few bumps along the way (more on that in another post so stay tuned in) but the trip was so amazing I'm trying to convince my husband we need to buy property there. I'm serious, I loved it that much! So here's the run down of what we did and why it worked so well for us. 
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