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Travel Love – A Must-Have for Families Traveling to Europe

Disclaimer: I received this product from Travelove free of charge in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. I only recommend products that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands. 🙂 

Growing up I had the privilege to take multiple trips outside the United States. The experiences I had overseas broadened my horizons and (I hope) have made me a better global citizen. From the moment I found out I was pregnant with Goose – which occurred mere weeks after returning from a 2 week trip to France – I began to dream of sharing my love of travel with my own children.

Unfortunately the reality of parenting has made such a trip unrealistic for the past few years. Now that Nugget and Goose are both growing we have begun to plan their first visit to Europe. My husband is a bit airplane obsessed (see this post for proof!) so we are planning to return to France with the boys in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Of course that will just be one small part of our trip and I am eager to show the boys Paris, the Loire Valley and hopefully a bit of the Languedoc Region as well.

Eiffel Tower Paris

Knowing that this trip is in our future, I was so incredibly excited to have the opportunity to review the City Family Kit from Travelove. Guys – this thing is amazing! I hardly know where to begin because I’m so excited to share it with you all!

What is Travelove?

The City Family Kit from Travelove comes with all this and more!

Travelove was founded when an amazing woman named Katka decided to quit her job and combine her passion for her family and travel. As a native of Prague, Katka knew that she could share the very best parts of her city, far better than any outside travel writer. She used her knowledge to create the City Family Kit – an all in one kit to help entertain and educate children ages 4-7, 8-11, or teens while traveling through Europe. Currently Travelove sells kits featuring the following cities: Prague, Paris & Rome. More cities are already in the works, so if your destination isn’t currently listed keep checking back!

What Comes in the City Family Kit?

This is how the Travelove City Family Kit Arrives - So Cute!

I received a Paris City Family Kit for review and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure what I would receive. When I opened the box I was overwhelmed by the level of detail. There is literally nothing you will need that isn’t included – even a pencil sharpener!

The kit comes in this darling box, carefully tied up with ribbon. Before I even opened it I knew I’d find something good inside. Inside the box there are 2 books and a plastic backpack style bag full of goodies (more about those later!)

“My Trip to Paris”

Kids Activity Book Travelove City Family Kit

The first book is ‘My Trip to Paris’, a kids activity book. As you can see in the images below, the book is chock full of interactive activities and mini lessons. It’s designed as a companion to the smaller adult guidebook below, and the activities in the book correspond to one of the tours. All along the way there are fun facts about the sites you’re visiting and activities for the children to participate in.

“3 Days Paris with Kids”

These 2 Books are just part of what make the City Family Kit from Travelove Awesome

The second book is “3 days Paris with kids”. This is more of a traditional travel guide for adults with a special emphasis on family friendly activities and attractions. What makes these books so special is that they are each authored by a parent who lives in the city so you get a real insider experience. Honestly this guide alone is fully worth the cost! The guidebook features 3 self-guided tours through the city with lots of family friendly extras. This info alone is worth it because it recommends kid-friendly restaurants, parks and playgrounds!

The Activity Bag

The City Family Kit from Travelove is full of fun goodies to keep kids entertained and educated

Finally, there’s the bag of goodies. As I stated earlier, Katka thought of everything in this kit. Most of the contents correspond to the activities in the ‘My Trip to Paris’ book. So there is a fun pen (with multicolored inks!) for filling out the written activities, bubbles and balloons where suggested etc.

  • Reusable Drawstring Backpack Style Bag
  • Custom Paris Stickers
  • Blank Postcard to Decorate
  • Crayons
  • Colored Pencils
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • Scissors
  • Glue Stick
  • Magnet (you’ll have to read to find out what clever activity this is for!)
  • Oil Pastels
  • 2 Ballons
  • Pen with Multicolored Ink
  • Custom Landmark Stickers
  • Bubbles

If you’re like me, you probably could come up with your own educational activities to go along with your trip, but let’s be honest; planning an overseas vacation with kids is tricky enough. Why spend all your time planning activities for your trip when this kit will take care of it for you?

How Do I Get a Kit?

Just click here to visit the Travelove website where you can easily order your own City Family Kit. They’re even offering 2 free eBooks for download when you make a purchase! Whether you’ve already booked your trip or have just started planning I wouldn’t delay on ordering your City Family Kit. As soon as word gets out on how awesome these things are I expect the prices to go way up. It’s just too awesome of a bargain!

Paris Street Performer making Bubbles with Little Boy

Nugget & Goose Take to the Skies

Tot School isn't just about sitting home doing art projects - it's about embracing learning anywhere and everywhere. Even on vacation! Trave lto educate your children!

Today’s post is a little different. Instead of the usual crafts and activities I would like to share with you how we choose to make our family vacations educational and enriching. Tot School isn’t just about sitting home doing art projects and studying flash cards. It’s about making education a priority for your children, anywhere and everywhere you go. I believe that using travel to educate your child is every bit as important as the lessons they will learn in the home or classroom.

Years ago hubby and I decided to purchase a camper trailer as a way to spend more time together as a family. When Nugget arrived I wasn’t sure if I would have what it takes to camp with a baby (although a camper with refrigerator, microwave and bathroom is hardly roughing it!). Fortunately we decided to give it a try and things actually went very well. Since then we have taken the boys camping several times a year.

I think it’s fantastic to have a week or more where we talk and play without any TV. The only time the boys get to use electronic devices is during particularly long stretches in the road. After all, Nugget isn’t even 2 – anything beyond about 4 hrs is pushing it with him.

Travel to Educate your Children - Anything can be educational, so get them out of the house and let them explore their world!

Most recently we visited Oshkosh, Wisconsin for EAA Airventure – billed as the “World’s Largest Aviation Celebration”. The boys have loved seeing every model aircraft imaginable flying above and Goose has participated in several hands-on lessons. He has learned about aerodynamics, radar, and even construction methods for early aircraft. It is so rewarding to see the lessons we learn at home reinforced in a real world way.

Even the littlest Nuggets can learn about aviation in the right environment.

Of course Nugget and Goose rarely do things halfway, so their Papa decided they would need an appropriate “stroller” for the air show. After much research he decided to construct an electric F-82 Twin Mustang for the boys to ride around in.

Guys. This thing is no joke. Seriously it ended up being too heavy to push so he had to motorize it just to get it around! So here we are toodling around as the boys perfect their air show wave. I try to explain just how lucky they are. If I think it will take a few years for that lesson to click. In the meantime they are learning plenty of lessons about the importance of family, togetherness, and of course; aviation 😉.

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