On Thanksgiving we made the rounds to visit Family. Being a family of three is new to us, traveling and visiting with a toddler is even newer. Now I consider myself a well-prepared Mama. I’m one of those organized list makers- I write myself notes like (don’t forget sippy cup in fridge, don’t forget camera) Being as organized as I am I still goofed up and made mistakes. That got me to thinking about a post I could write about things to bring while visiting friends & family this Holiday Season. Feel free to let me know if you have any other great ideas or feedback that you think we all could benefit from.


Take a sippy cup and extra milk/juice whatever your child drinks- often family may only have skim milk or juice boxes and neither of those agree with my little ones tummy.

Bring your own Booster seat- we found one at a resale shop. Livi is not old enough to be at the kid’s table just yet, she needs my supervision and help with eating. This Booster helped us and was much better than her being on my lap.

Bring your own toys- some families just don’t cater to the toddler scene. I keep special toys & books in my daughter’s diaper bag and something new to keep her attention.

Supervise- Aunt Nelda’s beloved antique china, and porcelain pig collection are so tempting for little fingers. Watch that Christmas tree too.This is our biggest challenge when visiting especially when the Family does not have a toy box. We visited two families on Turkey day…. One home was child friendly and one was not. Livi enjoyed the new different toys and this was much easier for us.

Beware of Pets…. We have one very shy cat that does not go near our daughter. I’m trying to teach my daughter to be leery of animals and ask before petting. But you know toddlers. Keep your child away from pet’s… even friendly animals can bite if a child is around their food or bugs them endlessly.


Don’t forget stuff… We left stuff at each house we visited…. We forgot our booster seat, bib, and Livi’s favorite baby doll ½ way across town. The hard thing is when you bring so much stuff its easy to forget it. At least we remembered Livi

picture credit