Million Miles Gift Bags That Goes the Mileage for Kids

Here's a money saver idea that ensures all kids in your kid's class gets a xmas gift, despite a tight budget:

It is really simple, and the results are big!

Instead of having all the parents buy a big gift for one child or none at all, make it affordable, and make it bigger by having participating parents bring each child a $1 or very inexpensive trinket (flashcards, stickers, play doh, toy, crayons, coloring books, bubbles, books, candies, school supplies, etc.) You can be really creative, too, parents, with each gift - fuzzy pencils, little binoculars, little magnifying glasses, glow-in-the-dark rings, etc.

You don't need to have a list of what to buy, but you should at least let each other know what you got to add to the list.

Have 1 parent organize the gifts into a gift bag with tissue. Place each trinket into the gift bag for each child, with a from label listing each child who participated. (I brought my daughter shopping for her classmates' gifts, which she chose, and for the gift bag when I organized this for her class, and she LOVED it.)

BIG MILEAGE POINTS HERE: Letting your child choose the gifts for her classmates gives her a sense of accomplishment and pride. It also helps her learn to stay within budget, while helping you know what her classmates would like. If she likes it, then most likely the other kids will, too.

In the end, the gift bag was full of LOTS of gifts that could last throughout the year - Gifts that can be taken on the road for when you take that road trip, gifts that are easy to pack, gifts that are delightful to open, and gifts that help your child stay busy during the day, at restaurants, etc.

I organized this for my daughter's class this year, and it worked out really well :) And I announced when this would be delivered to her teacher so the kids were anticipating it. I got big smiles and excitement the day the bags were delivered in each cubby for pick up.

So...if it's too late to do something like this this year, maybe next year.


Happy Holidays!

Kailin
Million Miles Mama

You Had Me at WAHHHH!

You know you're in love with your baby when:

1) You heard the first cry and didn't head for the hills, trying to find the baby's parent (oh yeah, it's you)

2) You can stand watching back to back episodes all day long of Oobi or Barney or something that if you weren't a parent, you'd take a brick to the telly.

3) You can barely keep your eyes open and you hear, "another story?" but you smile and take out the 10th storybook of the night, even if it is repetitive and about talking animals who you care a naught about.

4) You had to sit through traffic then fight for parking just to arrive at the amusement park just to stand in a long line so that you get a chance to ride a ride that spins you around like a salad spinner. AND Then do it all over again...

5) You find yogurt or baby food all over your baby's face and tray and floor and hands and refrigerator and clothes...and you can only smile because your baby has a look of pure joy and discovery on her face.

6) No matter how much your back hurts or how tired you are, you don’t mind holding your baby for long hours at a time, even if your baby weighs over 30 pounds…

7) You've become an expert at diaper-changing, even on the worst days.

8) Your idea of dining out is at child-friendly food establishments serving crayons with macaroni rather than a hip new to-be-seen restaurant serving artsy food on breakable china.

9) You’d rather spend a day playing doctor/patient with your baby than spend the day shopping or at the spa or hanging out with grown-ups.

10) You wear that funky hat or shirt your baby made in school so proudly…

11) Your house looks more like a preschool after playtime than the chic designer home you once had or envisioned…but you don’t care.

12) You don’t immediately rush to wash your shirt or hands after your baby barf on you, but you hold your baby close and comfort her trying to make sure she’s feeling better and that all is well.

Million Miles Mama's Tips for Stretching Your Holiday Dollars

I used to get paid the bucks (not necessarily the big bucks) to work miracles for my corporate employers. Most of these miracles involve putting together a big corporate-wide strategy for a campaign, get huge results, and work on a little to non-existent budget. Wow.

So, how do I go about creating miracles? Well...lots of prayers, indeed, my friends, it takes lots of prayers. But aside from the prayers and waiting for it to start raining buckets of much needed revenue to pull off any campaign, I had to call upon the help of...creativity. That's it.

Creativity. Thinking Out of the Box...you call it what it is.

I will not share details on what to make or how to go about making your holiday gifts, but I will give you some tips on how to get started. Think of this as an exercise in creativity...


First of all...

1) Make a list of people you are giving gifts to this year.

I want to encourage your holiday giving spirit, but in order to be efficient with gift-giving and to save on your energy and expenses, I have to say...enough is enough on giving gifts to those who never give you a gift back or gives you gifts that shows they just don't care. Which brings us to...

2) Make the Gifts Personal

With a tight budget, it really is about "it is the thought, that counts."

3) Make it Clever

What do you mean, you might be asking. I'm sure if you stretch your creativity a bit, you may come up with something clever. So...I'll drop you a Million Miles example:

How about personal baked cookies with a likeness of your friend's face on it! Better yet, Gingerbread cookies with your friend's face on it, accompanying it with a note saying something corny, but sweet like, "Our friendship gets sweeter with every bite."

Overall cost: $5 for ingredients. Packaging of 5 cookies: $2 Wow. Inexpensive, but it definitely shows you put a lot of thought and work into the gift.

4) Make a Show of Giving!

Ever wonder why one perfume costs more than the other or why one lotion is better than the other? It has a lot to do with marketing and packaging.

We can certainly use the same strategy corporate marketers like myself use in creating a luxury-feel to a gift. Be creative, use colors, use small to large packaging, use creative crafts to make your gift stand out.

Here's another Million Miles tip:

Put your gift in a reusable package - for instance, cookies - put your cookies in cellophane, nicely wrapped in brightly-colored chiffon neck scarves, tied with a bright rhinestone hairclip or brooch.

Then invite all your girlfriends out for hot chocolate or coffee holiday get together.


Wouldn't you like to get invited to a holiday get together like that? Now about those invitations...you can really have some fun with that, too....


In the meantime, happy holidays and happy creating....

Kailin

First Time Air Travel with a Toddler/Preschooler

If this is the first time you've ever flown anywhere with your toddler/preschooler, then you really have to prepare early to make the experience as smooth and pleasant for everyone. Yes...and to keep your sanity.

I find that there are a few things that I've found over the miles through trial and error to help me when I travel with my 2-year-old. Because of my love of travel, because I used to have a corporate international management job for major hotel companies, and because I air commute between homes in two states, I've literally accumulated over a million miles of travel in the last 9 years. Travel hasn't ceased since having my daughter London. She's been on every flight I've taken for the last 2 years and have gone on over 30 flights and 2 cruises. So, at age 2, she is a travel pro!

Here's the rundown on my tried and true picks and tips for air travel with a tot:

1) Get an all-in-one stroller and car seat.

- I love the Sit-N-Stroll

(Simple to use and very compact, this car seat literally turns into a stroller. I've received lots of compliments from taxi drivers to celebrities in Beverly Hills about how "transformer-like" this stroller/car seat is. Instead of 2 baby travel contraption to lug around, you just have 1, and it is easy to push, smooth, and doubles as a luggage cart for small luggage. ) If you plan on driving a car or being in a car at your destination, then this beats lugging around a car seat.

A Note on Cares Flight Belt - I have one, and I use it for my daughter while inflight. It is very comfortable, light, and easy to use. I just started using this for the last 3 flights, and my daughter was fine with it. The best thing about it is it is FAA-approved, the bad thing is...it is expensive.

2) A Goody Bag or Backpack for your little one. This serves an obvious purpose - entertainment for your toddler/preschooler and distraction.

- Pack small toys (familiar and new ones), small and light books, activity books with coloring activities or a doodle board.

3) DVD player and comfortable Headphones - For particularly long flights and trips.

I like dvd players that includes a car mount so it works on the plane and in the car. Make sure the dvd player has a stand or closes up so you can also use it anywhere else...hotel room, doctor's office. I use mine everywhere I know there is going to be a long wait...including restaurants.

4) Snacks and special diet foods, if necessary.

5) Extra diapers (day's worth and 1 or 2 more in case of flight delays.)

6) Extra clothing for you and your little one, especially a light sweater for in-flight wear.

7) Easy-to-take off shoes (for going through Security Checks quickly.)

8) See-through ziplock bag for you to put cell phones, keys, and small pocket objects so you have everything in 1 place going through the Security Check. Take out your ziplock bag and place small pocket objects in it, and seal right before you place the bag through the Security Check conveyor belt.

9) Antibacterial Wet-wipes (to clean your little one's hands, to wipe up spills, to clean off airplane seat trays and wipe headrests.)

I also find that reading a children's book about airplanes and the airport, playing with a toy airplane, and looking at airplane photos days before the flight has helped my little one feel at ease about travel.

So, with some preparation and patience...you may find air travel with a toddler/preschooler pleasant and even fun.

Good luck and Safe Travels!