Say Hello To My Little Friend...

As we prepare to fly to Florida with 3 boys, the Nintendo DS is the holy grail of parents everywhere. My kids rarely play theirs, but on car trips, waiting for tables in restaurants, and flying in airplanes this little gem is worth it's weight in gold. Nintendo, I'm broke from buying 3 of these...but I love you.

As great as the DS is for travel, they can be played only so long before children get antsy. Especially when said children are headed to the "Promised Land" (aka Disneyworld). The shear anxiety that this trip has caused my boys is like 10 Holidays rolled into one. They. Can't. WAIT. (I, on the other hand, am wishing I'd just woken them up Saturday and said "Hey, guess what? Get up, because we are going to Disney...in an hour!)

Let me fill you in on my arsenal, compliments of the local Dollar Tree.

Half of these $1 treasures will be gift wrapped and stowed in my carry on bag (the other half in my luggage for the ride home). God have mercy on the security guard who even attempts to rifle through that bag. It is my sanity, my salvation, the only thing that will get me to Florida alive and intact. I will fight for it with my life. (Dramatic? Have YOU flown with 3 young boys on their way to DISNEY before?)


Where was I? Oh, right, wrap the gifts (Don't get imaginative, just get one of the same for each kid to open at the same time. The other passengers will thank you.) As you wrap, number them. Fun gum is always #1 (you know, the ear pressure thing)

The rest of the packages contain silly putty, cheap magic tricks, puzzles, slime etc... I always alternate my toys with candy. A little candy goes a long way, a lot of candy will leave them hyper and puking. (Just a tip from a mom who has caught her share of puke with her own two hands or in a special puke-catching recepticle otherwise known as her shirt.)



As we get closer to our destination (Disney!) the gifts will get more Disney-ish. You know, this same Disney-themed stuff I got at the Dollar tree would have cost me an arm and a leg in the parks! The second to the last gift is a Mickey Mouse mini-skateboard and the last is a little project seen here.

I've packaged up lots of Disney stickers and a small notebook for them to decorate their own autograph book for the characters (yeah, Big Guy, saving us money left and right!)

Here is Helper Munchkin hiding his eyes while I wrap. He couldn't stand to be out of the action, but I didn't want him to ruin the surprise. He is practically vibrating with anticipation (he thinks I can't tell he's peeking)

Inspecting the wrapped packages, what is in there?!

Let me show you how the Big Guy and I plan to make it through the trip...



:)