My own kiddos love playing while we travel. If we’re in an airport, chances are we’re playing I Spy or even Hide and Seek, if the terminal isn’t too full. But when I break out the physical games and printables, that’s when Max and Edie get truly excited.

I have a feeling your kids might be the same. So simply download and print out these Holiday Travel Bingo games before your next trip. If you’re sitting, you can use anything to mark the squares—coins work well. Or if you’re en route, kids can X the squares off with a crayon or pencil. Either way, this free holiday Bingo game will help pass the time for the whole family!

I’m crossing my fingers for you and smooth travels, zero delays and friendly seat mates. But don’t leave your kids’ travel entertainment to chance. Use these Holiday Travel Bingo games to keep your whole family feeling merry and bright this holiday season.

It’s not just you—holiday travel IS busy

On average, travel is about a quarter busier than average around Christmas. And last year, an estimated third of Americans traveled during the holidays. That’s 112.5 million people on the roads, rails, runways—maybe even sleigh trails—according to AAA.

I’m not sharing those stats to scare you into staying home! I’m just validating your sneaking suspicion that holiday travel really is busier than normal.

The potential of winter weather delays also makes holiday travel feel busier than normal. (After all, when people aren’t moving when expected, that means roads and airports are more congested.)

One study researched a year’s worth of data on weather delays and found these to be the most delayed airports in the US:

Worst U.S. Airports for Weather Delays

1. San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
2. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
3. Chicago O’Hare international Airport (ORD)

Now you can’t always choose which airport to fly out of, and you can’t miraculously change the weather in your region. But if you are flying out of one of these hubs, keep in mind winter weather delays are more likely than not. Then make sure you’re prepared—including having things on hand to keep kids entertained, like this Holiday Travel Bingo game!

Holiday Travel Bingo game to keep kids entertained

So much of parenthood is recognizing the difference between what you can control and what you can’t, then moving on from there.

Family travel is the same. You can’t control snow and ice, nor can you control how many other people hit the road when you do. But you can control what you plan to keep your kids entertained during holiday travel.

So why wouldn’t you want these free Holiday Travel Bingo cards? They’re easily portable, so you can bring them along wherever you go. They have a good mix of festive and regular travel squares. They’re usable for air travel as well as road trips. (If you’re driving, make sure to be on the lookout during rest stops and potty breaks!)

How to use this holiday Bingo printable

Travel can be complicated. You have to book your trip, get to the airport on time or pack up the minivan for a road trip, deal with traffic and other delays, and keep track of everything from boarding passes to your actual children.

Luckily, using my holiday Bingo printable is easy peasy lemon squeezy (or “easy peasy yemon deezy,” as Maxine says, with her adorable pronunciation).

Here’s how to make the most of this free travel Bingo printable:

1. Sign up to get the free holiday Bingo printable delivered to your email inbox—right away!
2. Print the holiday Bingo cards. I think color is more fun and festive, but black and white is fine, too. Print the right number of cards for the people in your family. The PDF you’ll get includes 4 different cards!
3. [optional step] Laminate the Bingo cards. This is a great option if your trip is long, or if you want to play holiday travel Bingo on the way to and from your destination. Bonus tip: If you laminate, bring along dry erase markers, which you can erase from laminated pages and then reuse!
4. Hand out the holiday Bingo cards to everyone in your family who wants to play. They can mark off squares with crayons or use coins or pompoms as markers.
5. Decide if there will be a prize. You might want to stash some Hershey’s Kisses for winners, or dole out little toys. Or you can just play for funsies!

Make holiday travel easier with fun and games

No matter if you’re visiting loved ones this holiday or going on a getaway that doesn’t involve family and friends, I know you’ll agree you could use all the help you can get making holiday travel a tad bit easier.

I’ve definitely been there, after all. I know firsthand that smoother winter travel makes for a better family trip overall. So I am sure you’ll have as much fun playing this free holiday Bingo game as I did creating it!

Let me know when you use it and tag me on Instagram. I can’t wait to hear all about your holiday travels!

In the meantime, tell me: Are you heading out of town this holiday or staying put at home??

The post Holiday Travel Bingo: Free printables for family travel this holiday appeared first on To & Fro Fam.

A writer’s retreat staycation to level up your blog

Being a travel blogger as a side hustle isn’t always easy. I love nothing more than exploring a family-friendly destination with my kids (or a kid-free getaway!), but then I have to actually find the time to write about my adventures. I love writing blog posts, too, but while juggling my full-time job and motherhood, my to-write list is always long—and daunting. That’s why I recently reserved an entire day for a writer’s retreat staycation—and here’s why you should, too.

Setting aside a whole day to do nothing but work on my blog made me more productive. It helped me bank a reserve of travel blog posts to draw from during busy weeks. It allowed me to focus on creating great content my fans love to read. And it cut out distractions—even the cutest distractions in the world, aka my kids.

What allowed me to spend a whole day focused on travel writing instead of laundry and fixing snacks and pretending not to see the stack of unopened mail on the counter? Building the writer’s retreat staycation around a brilliant concept I just learned about: Hotels By Day. The startup, which you may remember from its appearance on Shark Tank, partners with hotels around the world to open up rooms during the day. So if you have a day-long layover en route to a far-flung destination, or you want a place to clean up for a wedding and use the pool after a day of hiking, you can reserve a room with Hotels By Day. Or, of course, you can do a “daycation” writer’s retreat like my blogging bestie Jenni from A Well Crafted Party and I did.

7 steps to write a library of blog posts in one day

Pretty sure it’s safe to say all of us bloggers want to create better content more quickly—right? Batching blog post writing—in the right environment and with the right productivity hacks—helps you write more (and more engaging!) posts. Here’s how to plan the ultimate blogging writer’s retreat staycation.

1. Post up in a place without distractions

Jenni and I got into our room at Portland’s The Jupiter and it was clean, uncluttered and definitely free of My Little Ponies all over the floor. In other words, it was the serene opposite of my house.

Booking a daycation with Hotels By Day for our local writer’s retreat gave me the space to concentrate on writing great blog posts. Because my attention wasn’t being constantly pulled this way and that, I was able to get more done in these hours than I could ever dream of at home.

2. Pack your writer’s essentials

When we went on our writer’s retreat staycation, I packed the notebook I use for brainstorming posts, my bullet journal with my hashtag lists, post-it notes—and a pack of La Croix. You see, we all have quirky routines that put us in the writing mindset, and mine just happens to be sparkling pamplemousse. #dontjudge

3. Articulate your writing goals

To have a successful writer’s retreat staycation, you first need to figure out what you aim to accomplish—and be specific. For me, I wanted to write a bank of travel blog posts that I could have ready to publish during the busy weeks when I don’t have the time to write a post from scratch. You may want to spend your time researching long-tail keywords and brainstorming post ideas, or rebranding your web site, or go my route and just write. But regardless of what you do, pick—and stick with—one theme, at least for a chunk of time.

This productivity hack is called batching, and research shows it’s much more effective than our usual way of working. When we multitask—e.g. begin to write a blog post but then remember that you need to create a pin for it so you go through your images and then remember another point you want to add to your post—your productivity dips 40%.

So be clear about your goal for your writer’s retreat staycation. You can write it on a post-it note to steer you back to your task when you’re tempted to peek at reddit, or you can share it with your writing partner like I did with Jenni. Just make sure you know what you’re doing—and what you’re not doing.

4. Fuel your creativity

If you’ve rented a room for the day, you may be tempted to hole up and not leave—but don’t forget to eat! Jenni and I ate breakfast at Moberi and lunch at Prasad East, where we indulged in 100% healthy and delicious food that wouldn’t make us feel sluggish afterward. Make sure to take food breaks! A hungry brain is not creative.

5. Channel encouragement and inspiration

Sometimes it’s hard to get in the blog writing zone—whatever you type doesn’t seem right. In these moments, I like to draw inspiration from other writers.

That’s why I made a set of cards with quotes on writing. (I even made them pretty, because glitter washi tape makes everything better!) When I’m feeling stuck, I pull out a card at random and use the advice from the quote on writing to push me out of my rut.

And hey, you can too! Download my free quotes on writing printable for a little inspiration. And if you’re like me and want to go just a tad bit extra, gussy them up with washi tape. #teamglitter

6. Get a change of scenery

Just because we booked a Hotels By Day room didn’t mean we had to stay behind that closed door (although have you seen the doors at The Jupiter? They’re chalkboards! Yes, we took advantage).

So no matter where you’re doing your writer’s retreat staycation, move every so often. Getting out of your chair wakes you up and increases blood flow (and therefore nutrient-rich, creativity-boosting blood to your brain). A change of scenery may help spark new ideas, too.

At The Jupiter, we hung out for a bit in the hotel lobby, which was filled with the attention-grabbing photo composites of Portland icons created by Beth Kerschen. Oh, and the lobby had coffee and tea, too. #caffeine!

Plan your next writer’s retreat staycation

Jenni and I vowed to do another writer’s retreat staycation—or daycation, or destination—soon. I was blown away by how much more productive I was writing blog posts when I wasn’t doing anything else. (I know, shocking!)

We don’t have another writer’s retreat on the books yet (because life), but this one won’t be our last. Whether we book our writer’s retreat spot again through Hotels By Day, or rent a house together on the beach, or simply take over a local cafe, we’ll be rocking the writer’s retreat staycation before long. If you want your choice made easy, though, book through Hotels By Day because a day-long hotel stay is a savvy way to plan a writer’s retreat.

Want to join me? Reach out via my contact page. Whenever you’re in Portland I’d love to connect with fellow travel bloggers or travel-loving parents!

The post 7 steps to write a library of posts in a day—with a writer’s retreat staycation appeared first on To & Fro Fam.