All you clever, clever, Mommies out there- I need your help!
Here’s the dealio. I’m currently planning our 4-6wk visit to New England. It will be from early Decemberish to early Januaryish, and I am in desperate need of guidance in the areas of: toddler winter gear, toddler activities in the Boston area, and travel with 22 month olds.
I do feel a bit stupid asking about winter gear as I was raised in New England, and activities in Boston, as I lived there for 4 years. If the girls were in their twenties, I would have no trouble at all keeping them adequately dressed and entertained, but they’re not, and I’m totally ignorant in regard to tot seasonal wear and activities. So- pride aside!
Gear: What are the must haves for toddler cold weather gear? On a typical December day, what would you put on your tot? I don’t want to go overboard, as my tropical jungletwins will probably not take kindly to oodles of winter wear strapped onto their bodies, but they would even less kindly to bitter cold….so, what keeps your kids toasty and not too annoyed?
Boston Activities: We’re going to be in the Boston/Cambridge area for 1-2 weeks. A lot of that time will be spent with in laws flying in from England to hang with the girls. I will undoubtably murder someone or jump out the hotel window if we are stuck in our hotel room for 1-2 weeks. So please, please, tell me where to take my tots- any tot friendly activities, restaurants, etc., would be extremely useful and appreciated.
Travelin’: My girls did a whole lot of flying their first year of life- loads of planes, etc., but that was before they walked and talked. They have not been on a plane since they were 11 months, and I’m quite sure traveling with two 22 month olds will not be the same as traveling with two 11 month olds. So- travel must haves and survival tips please.
Many, many thanks in advance 
While I’m not a “Boston Mom” I have visited. The aquarium is a must! It is one of the best aquariums I’ve ever been to.
For the times that we’re just in and out of the car, I usually put a fleece jacket on them, with a hat and mittens if it’s cold enough for such things. But sometimes it’s too cold for that.
Old Navy has a 3-in-1 jacket (parka plus fleece), and they have a 15% off code that’s good until tomorrow (ONBDAY15). They also have fleece hat and mitten sets (look under “Accessories”). I’d probably go for that, because then you have the flexibility depending on how cold it is. I probably wouldn’t bother with snowpants unless you anticipate actually playing in the snow.
I second the Aquarium. In fact, I have a membership. We should meet up there!
Kids under 2 are free. There’s the Children’s Museum, too, though that might be a little old for your kids. But I think they have a toddler area. If it’s not too frigid, head to the Boston Common and they might have the ice skating rink done by then. I think the Franklin Park and Stone zoos has a holiday lights kind of thing going on at that time of year.
If you want to drive up closer to me (maybe 20-25 min), there are a couple of good indoor play spaces. Email me and I’ll send you the details.
I have found Legal Seafoods surprisingly kid-friendly, especially if you can go at an off-peak time.
Travel: I highly recommend a laptop with a DVD player and/or a portable DVD player. And get some toddler headphones (I got mine from Amazon, email me for the specific one) and teach them to use them before you go. LIFESAVER. Couple of Backyardigans DVDs or the Cars movie and we’re golden. I don’t usually let them veg out for long stretches of time with the TV, but totally worth it on the plane.
Travelin’ tip: wrap gifts/toys and stash them away in your bag without the girls seeing them, then have them open them on the plane to play with. When they get bored of one toy, they open another. Also, I know a lady with triplets who put together little gift baskets for the passengers around them, complete with ear plugs, mini crossword puzzles, candy, gum, etc. Good luck!
I think traveling with 22 month olds is significantly easier than traveling with 15 month olds. One word = television. Yes you hate it in real life, but think of the passengers. The passengers! We netflixed a bunch of dvds to try out ahead of time, bought toddler headphones and had one something watchable per kid (iphone, ipod, dvd player). You can buy so much time with that. Bonus for iphone or ipod touch since there are so many games you can download.
It doesn’t get SUPER cold where we live but I grew up in a city where it was cold in the winters… that said -> Layers. Dress them in layers just in case they get hot and need to cool off.
I also like the mittens/gloves that have strings that go around their back and through the arm holes – so they can’t fall out!
You could also get them used to wearing hats by letting them play with hats for a few weeks before you go on vacay. I know my girls have about 10 hats in their toy box that they like to “play” with – so when it’s cold out, they generally keep their winter hats on their heads when we’re outside.
Traveling with Toddlers: Two recommendations ->
1. The Dollar Store – they’ve got plenty of cheapo crayons/coloring books/toys/etc that you can whip out in a jiffy to distract them.
2. http://www.doubletheadventure.com/2008/10/flying-with-twin-toddlers.html
This is a specific post about flying with twin toddlers, but the whole site has a lot of stuff about traveling with twins. Hope it helps!
I’ve only had a short layover in Boston, so I am of no help for things to do there. HAVE FUN!!!
For travel:
1. GoGo Kidz Travelmates. I could not manage two kids alone in an airport without them. They make it easy to take our car seats on the plane with us, which means that it’s no different for the girls than our daily commute, except that Mama’s not busy driving!
2. Print out a copy of the TSA regulations regarding traveling with kids. That way, if you run into someone clueless at security checkpoints, you can tell them what they should know. Sad, but effective.
3. Lollipops at takeoff and landing to help with pressure changes and minimize ear discomfort. Ring pops are a big hit!
4. New toys for the flight. Novelty is a good thing when you can’t get up and move around.
Oh, duh! I did a post on this subject: http://rodrigueztwins.blogspot.com/2008/12/twin-toddler-travel-tips-or-how-we.html
I think Museum of Science has a toddler area/playspace as well. Not sure if you have this on the island but the mall in Burlington (and others) have a Build-A-Bear workshop. You’re girls might be on the young side for that…That mall also has a play area but its still a 20-30 min drive from the city.
I just bought winter jackets for my kids thanks to Goddess’s tip – thanks, Goddess! Now I’m searching for toddler bundlemees to take them out in strollers. Does the hotel you are staying at have an indoor pool? That could be fun!
My twins just wear jackets when we go out on little trips. We add a hat if we’ll be outside for any length of time, but otherwise, just the jacket. Inside clothing, depends on the temp. If it’s a mild day, just pants and long sleeves. On a colder day, maybe a sweater or sweatshirt.
When we traveled over the summer, the Dollar Tree toys and gadgets were lifesavers. I still have the little bags of toys and my daughter still loves playing with them when my son gets his Early Intervention services (keep her busy and out of his hair).
http://www.hdydi.com/2009/07/good-plane-fun-for-everyone/
As for activities, my guys (now 19 months, so I think about the same age as yours) love storytime at the library and going to drop in playgroups. So you could always look into those once you’ve hit the cool touristy hot spots.
I found your page randomly on twitter & saw your location is a island in the pacific. I have a cousin that recently traveled from HI to PA with her 2 children and to keep the kids from going crazy & making her crazy…since it’s such a long trip, she stopped in Phoenix for 2-3 days then continued on the PA. She did the same thing when she returned home. She says it made the trip so much easier & less stressful since they weren’t on on a plane or airports for 12+ hours screwing up the kids schedule.
Another thing I would suggest is bringing as little equipment with you, i.e carseats. Go to thenewparentsguide.com for baby gear rentals at your destination.
And try to keep things as simple as you can by sticking to your kids eating, sleeping, playing schedule/routines…it will make your trip sooooo much easier!