Mabel’s Labels has a wide variety of labels that can make your trip smoother; whether you have safety concerns, lost luggage, mix-up items, fighting kids, or allergies – we’ve got a label for that!

Here are just a few ways that name labels can make traveling with kids easier:

1. No mix-ups with luggage or travel items – The Travel Label Pack

The biggest way to keep yourself organized and your items are safe while traveling is to use luggage labels! This is our all-time best label pack for travel! The Travel Label Pack is the easiest way to quickly and easily identify your luggage; it includes peel & stick labels with your contact info that can easily be applied to your luggage. Plus, large rectangle labels help identify your items from other similar items belonging to other families.

This is particularly helpful when heading on a cruise, or Disney Parks over Spring Break- where many families are living in close quarters, and all have look-a-like items.

Contact Info Bag Tags – if you love our regular bag tags, you’ll love these luggage tags! These have the cutest designs, kids and adults love them! They’ll not only keep your bags safe – and allow you to be contacted in the event they go missing- but they make your bags way more adorable and much easier to spot!

2. Keep high-priced items safe – Contact Info Labels

One of the biggest challenges of travelling with kids is keeping track of all their belongings. From toys to backpacks to jackets, it’s easy for things to get misplaced or lost in the shuffle. The LAST thing you want to lose on a trip is– let’s be honest, the tablet!

The Contact Info Labels have a name and phone number on them; this way, you can be reached if the item goes missing, especially the high-ticket items like the switch, tablet, phones or precious items your kids would be devastated to lose!

3. Tips to avoid sibling rivalry when traveling – Split Name Label Pack

If you have multiple children, it’s easy for their belongings to get mixed up, especially if they have similar items. By using name labels, you can avoid mix-ups between siblings. Each child can have their own label, making it clear which items belong to which child.

So, if your kids have look-a-like items, it’s best to label who’s is who. This will help avoid the evening fights over the toothbrush, the phone charger, the handheld games, and anything else that starts sibling fights!

This label pack isn’t just for travel but will help avoid all the sibling fights over stuff at home, too, for the price of one label pack, so it’s win-win!

4. Keep Your Kids Safe While Traveling – Silicone ID Bracelets 

The easiest way to give yourself peace of mind when you’re traveling to somewhere busy, is the Silicone ID Bracelet. When going to a busy beach, or theme park it can be very scary to lose sight of your child. The Silicone ID Bracelet is a small, fun bracelet your kids where (totally waterproof!) that has your phone number on it. This way, if your kids can’t remember your phone number or are too young – you’re easily reachable by whoever finds your child.

*Remember to always tell your kids that if they get separated – to look for another family! Parents are always the best and least intimidating way to help!

5. Name Labels for Travel Safety and Emergencies – Emergency Contact Labels

Travelling can be stressful enough, and it’s important to keep your child safe at all times, but if you’re travelling with a child with additional medical or safety needs it can be very daunting. The Emergency contact labels are the easiest way to ensure that everyone knows they have additional needs. By labelling your child’s medication or allergy information on their belongings, you can ensure that they receive the proper care they need if an emergency arises.

6. Travelling with Allergies – Medical Alert Label Pack

Similar to the Emergency Contact Labels, this Medical Alert Label Pack can help keep your family safe when travelling with additional medical concerns. This set of labels is perfect for travelling with allergies – these eye-catching labels have all the info needed in the case of an allergy attack while travelling.  Stick on water bottles, snack containers, bags and backpacks!

Name labels can make traveling with kids easier. From avoiding lost items to easy identification, peace of mind in an emergency, or medical concerns – they’re a simple and effective solution to many of the challenges of travel, and while they may not solve all the travel stresses, but they can certainly help!

Who doesn’t love neatly packed, organized, and labeled luggage!

Check out this post if you’re travelling with babies and want the best products and hacks to make it easier!

The post Name Labels for Travel: The Hack You Didn’t Know You Needed! appeared first on The Mabelhood.

Whether you’re flying or driving, we all want to save space, yet we don’t want to be caught without something we rely on. So, we’ve gathered our favorite tips and gadgets for travelling with babies in 2024. You’ll want to get your hands on these before you leave! Here are all our top tips, pack lists, and devices for travelling with a baby in 2024.

The best items for travelling with kids: 

Here are a few additional items to make sure you have on your list for 2023; investing in travel-friendly items may be the best decision, but these items will get used often! So whether on a night at grandma’s or a day trip, you’ll use them frequently.

Portable charger

A portable charger is a must. When you’re stuck in an airport and all the outlets are full, or your battery runs low on a long car ride. These days, getting caught without power is a parent’s worst nightmare. A portable charger is a game-changer and gives you insurance that you’ll never be caught powerless again.

Kids travel tray

If you’re driving to your location, the car can become a huge stressful mess. These travel trays for kids help keep everything organized and clean, and the kids won’t drop stuff on the floor you can’t reach.

Slumber pod

This a game-changer for when your baby needs to sleep at night, but you and your partners don’t want to sit in the dark! Or you need to encourage a nap on the go!

Air tags

With the amount of luggage nightmare stories in the media in 2022- 2023, this item quickly became the hottest and most talked about item this year! The little tracking device can help you locate your lost luggage.

Space saver bags

These are super helpful if you’re an over-packer. They can help save space in the car or allow you some additional room to squeeze into a carry-on in hopes of avoiding the need to check your bags. Once packing to return home, you can use the back of the hotel hairdryer or old-school rolling on the bag to push the air out.

Mini humidifier  

If you’re staying in a hotel, you may want to consider a mini humidifier, especially if you’re used to using one at home. These travel humidifiers are helpful when you find yourself in a hotel with the worst dry recycled air. It also has a small mood light that can help littles who like to have a bit of light in the room while they sleep.

Waterproof phone case or pouch

The last thing you need on a beach vacation is the hassle of replacing your phone (especially when these days we’re using our phones for payments, boarding passes, and all the important stuff!) The cost of a waterproof phone case far outweighs the hassles of a damaged phone abroad.

Travel Label Pack  

Labels can save everything from a germy mix-up, to lost items and sibling rivalries! This travel label pack is perfect for labeling all your belonging before you hit the road. 

You can pull together your complete pack list based on what you know you and your baby will require, but these gadgets are ones you’ll want to add to your list too.  

The Best Travel Tips for Parents:

1) Prepare for the worse
The best piece of travel advice is to prepare for things to go wrong. Once you plan for things to go wrong, everything will work out exactly as planned.

2) Deliver your diapers, wipes, and snacks
When packing your diapers/ wipes etc., you can order these items and have them shipped to your location. Nothing is better than arriving in a hotel room full of groceries, snacks, diapers, wipes, etc. You can save yourself a big headache of packing and carrying all these items.

3) Take what you need…
Mabel’s Labels founder and mom of six, Julie Cole gave the advice to steal the barf bags from the airplane!
They come in SO helpful; slip them in your purse, and you’ll always have them when you need one! (Read more of her travel tips here!)

4) Rent a stroller
If you think you can manage without a stroller in the airport (by using a sling and staying hands-free), you can save yourself the hassle of getting one on the plane. A quick google search in the area you’re going to and you can find a stroller rental service that delivers the stroller right to your hotel room.

So while it may all seem overwhelming to travel with babies and toddlers, it doesn’t need to be, and the highs will outweigh the lows! The best thing about traveling with a baby is a new appreciation of the simple pleasures we often take for granted

The post Tips and Gadgets for Traveling with Babies appeared first on The Mabelhood.

What has two feet, carries a backpack full of documents, and cries constantly?

Answer: Me, travelling during a pandemic.

For the past two summers, my two kids and I have travelled from our home in Las Vegas back to Ontario, Canada, where we’re from. Each trip ended the same way: with me swearing I will never, EVER, travel during a pandemic again. From cancelled flights and pricey rental cars to the multiple covid tests, grumpy customs officers, and mandatory quarantine, pretty much every step was a nightmare. Oh, and did I mention we were travelling with a dog?

Pandemic Gods willing, this will not be our reality this summer because – fingers crossed – there’s no new variant on the horizon and restrictions are easing. But that’s not to say travel will return to its pre-pandemic state anytime soon (when everything was just a major inconvenience and not a full-blown dystopian nightmare. Under his eye.)

It’s been forever since most of us went anywhere more exotic than the grocery store but with March break approaching, Easter weekend after that and summer vacation hot on its heels, more and more families are cautiously considering travel beyond their city limits. If this is you, keep reading for eight essential tips that will help you deal with the unpredictable, ever-changing, (possibly character-building?) ordeal, that is traveling with children during a pandemic.

1. Know the Testing, Mask and Vaccine Requirements in Your Area:

If you need a negative test, remember that not all tests are the same, and not every testing location offers every type of test. Furthermore, not every test is accepted by every airline or country. Therefore, you need to know exactly what type of test you need, what the testing window is (ie. when to get it so it’s still valid when you need it to be), and how long results will take. Then make sure you have the correct version of the negative test on hand, as some airlines or agents will insist on seeing the lab report, not just a cover page with your name and NEGATIVE stamped on it. Also review vaccine mandates and mask requirements for all ages, and be aware that these could change quickly and without notice.

2. Check and Double Check Your Information:

Be sure the identifying information on your covid test matches your travel documents. Last summer after CVS reversed the month and day of my daughter’s birthday, we spent an extra hour at the border trying prove her negative test was legit. What may not seem like a big deal to you can be a very big deal to a customs agent so before you leave the pharmacy or testing centre, make sure everything is accurate.

3. Be Flexible.

Expect things to go wrong. Not because you’re a pessimist, but because that seems to be the way of the world these days. If you’re going to travel in a global pandemic, even if things seem to be improving, it’s reasonable and prudent to expect changes, delays, and just more hassles in general. Being mentally and logistically prepared to go with the flow will help you stay calm and organized.

4. Know Your Cancellation Policies.

Whether you’re booking air travel, train tickets, car rentals or accommodations, make sure you know the cancellation or change policy. Some airlines are still offering one free change but that’s not as simple or as inexpensive as it sounds. For example, some third-party travel sites like Expedia require you to contact the airline directly in the event you need to change or cancel a flight. This takes time and patience. And of course, you’re on the hook in the likely event the fare price has increased since you booked. Be aware of other associated / hidden fees (change fees, service fees, if applicable) and how much of your payment or deposit you’ll be entitled to if you cancel.

5. Read the Fine Print, or Better Yet Call.

If you’re reserving activities and accommodations online, be aware that not all listings have updated their features and amenities lists to reflect Covid-era changes. For example, on a recent trip to the Grand Canyon, my kids were disappointed to find certain observation points closed, and I was disappointed to find the hotel bar hadn’t been open since 2020. Changing guidelines, capacity limits and nationwide staffing shortages mean not everything is operating at usual. If certain amenities are important to you, call to make sure they’re actually available before you book. 

6. Keep all your documents together, and close at hand.

Trying to find important information in the height of panic or frustration will only add to your angst, so have it at your fingertips. Test results, proof of vaccine, confirmation numbers, passports, copies of cancellation policies …  keep it all together in one folder and consider making copies and scanning and emailing them to yourself for back up.

7. Prepare the kids.

Don’t exclude the littles from your conversations about how travel might look different than it did last time. Pack extra activities and snacks and let them know to expect things like longer wait times and the possibility of Covid tests upon arrival. Assume everything will take longer than it did the last time you made this trip.

8. Be Chill Enough to Convince Your Family You’ve Been Body-Snatched.

There are things you can control (your attitude, how you react) and things you can’t (a global pandemic, the price of gas). When plans alter, as they inevitably will, you’re going to have to decide what’s a minor annoyance that can be dealt with and overcome, and what is cause for stowing away on a flight to Yemen. Your kids are watching, and every setback and frustration is an opportunity to model effective problem-solving and a positive attitude in the face of adversity.  

Make sure to keep your luggage safe too!

You’ve got this! 

The post 8 Tips for Smooth Covid-Era Travel appeared first on The Mabelhood.