Holiday Family Time, Road Trips & Black Friday Finds 🚗🎁

Happy day before Thanksgiving!

I’m guessing you’re gearing up for a few days of family time, lots of food, and maybe a little Black Friday shopping too. This week, I pulled together some quick tips to help you make the most of your time with family, plus a roundup of my favorite family travel and baby items that are on sale for Black Friday. I’d love for you to check them out and tell me what you think.

If you want to make your family time even more meaningful, consider grabbing my new Family Travel Conversation Cards. They’re designed to help kids (and adults) spark deeper conversations, with prompts for parent-to-child (and vice versa), sibling-to-sibling, spouse-to-spouse, grandparent-to-child (and vice versa), and whole-family questions. These cards are an easy way to turn car rides, dinners, and downtime into more connection—and to make an already special week feel even more memorable.

We recently took a road trip with our four kids (6, 4, 2, and a newborn), and even though the route was simpler than some of our past adventures, doing it with this many little ones still took a ton of planning and teamwork. My husband and I were literally reminding each other, “We’re on the same team,” on repeat.

We made it through (with some laughs, some meltdowns, and a lot of snacks), and I turned all of our lessons learned into a practical guide on not just surviving, but actually enjoying, a road trip with littles. You can read it here: How to Road Trip with 4 Kids Under 6: Packing, Snacks & Sanity Savers.

Want to surprise your kids with some new travel gear? Try putting together a little “travel kit” for them, filled with a few fun and practical essentials.

Some of our favorite kid and family travel products are on sale this week, so it’s a great time to stock up. Here are a few items I’d recommend—either for your own kids or as thoughtful gifts for family and friends.

Put everything together for the child in advance and get them excited for their next adventure 🙂 . For more ideas on our favorite products (based on experience with four kids and taking our older two to 30+ countries), check out my Amazon Shop.

Do you have a loved one getting ready for labor and delivery? After having my fourth baby a few months ago, I put together a list of my must-have items to take to the hospital for childbirth.

If you’re prepping for your own delivery, these are great additions to your hospital bag or baby registry. And if you’re shopping for a soon-to-be mom, you can easily turn a few of these into a thoughtful gift basket she’ll actually use.

Is a new baby joining the crew? As a fourth-time mom, I’ve rounded up some of our favorite new baby items in this list—all things we’ve personally tried and loved.

If you’re building a baby registry (or helping someone else with theirs), these “tried and tested” staples are great additions to make those early newborn days a little easier.

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When you’re sitting with your family this holiday season, try dreaming up a big family trip for 2026. Think of something special that everyone can look forward to together.

One of the best things my husband and I have done in recent years is plan trips that include our kids and both sets of grandparents. It definitely takes some work to find a destination and itinerary that fits everyone’s interests and energy levels, but the shared memories that come out of those trips are absolutely worth it.

When planning trips, I alway use GetYourGuide for itinerary planning and Booking.com to book accommodations. Both sites have Black Friday Deals going on - so make sure to check it out for your 2026 travels! I also compiled my tips on planning out a multigenerational trip here. 

We have a few more digital products in the works, as well as posts on different aspects of baby life! Follow along on Instagram for daily tips, real-life stories, and how we manage the chaos (and fun!) of family travel.

We’re here to share what works, what doesn’t, and to answer your questions. Got a destination you want us to cover? Need advice for your next trip? Hit reply and let us know!

Happy Thanksgiving!

— Shaina