Five Family Vacation Essentials Offer Extra Fun When You Need It. Filling the lag time during your family vacation is easy when you have a brainy bit of fun in your backpack or carry on.

 
Having to wait is at times it is unavoidable so having a remedy for those times in a car or on a plane, at a restaurant or to pass a rainy day makes sense.  Our staff and parent advisors have five kid-tested suggestions to ease stress caused by travel.

 
Family Travel Files Top Brainy Suggestions 

Travel Qwirkle. The popular mind game Qwirkle now comes in a handy travel-size portable version. Everything that makes the original game awesome is part of the travel version. The tiles are still made of wood but smaller (3/4-inch), making it easy to enjoy on a restaurant table or the empty seat of a nearby chair. The idea is to create rows and columns by matching tiles with the same symbol or color. Create a line of six and you score a Qwirkle! Contents include: 108 wooden tiles that all fit in a handy travel pouch. Instruction booklet is included. The zipper case is serviceable and the travel version sells for $10 less than the original. The game is ideal for ages six or older and is played with two to four players. (www.mindware.com)

Can you Spot It? Blue Orange Games always delivers brainy fun and Spot It is the perfect example. They produce timeless yet portable games to energize young minds and old minds as well. Spot it is hand bag or back pack size so it’s easy to pull out when time needs to be filled. There’s always one and only one matching symbol between any two cards so playing is easy. The circular cards feature clever images and encourage attentive behavior while allowing lively dialog essential to sharing good old-fashioned fun. The game is ideal for ages seven to eighty seven and may be paled with two to eight people. (www.blueorangegames.com)

 
Music for Little People. Sometimes the only way to relieve stress and change the mood of the day is with the distraction of music. We all have our favorite selections and certainly music choices depend on the age of your children and your desire to listen to the music time after time, after time. Cat Fish Hodge and the Adventures at Catfish Pond makes a terrific compliment to a southern road trip. A Child’s Celebration of Showtunes is a lively addition to any family vacation. Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairy Alphabet is an enchanting preschool CD which cleverly combines entertainment and learning.

 
Audio Distractions for Roadtrips.  I love these guys because they provide fun for the road whether it’s a roadtrip, plane trip, or a daily carpool jaunt. Basically if you don’t have Boomerang! – the audio magazine, your kids are missing out. The original dialog about relevant topics is presented in a pure kid style with quirky anecdotes, humor, plain facts that matter. The Boomerang! folks create a monthly 70-minute audio program that you can download as an MP3 file or receive in the mail on CD. Targeting ages six through 12, the innovative series  introduces kids to the world of big ideas and makes useful connections to science, current events, economics, history, poetry and geography, jokes, mysteries, music and interviews.  (www.boomkids.com)

Nature Kaleidoscope. With this fun and educational kit made in the USA by Toysmith youngsters are able to make a kaleidoscope over and over again using elements from nature. The portable kit includes parts for an 8.5 inch long scope, two nature drawings to color for the wrap, colored pencils, and assorted items to use inside the viewing chamber - dried flowers, polished gemstones, glass marbles and minerals. (www.toysmith.com)