10 easy ways to decorate your hotel room for the holidays

The Pit Stops for Kids crew will be spending the holidays in a Tahoe vacation home this year, so I'm making plans now to make our stay as festive as we'd enjoy at home. If you, too, will be spending your winter holidays away from home, we have 10 easy ways to decorate your hotel room for the holidays...or any condo or vacation home! Decorate condo or hotel room windows or porch with a string … [Read more...]

Gift-free holiday: Why we opted for no presents at Christmas

When we decided the best time for our family's bucket list trip to Europe was Christmas break, we, as parents, realized how unrealistic it would be to buy Christmas presents on top of the cost of the trip. While we would be budget traveling through Europe, we would still spend far more than the average amount we set aside for holiday spending. In addition, it simply wouldn't be practical to try to … [Read more...]

Holidays away from home: Tips for preparing kids

At least every other year, we travel during the holiday season. This means my kids are pretty accustomed to celebrating holidays away from home, and as a parent, I'm pretty good at making Christmas special...wherever we are. This year, we'll be celebrating Christmas Day in Italy. In the days leading up to the holiday, we'll be renting a HomeAway apartment in Paris. Here's how we'll celebrate the … [Read more...]