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Travel Favorites: Movies for Travelling

by Katie

May 18, 2009

In my travelling adventures involving Gigi I have actually learned a few things: always pack wet wipes, always have some bribes special treats on hand, carry extra shirts & pants, and always pack movies. I never really thought I'd have to go the movie route when on vacation but it only took one plane ride sans visual aids to convince me that travelling without it is a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, we have tried other things to get her through a plane ride but a movie has proven best. It's hard to colour when the laptray is too high and listening to a book is difficult when the plane is too loud (literally -- sometimes it's impossible to hear anything above the engines.)

Anyhow, we have a pretty good kid-friendly movie collection at home so I usually let Gigi pick out a favorite and then I pack a few extras. I also always pack the iTouch because many of the latest releases of DVDs also include a digital copy for portable devices. We have two of Gigi's top choices on hand and she can use her own headphones to listen.

Also when we are on the road, a movie can sometimes provide me with a much needed sanity break, especially when travelling solo with Gigi. Those ninty-odd minutes sometimes can rejuvenate me just enough to not feel so screechy.

Our top choices for travel movies are:

Wall-E: Great environmental message in this movie and Wall-E and Eve are the cutest robot couple hands down. This is one of the movies that is available digitially.

Horton Hears a Who: Horton is an elephant who does everything he can to save the teeny-tiny inhabitants of Whoville. Warning: Vlad (not the one who bakes cookies) is a little scary the first time around; I think vultures don't make for very popular children's characters. This is other movie we also have the digital copy for the iTouch.

Kung-Fu Panda: I can watch this multiple times and still find it funny each time. What can I say? I love Po and Master Oogway. Gigi likes to pretend she is Master Viper or Master Tigress which is pretty entertaining to watch.

Toopy and Binoo: Gigi loves this show, I think it's funny, and there is a feature that allows all episodes to play back to back without having to return to the menu between shows. These shows are really great little adventures that focus on Toopy's imaginary world where just about anything can happen.

What are your "most likely to buy some sanity time" kid-friendly movies?

Travel prep: preschooler style

by Katie

July 17, 2008

I'm very pleased to introduce a guest post from my friend and favourite children's librarian, kittenpie. A career Children's Librarian, kittenpie of Life of 'Pie , has worked in library systems in both New York and Toronto, and delights in sharing favourite books with kids of all ages. Settled back in Toronto, she now brings work home to read to her own little Pumpkinpie. Her preschooler book  Read more...