Although some of us will be celebrating the holidays at home, the numbers show that many people will travel 50+ miles to be with family and friends. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s are the most popular times for families to travel; and, traveling with children is not always the easiest thing to manage.
The primary method of travel, this year especially, will be road travel. Our children travel fairly well, however they are 2, 6, and 10, arguing and disagreements are almost inevitable. Besides these few travel tips below, I’ve come up with my own miracle solution that I want to share with you today!
Tips for Traveling With Children:
So if your family and/or friends are expecting a visit from you this season, prepare now to arrive at your designation and return home unflustered, cool-headed, and calm with these tips for traveling with children over the holidays:
- Plan ahead of time: Do your research and map out a route based around high-volume traffic areas and potential construction delays heading for your final destination. Choose the best time to leave and remain sensitive to schedules and meal times when traveling.
- Keep everyone’s mind busy: Discord often erupts when we are bored. In order to prevent it, or at least prolong it, I’m always sure to bring books, music, appropriate games, small toys, and snacks for everyone.
- Get cozy: Be sure to pack enough pillows, stuffed animals, and blankets for the trip.
Miracle Solution:
The fourth tip I have for ease of travel is my own homemade solution. To supplement the above tips I routinely prepare the following recipe and keep it handy in my purse should the need arise.
Rosemary & Lavender Calming Spray
-2 ounces water
-20 drops rosemary essential oils
-20 drops lavender essential oils
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a 2 ounce mister/spray bottle. Spray whenever necessary for calming effect. Shelf stable, no need to refrigerate, and will last indefinitely.
Tips:
–Rosemary has a revitalizing effect (relieving headaches and tension) and lavender is proven to reduce stress and anxiety.
-I keep a bottle of this in the car at all times. Spraying whenever the tensions rise. It’s especially useful on errand days seeing as how we live 20 minutes from town (smile). The results are literally amazing! The children, and I, immediately receive a sense of calm.
-I also leave a bottle in our homeschool space and in the children’s bedrooms. It’s perfect for use at any time!
-Looking for great quality essential oils? Mountain Rose Herbs is my go-to!
I’d love for you to share your holiday travel solutions and add to this list! Feel free to do so in the comments.
Oh, thank you so much for this recipe.. I find that the older I become the more overwhelmed I am at certain times.. Especially, when making company meals.. This spray will come in handy..
Perhaps I should double the recipe.. smile..
Blessings..
Would we need to shake this up after we mix the oils with the water? I making it today and I am so excited! My kindergarten teacher use to spray this in the air and a little bit over us during nap time and I can remember how it use to make me feel, so calm and relaxed. I never forgot this memory one of the best feelings ever! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Great tip!! I keep lavendar on hand, but not rosemary although I have plants of both. Where did you find your lovely cobalt blue bottle?
I have a question that might sound silly, I am new to this. Where do you spray this? On the person, in the air. I could really use something like this to calm down myself.
@Anonymous Not a silly question! I should have been more specific. You can really spray it anywhere…no the person or in the air. Generally I spray in the air but some always ends up on us:)
Love this idea. I'm going to bookmark it and buy a little spray bottle to make some. I'm thinking that it might even work for our dog when we travel with her?
Andrea, I wonder if this spray would also calm my daughter at bed time? Would spraying it on her pillow be a good solution? When we travel and she has to sleep elsewhere, she's sometimes very restless at night.
@Stacy Makes Cents Oh yes:) I use it frequently at bedtime! My children have even started asking for it:) They love the way it makes them feel. Excellent idea:)
Great! Thanks so much! I have the lavender but I'll have to look into getting some rosemary. 🙂 Loving your blog.
What do you spray in on?
My sister had a good idea for travel also. Not sure it will calm them down, but it definitely keeps them occupied. She always had a bottle of bubbles in the car and would just (at stop lights, ect) pull out the wand and hold it in front of the AC vents. The kids loved it. It def kept them occupied. 🙂
What a great tip! 🙂 I love my essential oils! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday! 🙂
~ Kathy @ Mind Body and Sole
You are featured on AP Tuesday at New Nostalgia! Your stuff seems to really jive with my readers..and ME Thanks for linking up!
I use cheap vodka for room sprays instead of water, it helps emulsify the oils and it evaporates faster.
I do the same thing for the same reason – it works GREAT.
Great Advice…!! I’ll definitely discuss this with others..
Did I miss something? How much water do you use?
This recipe is used to fill a 2 ounce spray bottle. Add the recommended amount of essential oils and the fill bottle with water (so about 2 oz. of water). Great clarifying question!
Thanks for the link on FaceBook for this. I hadn’t seen it before and it seems like a wonderfully useful idea.
Can I just spray it on my squabbling boys, even if we don’t plan on traveling? It’s either that or one of those nifty dart guns they have on at the zoo in case one of the lions escapes or something.
will do, great idea, a easy peasy.
thank you.
I love your blog!
Do you have printer friendly pages, I love printing stuff out. I’m not a pinner.
What a great combination! I was just about to give my daughter a lavender bath, so I think I’ll try this combo in there instead. :padding off to the oils cabinet:
To Pam: Austrailian Flower Essences works well with pets. IF you have cats, tho’, do NOT use anything with essential oils on the dog if the dog and cat will be sharing the same spaces. Cats cannot tolerate the EOs~~poison to them!
Merry Christmas, all!
News report this morning 2/7/2013 on NBC states “marijuana” may lead to stroke because it changes the blood vessels thus making it more likely to damage those in the brain! Now this is supposed to calm? hmmmmm sounds like getting a buzz to me!
Thanks we are going through so very rough times right now and the tension in our home has been running very high. I made this and sprayed the whole house and was amazed how fast my daughter calmed down and so did i. It was great.
Wonderful! I love this. Thank you for sharing. Tamara 🙂
I accidentally provided you with the incorrect website. Thanks again for sharing this wonderful recipe. I am looking forward to trying it. Tamara 🙂
I love this idea! However, lavender and I do not get along well. What other EO would you suggest?
Wendy use any EO’s that “you” find to be relaxing.
The followind EO’s blend well with Rosemary just to give you some ideas.
Basil, Bergamot, Cedarwood, Frankincense, Ginger, Lemon, Orange and Peppermint.
This would also make a great disinfecting spray to use on shopping cart handles instead of the wipes that some stores provide. Just spay it on and go, no need to even wipe it off.
Add Vodka to the mix. It helps from keeping the spray clogged up by the oils….Vodka doesn’t have any scent even Ever Clear works great. Make sure you give it a shake before spraying….I love this idea, I spray just about everywhere in the house, including bed sheets and pillows
Would we need to shake this up after we mix the oils with the water? I making it today and I am so excited! My kindergarten teacher use to spray this in the air and a little bit over us during nap time and I can remember how it use to make me feel, so calm and relaxed. I never forgot this memory one of the best feelings ever! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Do you have a recipe for a natural, homemade version of a spray antibacterial in lieu of Lysol? We have sick coworkers that come to our office hacking, laughing, choking, and basically sharing their germs. When they leave, we’d LOVE to spray something in the air to kill the germs they’ve left behind.
Do you have a recipe for a natural, homemade version of a spray antibacterial in lieu of Lysol? We have sick coworkers that come to our office hacking, laughing, choking, and basically sharing their germs. When they leave, we’d LOVE to spray something in the air to kill the germs they’ve left behind.
I use this spray in the car ALL THE TIME!
Smells wonderful! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Essential oils are powerful. If your children are under 3 years old there are only three safe oils and they are lavender, chamomile, and, orange. Never use any oil that is not 100% pure and natural and says so on the bottle. Organic is also best. Be sure and do your research, not all oils are safe for children or expecting mom, always dilute!!!!!
I read on one of your replys that EO’s are poison to cats so does that mean if I just spay it around the house it will kill them
I read on another site that if you put a pinch of Epsom salt in the spray bottle, add the drops of oil on top, then add filtered water, the spray bottle won’t get clogged up. http://www.granolamom4god.com/2012/10/using-essential-oils-in-a-spray-bottle.html
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t have vodka, so I thought I’d try this first.
Hi, great recipe ! Could this be used to calm my dog & 2 cats, as it’s firework season and wondered if this spray would help to calm them? Is it animal friendly?