What You Need in Your Holiday Shopping with Kids Survival Kit

All parents know the scenario: You are shopping for the holidays, you made a list and made many preparations to make the shopping trip as short as possible. List in hand you leave your home with children in tow, shopping at the first store or two goes swell, then you pass a McDonalds (or other kid favorite fast food place)! This is the point when well laid plans start to unravel, feeling stressed for time you stop and order one kid's meal per child and a drink for yourself, then onward you attempt to trek. By the time you reach the next store the children are covered in crumbs, something slimy (or sticky... your choice), and at least one child announces they need to use the bathroom.

On the way through the parking lot one child chases another, one trips and the next thing you know you have one child crying with a scraped knee, another crying because they need the bathroom, and perhaps a third (or more) crying not be left out of the fun. At this point a wise parent will visit the bathroom do his or her best to clean up the children, let them partake of the facilities, and quietly exit the store postponing the shopping trip for a time when a grandparent (or other responsible adult) can look after the children while the parent attempts a blissfully alone shopping trip.

Been in this spot often? Does this happen for birthday shopping, grocery shopping, and pretty much anytime you brave vacating the children's natural habitat to explore new destinations? It does to me! That is why I keep my "Survival Kit" stocked and ready for any time I leave my home. What does it include? Stuff to clean a kid, stuff to feed a kid (at least to tide them over to a home meal), and of course stuff to entertain a kid.

Start with feeding a kid on the move. I don't know many parents that don't feel guilty giving into the fast food fix. To combat those complaints I keep organic granola bars (chocolate chip) in my kit, along with fruit snacks made with real juice and a couple of juice boxes (100% real fruit juice of course). Some other great snacks to keep either in the car or in plastic bags in the kit are cheese flavored rice cakes, string cheese, beef sticks (or jerky), and cereal snack mix. All of these items have as much or more nutritional value as the fast food but are a good deal better for you.

Next deal with cleaning a kid up, they can make a mess out of just about anything and often larger than most people would think possible. Cleaning a kid on the run is not only difficult at best, but unless you are a person who doesn't mind licking a tissue to clean them up (yuck!), it requires help from a store. I have heard people say they use a wet wash cloth in a plastic zip top bag, but that seems impractical to me... how many of us have found something in our purse we forgot we ever put in there? Some guidelines on wipes: first don't waste your time or money on no-name or store brand wipes, with the exception of Target's store brand wipes, they are comparable to Pamper's wipes; second, if keeping the wipes in your purse not a diaper bag go for one of the soft sided packs with a sturdy plastic lid (Pampers, Kleenex, and Huggies makes one of these packs, I prefer the Pampers or Klenex because the Huggies tend to fall to pieces); and third, keep at least two types of wipes on hand, my bag always has Kleenex wet wipes in a to-go pack and Wet One's antibacterial wipes in it.

The Kleenex wipes are better for hands and faces because they are softer, clean better, and do not leave a sticky or bad tasting residue. The Wet One's antibacterial wipes are still gentle enough for hands and faces but can also disinfect surfaces. If all you keep on hand is baby wipes the best brands to use in order of preference are Baby Magic, Pampers, Huggies, and Target Brand. The only baby wipes that do not leave a residue I have found are the Baby Magic Brand. If you cannot find any of these wipes in the soft-sided, hard-topped package a gallon sized zip-top bag will easily hold a refill pack of each brand of these wipes.

Now to tend to that scrapped knee (or elbow, paper cut, you name it!) . A first‑aid kit is necessary for all caregivers to have in the home and in a vehicle, but also a good idea for the "Survival Kit" . A good first‑aid kit should have at least 2 sizes of bandages one for normal sized cuts and one big enough to cover a scrapped knee or elbow with only one bandage. Next the first‑aid kit should have some triple antibiotic ointment. Finally the first‑aid kit should have some sample sized packages of child medications such as pain reliever and something to settle a stomach are helpful. The first-aid kit should include sunscreen during the summer and maybe some aloe gel.

Finally entertaining a kid. Holiday lines are brutal, sometimes lines can take an hour or more of waiting. Bored children are destructive children most of the time. The fix? Keep a few inexpensive hand held video games in the kit, plus some snack sized zip-top bags with crayons, and some small top bound spiral-bound notebooks. Kids like to draw and video games make fun noises and older kids will be entertained by them. Wal-mart has a variety of handheld games that are only one dollar each. Magnetic books and small toys are another life-saver in a long wait situation. To keep the supplies together use a quart size zip-top bag, a store bought first‑aid kit, or a travel soap dish works well too. (For some neat ideas on the soap dish first‑aid kit, follow the supporting links.)

Entertaining, feeding, and cleaning kids on the run is a difficult but not impossible task for the prepared adult. Keeping a few items stowed in a purse or backpack can make trips shorter and a day of errands more efficient. Can't tell you how many times my first‑aid kit has kept me from turning around and heading home, or the snacks have stopped tears while waiting in line. Keeping a simple stocked bag is essential for any kind of outings with children, kids will be kids, and who would want it any other way?