Travel
From girl's getaways to couples weekends away and family travel too. Find everything you need here on Thrifty Mommas Tips to make planning your next big adventure a breeze. Travel confidently with all of these tips and ideas for what, when and where to go. Learn to ski, go sledding on a dog sled near Tremblant, zip lining over the tree tops or snorkelling with mosquito jellyfish in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Most of this travel content has one common theme - it's all about traveling affordably for your family. If you haven't traveled, you haven't lived. Travel can be one of the greatest educational experiences undertaken in a lifetime. Seeing new areas of the world is extremely rewarding no matter how you travel or where you go. Whether you are a backpacking millennial or a cruising retiree, enjoy the content on Thrifty Mommas Tips and learn before you go, so that you can make the best of your time away. The family cruise content is comprehensive and an excellent tool if you are planning or dreaming of cruising in future. Read my in depth series that ties child sponsorship in Colombia together with travel to the South American country and then don't forget to peruse the Zambian fellowship series too. Impactful and meaningful, voluntourism serves a different purpose than a recreational family trip. But, there's quite a lot of both sustainable travel and impactful travel adventures coupled with family travel opportunities to make memories that last for years. Where will you go next and who will you take with you?
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New York, New York: Ten Tips for Visiting New York
In case you live under a rock, well you might not have heard that mama went to New York this summer, Yes, summer. Almost two months back now. It was this tiny affair called Blogher 12, oh about 4,500 Bloggers or so. Here we are in the Fall and I promised myself I would post this spectacular adventure for all of you to benefit from or oogle over. So this is me here with Eileen (@Mom_chat) my very good friend and a really lovely gal. Anyways I found my peace, my groove, my mojo and my peeps in New York. Gotta wonder why it took me so long to visit…
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My New Baby Blogger Brooke
Instagram courtesy of Brooke Berry (with her son)Brooke writes at http://www.hiretoinspire.blogspot.ca/ My blog thriftymommastips.com is on the grow again. No secret my budding tweens and school aged kids are far too old for baby items and toddler products too. Mine are more inclined to be asking to do babysitting these days than to be asking to review baby products. In fact, baby stuff is not so cool when you are eight. Although some days I wish it were so. Luckily I have a new and fabulous blogger Brooke Berry, of Calgary, a mom of three and a really lovely lady. So happy to have her here. So, Brooke, or Brooklyn has…
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LinkedMoms chat Wednesday night: Weddings and Anniversaries
(My brother walked me down the aisle almost 20 years ago.) There was a time in my life when it seemed every season contained a wedding. That was a costly time. Buying presents. Time off work. Planning to book a motel for those out of town celebrations. Now sadly there are very few. More like every season contains a funeral lately as my older relatives pass away and my in laws too after lengthy battles with illness and cancer. There is no question in my mind which season I would much rather celebrate. The last wedding I attended was my brothers actually and I think that was a good…
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Addalock Review – Safe on the Go #Travel Lock
Addalock Review Imagine a lock on the go. Addalock is a simple effective little invention you can toss in your suitcase and carry with you anywhere. When I heard about the device I was interested because safety is a huge priority here and because I have a child with special needs who wanders. Now, I am pretty sure that Addalock wasn’t intended necessarily as a special needs tool, but I can see useful applications here. My daughter from a very young age could get out any door and had very little impulse control, so we were hypervigilant, and we still are. In our house we have extra security on…
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Fun Tour For Drama Queens and Kings: Stratford Festival Warehouse Tour #travel
Stunning hats, caps, crowns and bonnets One of the highlights of our summer was a day trip to Stratford, Ontario. Just under one hour from London, Ontario and not too far from Detroit (two and a half hours about) by car, there is a good deal to see and do in the pretty town of Stratford. This theatre town is well known for its lovely scenery, its trademark swans and world class theatrical productions. Since my children both are very dramatic and my eldest acts with Original Kids Theatre Company we were eager to explore the city. This year we did not take in a production, but we did the…
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Safety Tat Review: Keeping Your Children Safe #travel
My daughter using the Safety Tat on her arm at Disney’s Blizzard Beach recently Safety Tat goes on like a transferable tattoo but it has the thickness and texture of a bandaid Did you know that 90 % of families will experience losing a child in a public place? Almost everyone will remember the trauma of getting lost. And in the US over 2,000 kids get lost every day. In Canada, in 2009 alone 50,492 children were reported missing. When it comes to safety and public places you can’t be careful enough with children. And even when you are sometimes that isn’t enough. My daughter Ainsley is a runner. When…
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Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration
The main pool near the grotto with 40 foot waterslide and one of the buildings in the background. Vacation silliness and the billboard near the kiddie pool. Ping Pong near the activity area and warm pool Overview: On our second big family trip to Disney and the Orlando area we chose to stay at an economical family friendly place. Our first family trip three years ago was epic fun and really incomparable because we stayed at a Disney Moderate Resort called Port Orleans. Port Orleans was a bit more expensive than our usual accommodations, but it was Disney A+ service all the way. The Radisson was not that trip. Nor…
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Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Via Train Travel and Business Class
I am a frequent Via train traveller. For those day trips to Toronto, or the occasional trip further to Ottawa, you can’t beat the comfort of travel by train. And frankly with the cost of gas, sometimes train travel ends up being almost the same amount when you do the math. Up until recently, I always selected supersaver or enconomy class travel. I figured it was the cheapest way to go, so it made sense. I have often eyed the business class with envy and wondered what extras they might get for the price. At the end of last year, I had a chance to travel to Toronto to talk…
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Blue Mountain Collingwood and Plunge!
Blue Mountain Collingwood is a spot I haven’t visited since I was maybe 12 years old. When the opportunity came up to check out Blue Mountain this past weekend we were curious to see how things had changed. With my Lay’s Chip Trips once again, we were able to save a few bucks on this trip. In total a day for four at Plunge is about $42. We saved on one free child’s admission. It was a lovely treat to stay in Weider Lodge at the base of Blue Mountain and Plunge was a hoot. I’d very much recommend this venue for kids even younger than ours. Plunge is an…
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Wings of Paradise: Family Travel and a Butterfly Rescuer
This summer you will want to check out this little gem near Cambridge. Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory is a perfect day trip for kids who are school aged. First catch of the day. Payton lands one easily at Wings of Paradise near Cambridge. Ainsley waited and waited. At first the butterflies swirling around her head were really making her nervous. Then she started to get a bit more comfortable and, when her sister proudly landed one carefully on her finger, well, my competitive six-year-old was not be to outdone. Here little sister finally had her moment. The Blue Morpho butterfly – just like on Diego. This one is easier…