When we were planning for our UK Family Trip, I thought about ways to make the trip special and memorable for our kids, especially since they were only 3 and 5 at the time. I was planning to do my own art travel journal, and I thought it would be so fun to have my kids make some travel journals too.
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Supplies
My kid’s travel journals were pretty easy to put together, and they took up minimal space. I wanted to bring a variety of supplies to keep things interesting.
- Strathmore Mixed Media Art Journal
Blick | Amazon
I like this journal because of it’s high quality, acid free paper. I wanted to get something high quality because I hope that my kid’s travel journals will last a long time and be something they can look through when they’re older. - Colored Pencils
Blick | Amazon
I just brought a couple colors each for both kids. - Crayons
Blick | Amazon
I brought the colors of the rainbow plus black and brown. - Watercolor Paint
Blick | Amazon
I bought this paint for my kids and it worked great. The colors were vivid and it was easy to use. I liked that there were several colors, but the case was still compact. - Waterbrush Pens
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If you’re bringing watercolor, this is the way to go! You fill the body of the brush with water, so you don’t need to bring any additional cups or anything for water. Just be sure to empty them before going through security! - Scissors – Bring safety scissors for younger kids if they’re more comfortable with that. You CAN bring scissors in carry-on luggage, but there are limitations. The TSA website says, “If packed in carry-on, they must be less than 4 inches from the pivot point.” We didn’t have any issues bringing them on our trip.
- Glue Stick – Glue sticks are allowed on planes. Any flammable or liquid glues are not allowed.
- Photo Corners
Michaels | Amazon
We only used glue at first, but the corners were all sticking up so I bought these photo corners and they worked great! They were also helpful for adding things to the book that my son wanted to be able to take out again and not have it permanently in the book. - Stickers – either generic travel stickers, or stickers specific to where you’re going (if you can find them). Check in the scrapbooking section at a craft store, or order online. I ordered Peppa Pig London stickers for my kids that I found on Amazon.
- Carrying Case
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I used a smaller pencil size for carrying all their supplies, and then had a larger one that I put their journals in along with coloring books, etc.
Ideas
- Have your kids pick out a postcard in each city to glue/tape into their DIY kid’s travel journal
- Cut out pictures, words, quotes, and more from maps, handouts, pamphlets, single use menus, etc.
- Add wrappers from new candies or snacks they tried
- If they can write, have them write down their favorite part of the day, their favorite thing they saw, etc. If they can’t write, write it in for them!
Making Time For It
- When we first left on our trip, we had a hard time finding the time to work on our books. When we got back to our hotel, we were always tired and ready to wind down. We started taking our journals and supplies with us and working on them when we had down time. We worked on them after having a picnic at St Mary’s Cathedral in York, at a picnic table on the Isle of Skye, etc.
- Don’t feel like you need to spend hours on it, even 5 minutes can result in a fun memento from their day
- Don’t have any expectations! A lot of the pages of my 3-year-old’s book are scribbles, and that’s totally ok. It’s still an accurate depiction of his artwork on our trip, and I think it’s fun to see. We asked him his favorite parts of the day, so there are memories written in there as well.
- If they have empty pages at the end of the trip, they’re perfect entertainment for waiting at the airport or on your flight.
Since we’ve been back from our trip, my kids have been excited to show their grandparents and friends their travel journals. I think it’s so fun to have documentation of our trip through their eyes, even if parts of it are scribbles. I love it!
A made a quick clip on Pinterest of this how-to: Kid’s DIY Travel Journal
And a TikTok with a summary of their books:
@erika.layne I love having parts of our trip documented through their eyes! I think they’ll be so fun to look back on down the road. ❤️ #travelwithkids #travelwithpreschoolers #artjournal #traveljournal #uktravel #milennialmom #kidscrafts #artjournalpage #traveljournaling #England #scotland ♬ original sound – Chicago Music Exchange
