It’s Friday eve! We’ve nearly made it to the last weekend before Halloween, which means there are surely costumes in your family’s future. We’re wishing you all the sugar-fueled, pumpkin-carving enjoyment that you can muster.

Now, onto the travel stuff. This week’s newsletter focuses on one of the most important tactics in our parenting bag of tricks—a general rule of thumb that we’ve found drastically reduces meltdowns during travel. And for the first time, we’re also sharing our brand-new travel directory listings via newsletter first. Which means that from here on out, you’ll be peeking our latest, hand-selected finds before they’re shared anywhere else. Scroll down to see ‘em!

We’d love to hear your feedback. Simply hit “reply” on this email to send a note!

Our tried-and-true trick for (mostly) preventing meltdowns

What’s the tip you didn’t know you needed when traveling with little kids?

The rule of thirds.

What is it?
A simple tip to help plan your day in a way that ensures everyone's needs are being met—an admittedly difficult task when traveling with the littlest ones. We refer to this general rule of thumb as a rule of thirds. You can use it as a rough guide in planning your days to avoid falling into the "too much to do with too little time" trap that often happens on vacations. 

The basics:
When planning your day's agenda, try to evenly divide your time among these three buckets...

• Structured Activity: Tours, excursions, and any commitment that includes a set amount of time and attention

• Unstructured Exploration: Hiking, visiting playgrounds, and aimless city strolls that allows kids to wander

• Rest: Downtime at home that could include meals in, playtime in an Airbnb backyard or naptime at a hotel

The results:
One of the keys to successful travel with children—particularly small children—is simply slowing down. Moving at an adult pace, which we’re wired to do, is almost always going to result in a meltdown, tantrum or overly exhausted little one. And as many of us know, stroller naps can't be counted on 100 percent of the time.

Taking a realistic approach to planning vacation agendas will give you the best chance of success for having the most enjoyable and semi-relaxing time on your next vacation. And you know what that means. Rather than needing a vacation following your vacation (which, well, you may still need), you'll be planning the next one on your way home.

Has slowing down while traveling made family travel easier for you? What tips do you rely on to stay sane? Let us know by replying to this email. 

Our newest family-friendly finds to launch in the travel directory

This week, we’ve uploaded a handful of new listings to our thoughtfully curated family travel directory (a.k.a. the perfect starting place for your next adventure!).

• A private resort-like retreat near the Great Smoky Mountains, complete with a wooded putt-putt course, pickleball and playground

• An epic waterslide that drops into Lake Anna is the cherry on top of this vacation home in rural Mineral, Virginia

• With stunning valley views, a small agritourismo in Tuscany offering four family rentals and an impressive array of kids toys and activities

• Anyone up to shoot hoops? This Hocking Hills cabin rental in Ohio includes indoor basketball plus a hot tub for the fans

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