For years, Labor Day weekend has remained one of the most popular celebrations in America. After all it is the last big weekend of the season. Kids and adults alike want to squeeze in just a little more “summer”. Although some people choose to relax at home, there are others who plan to hit the road and take a trip. Here are a few important Labor Day travel tips to keep in mind.

Make sure the car is in tip-top shape

Before hitting the highway, the vehicle needs to be in tip-top condition. In order to prevent disaster on the road and avoid a holiday interruptus headache, the braking system definitely needs to be inspected. Some other maintenance items that must be checked include the oil level, the tire pressure, and the coolant. Just to be on the safe side, it is always a good idea to bring along an extra quart of motor oil. Renting a car is another option for the drivers who do not want to put any extra wear and tear on their personal vehicle. If you have older vehicles this is the way to go!!

Pack plenty of healthy snacks

To stay energized along the way and avoid any irritating behavior associated with hungry kids, it is advisable to pack plenty of snacks. Children can get especially cranky when they are hungry. I can too, to be perfectly honest. Due to the inevitable holiday traffic, it is best to minimize the number of unnecessary stops made during the trip. Some of the best snacks include apple slices, energy bars, dried fruit, trail mix, popcorn, and sandwiches. Reusable water bottles are also a must-have item. Fill them up at drinking fountains everywhere you stop.

Book a room in advance

During Labor Day weekend, hotels in Orlando tend to get booked very quickly. Instead of waiting until the last minute to find a hotel, it is advisable to book the room well in advance. When searching for a hotel, make sure that the hotel has a good rating. A bad hotel can actually ruin the entire vacation experience. While a basic hotel may suit the needs of some travelers, some people may desire just a tad bit more luxury. Some of the highly-recommended features include exercise rooms, hot tubs, in-room kitchens, swimming pools, and tennis courts. The presence of security personnel will also give the guests an extra peace of mind.

Take rest stops

A few rest stops should be scheduled on the road trip. Not only will the rest stop help the driver to re-focus, but it also gives everyone else an opportunity to stretch their legs. Pick some scenic or historic spots if possible. This is the perfect time for the travelers to take a bathroom break. According to travel experts, walking around the parking lot will help to promote blood circulation.

Pay attention to the weather

When traveling a long distance, the weather can change drastically from one area to the next. This means that someone in the family needs to keep tabs on the weather. By downloading a weather app to your cell phone, the co-pilot can easily stay updated on the forecast.

There is no denying the excitement of a Labor Day weekend road trip and preparation is one of the keys to having a great time. These tips should steer vacationers in the right direction!

This article was written and provided by Fiona Moriarty of Hipmunk, the ultimate platform for all your travel needs.

I recently read an article about a new term for some men called Lumbersexual. I got a real kick out of it because it fits my husband to a tee. The definition is something along the lines of a metro-sexual who has the need to hold on to some outdoor based rugged-ness, and a finely trimmed beard. My husband often looks as though he just stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalog. He rocks the flannels, boots, and the beard. He is a real manly man…my Grizzly Adams, who looks a little less Grizzly and a bit more Adam Levine. I adore every manly inch of him.

I wouldn’t be caught dead giving him a stuffed teddy bear on valentine’s day though. A mushy card maybe because he loves to hear how much I love and adore him but silly v-day gifts you often see on the market…are just that, silly. If you really want to wow your Valentine this year, give him something he can really use. Here are some ideas for your manly man.

1. Food – The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Your mother was right! Prepare something special just for him or take him to a place that serves something a little different. Think…duck, rabbit, quail, pheasant, or other wild game….locally sourced of course.

2. A fun and manly experience – Check out Groupon and other local businesses for activities such as time at a gun range or archery range, a survivalism class, a hunting excursion, a camping trip, etc. This can be something you can do together or something he can do with his buddies, either way he will love it!

3. Technology – A solar cell phone charger, a subscription to Beats Audio, wireless earbuds…anything techy that shows your special guy that you also love his geeky side.

4. Games – Video games are to a gamer what chocolate is to a woman. He can’t go out and wrestle with lions or get into caveman brawls right? He is a modern man and he works out his manly aggressions online via video games. Surprise your guy with that video game he has been wanting.

5. Auto accessories – Men often take pride in their wheels. Custom-car floor mats, new parts for a more tricked out ride, there are many accessories to choose from to accessorize your honey’s wheels. If you are unsure what he wants than a gift card also works well. Often times men are hesitant to spend on themselves and this way he knows you want him to splurge on himself.

6. Books – How-to and DIY books are often a good gift. Try books about home construction, boat building, sheds and outbuildings, aquaponics, homesteading projects, and brewing beer.

7. An emergency kit – Fill a backpack with things your fellow could use when camping, or if he spends a lot of time driving. Things to add might include a heat sheet, a fire starter tool, waterproof-proof matches, a knife, first-aid kit, a wool blanket, a weather-ready LED crank radio/flash light combo and a micro tent. Think small, lightweight, protective, informative, and functional. He will be moved that you care about his safety.

8. Beer – If your Valentine is a beer geek, give him an assortment of gift cards for local breweries. That way you both gets regular nights out and he gets to try all sorts of new, local beers.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas for something unique and ultra-masculine this Valentine’s Day for your own Grizzly Adams.

The holidays are just around the corner and that means lots of excess and waste. It’s that time of year when many folks will spend entirely too much on stuff they don’t need and they will pay little if any attention to how their purchases will impact the environment. It is not just the products themselves either, with their cheap plastic and toxic materials. It is also packaging…the boxes, the plastic, and the paper. It’s the holiday cards (2.6 billion sold annually) and the store gifts cards that we send and receive. All of it will end up in the landfill after the merriment is over. Most people will probably not even give all that garbage much thought as they take it to the curb. Yet according to the Clean Air Council, 5 million tons of additional waste is generated during the holidays, just in the US. How can we not see that this is a huge problem??

Well, some of us do see. There is definitely a small movement seeking to be bring simplicity and minimalism back to the holidays instead of rampant consumerism and mindless waste. We can be more conscious consumers by making a few small changes. I list three below…

Reusable Gift Bags

There are fabric gift bags on the market that take the place of wrapping paper. They can be reused again and again so if you have a nice supply you can simply reuse the bags for your family each year. Buy unique prints specific to each family member and you don’t even need to label or otherwise identify the gifts. Everyone will know what gifts are theirs. Instead of filling a black garbage bag with wrapping paper and disposable gifts bags you can gather up your fabric bags and put them away with the holiday decorations, until the following year. VZ Wraps has a great selection of fabric gifts bags all made with an eye on sustainability. They have standard, medium, large, and wine sizes. I love how you can click on each size (in the right sidebar of their web site) to see what kinds of gifts will fit in each bag. Great feature! The large will fit gifts such as blenders and gaming consoles. They also have a large selection of holiday prints…everything from ornaments, to poinsettias and snowflakes.

I love how EASY wrapping is when you use fabric bags. Booyah!

Ditch the Party Disposables

If you are hosting any parties this holiday season, make it a goal to ditch all disposable plates, glasses, and utensils. Use your own tableware and simply ask guests for a hand in cleaning up afterwards. If you don’t have enough you can get some at thrift stores. I think mismatched table settings can be made to look quite fetching. Seriously, just look up ‘mismatched table settings’ on Pinterest. You will be amazed. Alternatively you can ask guests to bring their own. This is done in Europe often so why not here?

Change Up Your Traditions

Evaluate meaningful traditions to see if they are wasteful. An advent calendar may be one example. Do you buy new ones each year that need to be thrown away or do you have a reusable one? I love an idea I heard from Isabelle of VZ Wraps (mentioned above). She told me about her advent calendar tradition awhile back and I thought it would be lovely to share here:

Our advent calendar hangs on the door and has a little pouch for each day. Instead of giving candy or a treat each day, we decided to do a little something for each other instead. We would fill out little slips of paper that said “Today for ____________, I will _____________.” Since there are four of us in our family and 24 days of advent, we would each fill out two slips for each other – I’d do two slips for my husband and two each for my two kids – mix them up in a bowl, and put one into each pouch. The idea was to keep it simple with a fun little way to spend time together or make life a little easier for each other. For instance, I’d often put on my husband’s slips that I’d give him a back rub or take out the trash. For the kids, it might be reading them an extra book at bedtime or letting them choose what to have for dinner. The key was something that you could do any day. My husband used to get a little too enthusiastic and offer the kids a trip to the bowling alley or bookstore, but he couldn’t always come through with that activity the day the slip was picked, especially if it was on a school night with a lot of homework! We would all look forward to picking a slip each morning before school, and it was a fun way to ensure spending time with each other during a super-busy time of year.

I love how she reuses the same calendar each year and how she has made the season about spending time with each other and doing things for each other rather than eating candy or getting gifts.

A few small changes and a little planning can have a big impact this time of year. What ways have you lowered your family’s impact during the holidays??

I was super stoked to see Plan Toys appear on Zulily today. After Amazon it is probably my number one place to shop. Lately I think Zulily has been kicking Amazon booty. They just have so much good stuff for such great prices.

As I mentioned, Plan Toys are being offered and they have been my favorite place to get eco friendly, quality, wood toys for many years now. My daughter has their dollhouses and my youngest son has several of their race tracks and click clack toys. Here are my top five choices for Christmas toys this year…

Ride-On Racing Car – How cute is this????! My youngest boy would be over the moon to get his under the tree.

Dino Explorer Set – I have a dinosaur lover in the house and sadly most dino toys on the market are plastic but not these…

Tree House Set – All kids love tree houses right? I think this set would a nice addition beyond the standard dollhouse.

This nifty animal puzzle – Helps little ones develop planning and analytical abilities, along with the ability to learn and follow rules. Its accessible game play challenges sweeties to identify, sort and group four different animals.

Crane Set – What boy doesn’t love a crane? I think my youngest kiddo would have hours of fun playing with this sweet toy. This award-winning set provides many opportunities for little ones to think about and plan their own work.

Shop for toys, books and more at zulily this Holiday Season

Even though my husband set me up with an amazing aromatherapy massage and seaweed wrap for Mother’s Day, he insists that all he wants for Father’s Day is the laughter of his little girls. Sweet sentiment, but he’s still getting gifts. I went to my daughters for their ideas: my youngest insisted that we get him a tiger and my oldest swore up and down that he told her that he wanted a tuutuu, bless her little lying heart. My girls are a trip.

My husband, the father of the year in my opinion, who takes time off work to be a room “mother” with me and tosses a football around out with my daughters calling them Lil Namath and Lil Montana deserves a something extra special on the day designed to honor him. I’ve been busy choosing between a wide variety of great gifts that don’t dent the earth and suit his personality.

Recycled Golfballs

Dixon Golf out of Tempe, AZ produces an eco-friendly line of balls called Dixon Earth. The balls are 100% recyclable. Dixon pays for returned balls. Sustainability informs everything that this company does, they encourage their employees to carpool to work and have outfitted their manufacturing facility with LED lightbulbs and low-VOC paint. Dixon even encourages golfers to go after that sliced ball by providing up to a $6 return for a dozen used golf balls.

Animal Adoption

Even though my daughter insists there is room for a tiger in the treehouse out back, I believe the laws in our jurisdiction against the keeping of exotic animals prevent her dreams of tiger ownership from becoming a reality. As a compromise, I found that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offers the adoption of endangered and threatened animals. On making a donation we may help protect and symbolically adopt a tiger or a three toed sloth or a host of other animals. Donations go to support WWF’s mission to prevent threats like poachers, deforestation, and global climate change from impacting the biodiversity of the planet.

Sweet Treats

If you look at my husband’s dental chart, all of his teeth are sweet teeth. Shari’s Berries has an amazing line of chocolate covered strawberries and delicious cookies  available to be shipped right to your door, including some super cute strawberries dipped to look like baseballs, footballs, and basketballs for Father’s Day!

Homemade

My girls decided to collect and recycle pretty paper they received throughout the year. The paper makes great handmade greeting cards, but they decided to use it to make a sweet little scrapbook full of collages of their favorite memories with their dad. So far the book includes learning to ride bicycles, playing hide and seek, and my husband flexing his muscles. They think it’s hilarious!

My girls and I plan a great Father’s Day in addition to the gift giving. After a pancake breakfast, we’re going to go on a long family hike on a nearby trail. We look forward to lavishing him with praise and pampering. Hope your holiday with your husbands and fathers is a great one!