We hope that you value the services and content on our blog and on Twitter. If you do, please consider nominating us for a Shorty Award in Travel. http://shortyawards.com/YeahThatsKosher

See the tweet below.

Nominate @YeahThatsKosher for a Shorty Award in #travel because we offer a niche service to the #Jewish Travel comm. bit.ly/shorty

— Dani Klein ✈ ✈ ✈ (@YeahThatsKosher) January 5, 2012

For those who enjoy immersing themselves in Jewish history and Jewish travel, here’s an opportunity for you.

We have partnered with Jdeal.com to giveaway a copy of “Lost Synagogues of Europe” by Andrea Strongwater and 3 signed artistic cards (images of those synagogues).

If you don’t win the giveaway, Jdeal.com is selling a copy of this book at a discount this week only.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY BELOW:

Beginning January 1st, 2012, the United Center in Chicago, IL will be offering a glatt kosher food cart serving hot dogs, sausages, pretzels and bottled beverages at Bulls (NBA) and Blackhawks (NHL) games. The cart will be located on the Main Concourse outside Section 114 and will be under the strict supervision of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. You can contact the CRC for additional information.

Before I travel anywhere, I tend to do a lot of research online. I check multiple sites (although I basically live on Kayak.com), compare prices, times of flights, stopovers, etc. I change the dates, tinker with the airports, and finally come up with the best itinerary for hard earned dollars (or in my most recent case, credit card points).

So when I was discussing potentially going away over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I did some research. Here’s what I found (and already know):

• Traveling the week of Thanksgiving is insane. It is the most traveled week and busiest week for airports in the U.S. Expect long lines, delays, packed flights, you name it.
• Due to all that aforementioned goodness, prices tend to be quite high on nearly every route. There are however ways to avoid the lines and high prices if you are flexible.
• If you can, fly on Thanksgiving Day, instead of before. I know that not all Jewish American Orthodox households actively celebrate Thanksgiving at home with big feasts. (I know this because growing up we would always go out for Turkey Shwarma. We weren’t being unAmerican, my parents both grew up very European that’s all.) If you have one of those families (like mine) that just doesn’t throw a huge Thanksgiving feast every year, and would relish 3+ days away from home, considering leaving on the holiday itself. Ditto for Xmas and New Years.
• If you can be even more flexible with work, take off a day or two and don’t return back until Tuesday or Wednesday the following week. Why? Flying back on Sunday or Monday morning is both expensive and just as insane as traveling before Thanksgiving. By midweek, prices have dropped and the crowds have dissipated.

As I write this on Sunday November 13th, less than 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, I did a few searches on Kayak for flights originating from NYC to Miami (a popular holiday destination for us NY Jews). Here are the price results (all prices listed are roundtrip with taxes as of today):

• NYC – MIA: Tuesday 11/22 – Sunday 11/27 — Cheapest Flight: $608 with 1 Stopover each way. Cheapest Nonstop Flight: $777
• NYC – MIA: Wednesday 11/23 – Sunday 11/27 — Cheapest Flight: $706 with 1 Stopover in one direction. Cheapest Nonstop Flight: $860
• NYC – MIA: Thursday (Thanksgiving) 11/24 – Sunday 11/27 — Cheapest Flight: $634 with 2 Stopover one way, and 1 Stopover the other. Cheapest Nonstop Flight: $693
• NYC – MIA: Thursday (Thanksgiving) 11/24 – Tuesday 11/29 — Cheapest Flight: $268 with 1 Stopover each way. Cheapest Nonstop Flight: $289 !!!!

As you can see, flying on the holiday itself, and avoiding returning on the weekend will drop your costs by more than 50%. Obviously, you need to have some flexibility in your life to take advantage of this, but if you’re savvy enough, you can make it happen!

Let us know about any great travel deals and tips by commenting below and by writing us on Twitter: @YeahThatsKosher.

The following quote came from one of our readers and now authors:

Nobody likes going on vacation and having to shlep 101 bags and packages of precooked food so knowing that your destination not only has kosher food but also a variety to choose from always comes as a happy relief.

For the second straight year, American Express is running its Small Business Saturday campaign, which encourages Americans to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/26/11) – sandwiched between Black Friday the day before, and 2 days later with Cyber Monday.

Amex is offering incentives for people who have an American Express card to use it on that day at basically any small business (non-chain store) and receive a $25 credit on their monthly statement (when you spend $25 or more). [I believe this is only available in the U.S.]

While I’m obviously not endorsing us to go shopping on Shabbat, we will have plenty of time to take advantage of this Motzei Shabbat as it gets dark early. Last year, I took advantage of this and basically got a free / subsidized dinner. You can use this credit at nearly all kosher restaurants – except perhaps the remaining kosher Subways which may be considered a chain restaurant despite being a franchise.

In order to take advantage of this promotion, you’ll need to sync your AMEX card (any card) by clicking here. It’s a very quick process and well worth it. You don’t need to print anything out or show any coupons. The credit is automatically placed on your statement.

Who is going to argue against a free dinner?

Comment below and let us know what you plan on doing with the $25 credit!

[Full Disclosure: I am an employee at American Express. All views published here are my own and do not necessarily reflect that of the company.]

Thank you to @JeffJICNY for sending us this pic of a Manischewitz vending machine stocked with blintzes, knishes, veggie patties, and veggie eggrolls.

If only these machines were found in places that actually lack kosher options, unlike Kosherfest which is fully stocked with options for those attending.

If you’ve seen this, or other Kosher vending machines, please comment below and let us know where you’ve seen them!

As an avid traveler I was worried that having a baby would cramp my travel style. My wife and I vowed that we would not let having a baby change our desire.

Since our son was born, we’ve taken him on 2 short road trips from NY: Atlantic City, NJ in the dead of winter & Philadelphia, PA over a long Labor Day weekend. On the wild side, we took him to Israel on a 3 week trip over Memorial Day and Shavuot holidays… with a stopover in Amsterdam. And before our son turns 1, we’ll hopefully get to take another 4-5 day trip (destination currently TBD).

Ultimately, taking such trips with your infant child(ren) is a case by case decision made by the parents. Not every baby is going to travel as well as others. We are blessed that our son has a calm demeanor no matter the situation: as a 2-month old being bundled up on the boardwalk of Atlantic City in January, or as a 6-month old in the scorching summer heat of Tel Aviv in May, he was a trooper through and through, Baruch Hashem (Thank G-d). Not all babies are, and it is up to the parents to identify whether their child can handle grueling schedules and/or temperatures.

In the crazy year we’ve had since becoming parents, I wanted to share a few things Arielle and I learned along the way while traveling with our son. The majority of these tips can be applied by all parents of infants (kosher observant or not).

• 1. Prepare for the Unexpected: This is especially important for new parents, as we technically still are. Packing extra everything is often needed, albeit difficult if traveling by plane. If you normally go through 5 diapers a day, bring 8-10/day. If you normally change your child’s onesie or outfit once a day, bring 3-4 changes of clothes/onesies, especially if traveling to warmer climates (babies sweat … a lot!). Take this rule of thumb and apply it to anything you pack for your child unless you’re certain you’re able to replenish supplies at your destination.
• 2. Have a Washing Machine Nearby: Instead of renting a hotel room, rent an apartment. Apartments are likely to come with washing machines and dryers which help you wash both your and the baby’s soiled clothes (confirm that the apt does in fact come with a washer/dryer). This helps you (1) keep from packing too many articles of clothes as well as (2) carrying around smelly doody-stained onesies. I’ve yet to come across a washing machine in a hotel room of any kind, and hotels that do offer laundering services will likely not have your clothes back to you within 2 hours. The third option is staying with family/friends, which often happens when traveling to Israel.
• 3. Have Ready-Made, Easily Ingestible Foods Available for Your Baby: Obviously, if your baby is only a couple months old and still nursing / exclusively on the bottle, this does not apply… but if your child is slightly older and eating solids, we’ve been very successful with the travel-friendly prepackaged baby food that can withstand the temperatures and shlepping.

  Happy Squeeze, Ella’s Kitchen, and other brands make squeezable pouches that do not need refrigeration until they’re opened. They’re really great to feed infants with as you dont even need a spoon. Most of these flavors are Kosher, but some are not, check the packaging to make sure.

• 4. Have a Sturdy Umbrella Stroller: This is especially true if you like to do a lot of walking, touring, and anything short of hiking (and if you don’t have a particularly strong back to carry your baby on you for hours at a time). A small but strong umbrella stroller came in handy on our international trip by allowing us to zip through airports, in and out of taxis and buses, and around the city. It also helped that the small carriage didn’t take up too much room in restaurants. 2 main features you should look for: (1) Large hood/canopy for shade (see below) and (2) ability to recline – allowing your baby to sleep while you’re on the move.
• 5. Account for Extreme Temperatures: Younger babies are more sensitive to extreme temperatures than older infants. Assume that however cold or hot you are, that the baby is at least 10°F colder/hotter than you. Keeping this in mind you’ll need to keep your baby extra warm in the cold, and extra cool, hydrated, and shaded in the heat. Our son at six months was downing large glasses of water during our Israel trip, which is something everyone should do when in hot climates. We also tried, to the best of our ability, to keep him in the shade as much as possible. When doing walking tours and treks, such as a day at Ceaseria, Israel (which is beautiful, but alas has no shade), make sure to use the hood of the stroller or an umbrella to protect your child.
• 6. Test New Foods: As I’ve come to appreciate Kosher food from around the world, I want to be able to give that worldly appreciation to my son as well. Now that he’s able to eat table food, we’re sure to include him on all the meals we have by guests and at restaurants. This helps us travel lightly (baby food can add a lot of weight to your carry on luggage!) and helps expand his young developing palate. The more foods he tries now, the more he’ll hopefully be open to at an older age. Here’s hoping!

  

• 7. Reserve a Bulk Head Seat in Advance: If you are flying overseas (or even on a long domestic trip), you should definitely call the airline in advance and reserve bulkhead seats and bassinets for every leg of your trip. On my four-leg trip (NYC-AMS-TLV / TLV-AMS-NYC) we made sure to request a bulkhead and bassinet for each leg. And even though we were guaranteed those over the phone, one of the flights did not have a bassinet on board at all, and we had to take turns holding our son for a few hours. Do your due diligence here!
  Oh, and for you kosher travelers, while you have the airlines on the phone, make sure they reserve for you kosher meals as well.
• 8. Make Sure Your Baby has a Passport of his/her own: This seems like a no brainer, but many parents forget about this. Consider this your reminder!

I’m sure there are tons of tips other parents have figured out and mastered over the years… so if you’re a parent, please share your tips in the comment section below! If I receive enough, I can make a follow up post on user generated baby-travel tips!