Flying During the Holiday Season; Knowing When to Travel

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):

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8 Tips for Traveling with an Infant

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).

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A Kosher Workaround to Starbucks’ Frappuccin​o

Ever since learning that the mix in Starbucks’ Frappuccino isn’t kosher I’ve been really sad. While I’m not a daily coffee drinker, it’s a beverage I used to love during summers for a cold pick-me-up.

Last week, I found myself in the need of such a drink and remembered that I had to opt for a regular ice coffee.

However, I thought, why can’t they take the ice coffee ingredients I love (mocha, soy milk, and peppermint syrup) and blend that as a coffee drink without the Frappuccino mix?

When I asked the baristas for this complicated request they said that they could make my ice coffee any way I wanted: regular ice, crushed ice, or blended ice.

Best of all, the price was that of an ice coffee, not a Frappuccino, at least $1 – $1.50 cheaper than the Frap.

The drink itself was tasty albeit a bit watered down (due to the amount of ice) and definitely less creamy than a Frappuccino. I imagine that had i ordered it with whole milk and whipped cream the drink would’ve been creamier.

That was the only real downfall of the drink, but the flavors were nearly the same.

If you decide to take the approach, please comment below with what you ordered and how if enjoyed it.

If you know of other tricks or “kosher workarounds”, please do share it with us.

~Dani