20% discount on Baby B'AIR flight vests

We're running a fall special on the small size of the Baby B'Air flight vest. Regularly priced at $45, it is on sale for $36. The small size is suitable for babies aged from newborn to 6 months. The Baby B'Air helps protect lap-held babies from mid-air turbulence by attaching them to a parent's lap belt.

Contact us at Little Traveller (kara@littletraveller.ca) or 1-877-242-4067 if you'd like to place an order. We're located in Calgary, Alberta but will ship across Canada.

Airline Safety Tips

The odds of dying in a plane crash are very slim (some reports put the figure at 1 in 11 million, others at 1 in 90 million). Over the last 10 years, there have been on average 173 major plane crashes per year around the world. Odds like this won't stop me flying with my family. But some high-profile aviation accidents earlier this year (especially the Hudson River crash landing in January) got me thinking. I wanted to find out how I could maximize my family's chances of getting out of a plane crash alive.

This is what I discovered:
1. Fly on non-stop routes (the first three minutes of a flight and the last eight are when most accidents occur)
2. Choose larger aircraft
3. Sit within five rows of an exit
4. Seat your family together
5. Pay attention to the preflight briefing
6. Listen to the flight attendants
7. Keep heavy items out of the overhead storage lockers
8. Keep your seatbelt fastened at all times while seated (and keep kids buckled up, too)
9. Keep your shoes on during the flight
10. Don't drink too much -- you need to keep your wits about you!

Dinosaur Capital of the World

Not only does Calgary have proximity to the Rocky Mountains in its favour, it's also close to one of the world's biggest discoveries of dinosaur bones. According to voters on Smithsonian.com, Drumheller, Alberta is the dinosaur capital of the world. The town is just 90 minutes drive northeast of Calgary and is a great day trip for kids of all ages. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is the star attraction. I took my two children (aged 4 and 1) a couple of months ago and spent the day at the museum enjoying the interactive exhibits, the roaring dinosaur (!), the inside look at a paleontology lab and much more. The weather wasn't great so we didn't hike the outdoor trail, but we did pack a picnic and enjoyed the gorgeous views of the badlands.

This weekend (September 18-20, 2009), the museum is celebrating Alberta Arts Days with free general admission and tons of kid-friendly activities scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

To find out how to get there click here. Want to get your little ones excited before you go? This site lists a big selection of kid-friendly dinosaur web sites.

Travel crib reviews

Most parents of young children buy a portable travel crib of some sort. The majority opt for a Graco playpen (and these are our most popular rented cribs at Little Traveller) but there are other options. We also rent out the Peapod travel bed and Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light -- two lightweight, portable sleeping options for children under 4. The Peapod weighs in at under 6lbs and the Baby Bjorn crib at 11lb (compare that with the Graco playpen which is over 20lbs) and that makes them both excellent travel companions.

Delicious Baby has given the Peapod the thumbs up in a review this week (the site reviewed the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib earlier this year). They are giving away a Peapod next week (starting September 14) -- check back here for details on how to enter to win.


To give either of these products a try or to rent them for an upcoming trip in the Calgary area, give Little Traveller baby equipment rentals a call on 1-877-242-4067.

Enjoy a cuppa on your travels!

I was born and raised in England so it goes without saying that I enjoy a nice cup of tea (or two). I can't stomach coffee at all, no matter how hard I try. When my husband and I first arrived in Canada 10 years ago, it wasn't easy to find a decent cuppa. But things have changed and now I regularly head out with my kids or with friends to my local tea house (we now have a few great tea shops in my Calgary neighborhood).

Edmonton author, Mary Oakwell, has written a book called "Tea Time in Alberta" detailing 54 great tea houses from Grand Prairie to Waterton Lakes. So next time you're on the road in Alberta and need a break, consider stopping at an old fashioned tea house for some old world hospitality. A few of the tea houses profiled by Oakwell are featured in this Travel Alberta article.

Get fit while the kids play!

Sometimes I feel like my life is slipping away as I wile away another afternoon at the local park. But now I can keep myself busy, too. Two Calgary mums have started PlayFit -- a fitness class that allows you to bring your your kids along. For a nominal babysitting fee of $1 or $2 your kids can play at the nearby playground while you sweat it out with the PlayFit trainers.

There are classes around the city (check out meetup.com for a full list of classes) and Margaret and Dawn are introducing new locations all the time, though sadly none in the Kensington/Hillhurst area yet (anyone interested in being a community organizer and working out for free??) The cost is $10 per class or 10 classes for $95. Head to their website www.playfit.ca or their Facebook site PlayFit Canada for more information.