Travelin' with Tots Review and Giveaway! Little Jet Set.com and Zoobie Pets

The first time that we traveled with Nadia was when she was 6 months old. We took her on a three week trek around western Europe and the UK. It was an awesomely fun trip, and we were fortunate that she was such a good little traveler. Flash forward to the next big trip we took with her four months later, and we discovered that we were woefully unprepared for traveling with a mobile kid. The flight from Chicago to Seattle was a total disaster! We didn't buy her a seat which was a total rookie mistake, we didn't pack enough for her to do and ended up lugging unnecessarily heavy bags around because we didn't pack efficiently. The next spring, we decided to give it one more try and packed her up for a trip to Vegas. I spent hours scouring the internet for toys and games and traveling ideas. If only I had found Little Jet Set to help me with my search!

Little Jet Set is an online store run by two moms with extensive traveling experience. Their mission is to help you "pack smart and travel happy." They offer an amazing selection of products to help you travel more comfortably with your children. Their philosophy is that if you keep kids occupied, comfortable and well-fed your children will be happier and you will feel less stressed as you embark upon your travels. They admit to owning DVD players and iPods, but also know that while these gadgets are essential for travel, they are not fool-proof ways to keep your children from annoying you and all your fellow travelers for the entire trip. At Little Jet Set, you will find all the products that you need to make the most of your travel time. From arts and crafts to books and board games, Little Jet Set can help you avoid anyuncomfortable interaction between you and the poor unfortunate soul that scored the seat right in front of your squirming little traveler on the crowded flight to Grandma's House! With products from Little Jet Set, your kids will be actively engaged and using their brains while you pass the hours away on a plane, or in the car, too.

As a shopper, I prefer small stores with neatly organized displays. I'm no good at shopping at places like Marshall's and TJ Maxx. This is not because I do not like a good deal, but because I don't have the patience to dig around through racks of clothing or shelves of random kitchenware. As an online shopper, the more specific my search can be, the better. At Little Jet Set, you can search for what you need using categories like Toys, Road Trips, Award Winners and Puzzles & Games. However, my most favorite search category is Age. I love it that I can easily find the best activities for my 8 month old as well as for my almost 3 year old. If you're looking for products in a specific price range, you can search by price as well.

Little Jet Set sent Nadia one of their popular Travel Pets by Zoobie Pets to give a little test run. She's been dragging her Baby Hada the Hippo around the house for a couple of weeks now and she simply adores her. What is a Zoobie Pet? It's a 3-in-1 pillow, blanket and stuffed animal. Right now, Baby Hada is resting with all of Nadia's other animals next to her bed, but whenever Nadia decides she wants to, she can open up the velcro and turn her cute little friend into a pillow and even a blanket. I love that once the Zoobie Pet has transformed into a blanket that you can still use the animals head as a nice cushy little pillow. Nadia can sort of stuff Hada's head in between her head and the car seat and still be able to cover up with the blanket. The Baby Hada the Hippo isn't going to last Nadia much longer as a blanket due to it's smaller more totable size designed for children younger than three, but we can graduate up to the regular size instead. Zoobie Pets are the perfect, squishable toy for babies and toddlers, and it's their squishability (is that a word?) that makes them the perfect travel companion. They can easily be stuffed into a diaper bag or a backpack for light and easy travel. So much less bulky than packing a pillow and blanket seperately, and I will feel much more comfortable having Nadia and Isaac snuggling up under a Zoobie Pet on the plane than under the sort of icky blankets and pillow that airlines provide.

Little Jet Set carries both the original Zoobie Pets as well as several Baby Zoobie Pets. I love our Baby Hada, but I also think Baby Ellema the Elephant is really, really cute, too. The original Zoobie Pets have a detachable blanket that is 33"x55" making them a great choice for the 3+ crowd which we are soon to be a part of! I'm thinking Rhaxma the Rhino is going to make it onto Nadia's Christmas list.

As you prepare for your holiday travels whether it's in a plane or in your car, you should definitely go and check out the great games, activities and gear at Little Jet Set. They offer a very low $6.95 flat rate shipping and right now, they are offering a big pre-holiday sale. You can save $5 on a purchase of $50 or more, $15 off a purchase of $75 and $25 off a purchase of $100! Plus, if you spend $50 before the 15th, Little Jet Set will also send you a code for 20% off your purchase from November 16th through November 30th! Go shop right now because these great deals will only last until November 15th! Click here for more details on the sale.

Full review, based on 4 stars:

Functionality/Usability of the site **** - I really like how easy Little Jet Set is to navigate. Their categories make sense, and are further sorted into sub-categories to make your shopping even easier. Like I said, I love being able to search for travel games, toys, etc. by age which Little Jet Set allows you to do.

Selection ***1/2 - The selection of products on Little Jet Set is great. There is a really wide range of items to choose from, and I like how many products they offer that stick to the "travel" theme. They also offer a great selection of travel guides including Frommer's Travel with Kids Guides, City Walks with Kids Guides and 52 Adventures guides both from Chronicle Books. These seem like a must-have if you're traveling to a big city with your kids. I feel like the moms at Little Jet Set have done a great job of finding unique products as well as offering the more popular travel items that everyone is looking for.

Price **** - The $6.95 flat rate shipping really can't be beat! Check out the clearance section for some deals, too.

Overall Rating **** - Little Jet Set is a great store to help you prepare for traveling this holiday season. They have everything you need (or didn't even know you needed!) to help keep your babies, toddlers and big kids busy in the car or on the plane. Remember the Little Jet Set motto: "pack smart and travel happy."

Little Jet Set is giving away a Baby Zoobie Pet as part of our "Car Travel" giveaway. Keep reading our daily "Travelin' with Tots" posts and be sure to check back next Friday, the 14th for details on how you can win one of our two travel giveaway packages, each valued at over $300!

Click on Read More...below to find your Travelin' with Tots giveaway question!

Here's your Travelin' By Car giveaway question: Name another product you'd like to try from Little Jet Set, NOT including any mentioned in this post.

"Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”(Paul Theroux) ...and we can help with that!