Boston

I am from Boston and I have to say the children's museum is lots of fun for the kids (so is the New England Aquarium). Faneuil Hall is also a great place to walk around and grab a bite to eat. Have Fun!

My sister lives in Boston and signed me up for the kids website. Here it is www.gocitykids.com! Good luck with your flight and trip!

Hi J.,

My husband, daughter (now 2) moved here to Lincoln from Boston 2 years ago so I could pursue my Masters degree at UNL. We miss the city terribly and plan to move back in a year or so. We lived in a very kid and family friendly neighborhood--Jamaica Plain. I highly recommend taking your family to the Arboretum in JP. It is a lovely park designed by the same man who created Central Park in NYC. The lilacs will be blooming and if you are there over mother's day, they have a huge event called Lilac Sunday where there are snacks and live entertainment. I also waited tables at a really hip and a local hotspot called JP Seafood Cafe--they have great seafood, sushi, and pretty reasonably priced as far as Boston goes. Other kid friendly things you may find to be fun would be visiting the acquarium--it is just amazing and this time of year, if you decide to go on a whale watch, you may see a couple! Otherwise, Boston is just a really fun city--there is a lot of historical sights and we always just had so much fun wandering around Cambridge and Harvard Square. So, have fun and if you have any other questions let me know!

R.

Hi! I went to Boston a few years ago, and two of the things that I enjoyed the most were the mini-cruise to Cape Cod, and the boat ride to do the Whale-watching! Both very awesome!!!

The New England Aquarium is cool. Definitely worth it although it is a little expensive. For parking and getting in, if I remember correctly, it was about $100 for a family of four. The Boston Commons are a must see, especially if it is a nice day out. You can see the Capitol and there are some awesome little Irish pubs w/ food right around there. You've GOTTA enjoy a little Irish something while you are in Boston. There is also a Boston Massacre Memorial in the commons. The commons are also pretty close to China Town. It isn't San Fran China Town, but its still pretty cool. You could also visit the USS Constitution. It is the oldest wooden hull Navy vessel.

AS for the plane ride advice, I'm your girl. We do a TON of traveling. In fact we have been traveling non-stop for 6 years. 5 of the years have been with at least one child. For plane rides the obvious is to bring a portable DVD player and a set of headphones. If you don't have one you can get them for cheap. I also bring a small thing of colored pencils or crayons and a folder full of blank paper. That way she can draw or play tic tac toe...we write poems together...write picture books etc etc. You are unlimited with crayons and blank paper. Or you can take a color book if that is more your child's style. I also bring a thing or two of playdough. Its perfect for those little fold down tables. Yes, it can be a bit messy but a little mess is better than an antsy 4 year old!!

Phew!! Well, there you have it. My two cents. Boston is awesome. You'll have a blast!

Hi J.
Me and my Husband will be taking our daughters (5 and 4) to Bostan in Oct. We live in Idaho, so it is going to be a long flight. Some of the things I am going to bring are..
1} Some heathy snacks. The last thing you want is a sugared up four year old who doesn't want to stay in her seat! Trust me I wasa flight Attendent And I have seen it all.
2)My five year old loves music so I am bringing her, her own Cd Player with her own music.
3) paper or magnetic dress up dolls. Color books, dot to dots. And if all else fails.....Benedryl!! HA HA
Some things to see in Boston.
The aquirium is awsome. It's an all day event.
In the city there is a park. I think it is Swan Park. The have these boats that look like swan's that you can ride in. I don't know if you are venturing out of Bostan but Plymouth is very cool. I hope this offers you some help

When I flew with my 2 and 4 year olds, I got dog tags for them. Just in case. I felt a lot better. Crayons and coloring books. Go potty on the ground, my daughter was too scared to go in the plane.

i have no advice on the flight part of things but i lived in boston for a number of years, and grew up on the east coast and there is so much to do there!
definitely go to the aquarium and the children's museum of science.
also try to get down to the public gardens (at the end of newbury street...which has great shopping for you by the way) they have paddle boats and geese and swans.
try to get on a duck tour. they pick up outside the copley mall on boylston street, but you have to make reservations as they fill up fast, but it is a tour around boston in an all terrain military vehicle all painted over and funky, at the end of the tour (these vehicles are also amphibious) you will go on a short "boat" ride in the charles river.
if you will be outside of boston at all, a short car ride down to plymouth is nice. they have a village where everything is as it was in the 16-1700's (the people are all dressed in period clothing, you get to see various lifestyles and jobs as they were back then)
boston is my absolute favorite city, and if you need any advice on adult stuff to do, restaurants, music, clubs, etc let me know.

I flew to Denver with my 3 year old son and baby daughter last September, and it went way better than I expected. I packed a whole backpack with books and paper and crayons and snacks for my son, but he was so interested in the airplane and watching out the window, that we hardly looked in his backpack. Definitely bring a lollipop or a sippy cup, a hard candy or gum, something for her to suck on during take off and landing so her ears won't bother her. I put my son and all my carry on luggage in a stroller (the flight crew will stow the stroller for you when you get on the plane). I had my baby in the front carrier and wheeled my son along in the stroller. The only annoying part was going through security....I had to unload and fold up the stroller and take the baby out of the carrier and send it all through the x-ray thingie. I can remember my first flight as a child...I loved to read and draw so as long as I had crayons, paper, and a book to look at I was good. Get her some new things and don't let her see them until she's on the plane. Novelty is always a good thing. Good luck, I hope you have a good trip!

Well we took our 3 year old to disney land. The trip was long either way for the little guy. I brought our portable dvd player and got movies for him, then i packed a little snack bag for him as well. I also brought games he and I could play together that would keep his attention. The other thing is depending on the time of the flight, you could plan to keep him up a bit later so he may sleep on the plain with a tiny nap. thanks M. good luck.

Things to do.
boston's children's museum http://www.bostonkids.org
http://www.bostoncentral.com/ for kids activities.
Wow that is great have fun.

As for traveling I try to do the red eye flights. that way they just want to go to sleep. But if that is not an option just have a little backpack carry-on for each child and go through with them and let them pick there fav things. Books stuff animals cd player dvd player then they have what they want what ever can fit in they can take and they get to be in charge of what they have and do. Have a great time.

First of all, I got my children state issued ID's (looks like driver license) get them where you get your license. I punched a hole in them and put a clip through so I could clip them to the kids. I took a permanent marker and wrote our number on the back and our names.
I grew up outside of Boston and there is TONS to do. They have a GREAT aquarium, thaniel hall (all about food!), reinactments of the Boston masacre (not scarey), TONS of museums , childresn museum is INCREDIBLE and hands on - it's great, art museums - awesome, walking tours, ships to tour, (s.s. constitution). Whale watching tours too. I am so jealous you are going to eat SOOOOOOOOOOO good! Remember, you will be very close to NH and RI. NH is closer, lots to see there too. Need any info, e-mail me and I can try to help you. Oh and since there is a strong Catholic population usually fish diner deals on Wed and Fri.s and Sub shops and pizza joints also often offer fish plates, haddock is a nice flaky mild white fish and manhatan clam chowder is with a thin red "broth", clam cakes are "like" hush puppies with bits of clam in them. LOTS of homemade ice cream. ENJOY! And stay safe.

SNEAKERS & THICK SOCKS. - you WILL be walking A LOT!

Oh and on the plane, if you bring a DVD player you HAVE to bring ear phones, I found that out the hard way. Crayons and coloring books, pixter - it has game cartrages (this is good for the kids when at a restaurant too).

my dau. loves those doodle drawing boards where you can slide the bar to erase. the "pen" is attached to it with a string. so you don't have keep drawing things in check. Parents brand makes this to-go easel thing that carries like a suitcase and when your sitting you can open the lid and stand it up. one side is a dry-erase and magnetic. The other side is a chalk board (and magnetic i think), then inside are magnet shapes you can either puzzle piece together or trace around. Comes with chalk and markers.

You have to try the clam chowder. It's so not like chunky or campbells. There's a place down near Boston Harbor where the Tea party took place, can't remember the name, that has great atmosphere. but there are probably a bunch of places like that.

You could also check with the convention and visitors bureau. They usually have a list of popular sites. and sometimes if you tell them you want something that's a little off the main touristy path, you can find some unknown goldmines. When we went to DC we told them there were going to be 4 young children so we didn't want really busy, 24/7 loud places. And they were pretty good and giving us some options.