Who Said Nothing in Life is Free?

Everyone knows the best time of the year is when you take a vacation. It doesn’t matter if you are escaping from work or school. There’s nothing more fun than going on an adventure in a place new or familiar. However, getting through a vacation can sometimes be more stressful than we, or our Instagram feeds, would like to admit. Sometimes vacations are less than picture-perfect. That is why we’re here to pass on a few simple tips. Follow these three rules and your vacation is sure to be stress-free.

1 Know How You Are Leaving the Airport

If you want to start your vacation off on the right foot, you need to think about how you’re getting from the airport to your destination. It doesn’t matter how long the flight is. Somehow,it’s always tiring. The fatigue can make leaving an airport overwhelming,especially in a foreign country. Know in advance whether you’re going to rent-a-car to drive into the city, take a taxi, or use an airport railway. This will help you feel calm in an otherwise stressful situation.

We always recommend booking your preferred method in advance when possible. A confirmation in-hand of your airport shuttle or the car rental minimizes stress. Plus, booking for your transportation means there are no surprise fees after you land.

Online there are clear answers about everything you need to know to get from any airport to the major cities that surround it. Search online for answers about how to get the best price on an airport taxi in France, or convenient airport car rental locations in Spain, or even low price maglev airport trains in China. Use these resources to make leaving the airport in as stress-free manner as possible. If you do, you’ll get your vacation started on the right foot.

2 Print References of All Your Travel Details

These days,it is easy to think “Oh, I’ll have a copy on my smartphone. I don’t need it printed out.” However,the truth is that you always need a printed, physical copy of all your important travel documents and reservations. After all, smartphones can be inconsistent.

When you are working with electronics, batteries die, files get deleted, and internet connectivity changes by country and sometimes even by city. Also,if you’re phone gets stolen,you don’t want to be stranded without your details. That’s why it’s necessary to always have a paper copy of documents when you travel.

Plus, physical copies of your reference and reservation numbers, and any other important documents,are also incredibly helpful when dealing with any language barriers. Often, when you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language,your document will help you overcome the language barrier more quickly than a digital version. It’s easier to make a copy and translate the printed version.

3 Book as Much as You Can in Advance

Lastly, traveling without a plan is stressful. Maybe you’re fighting for the perfect car rental, or you want your whole party to sit together at dinner. Or perhaps, you’re just trying to meet again after splitting up for an activity. Without enough planning,every part of your trip can start to feel like a challenge. That’s why we recommend booking whatever you need for your trip in advance.

Pre-booking what you want to do save you tons of headaches down the road. It gives you peace of mind that your activities are confirmed and helps you budget your trip appropriately,too.Moreover, if you’re someone who sleeps late, then booking in advance will help you be motivated to wake up throughout your vacation,so you can explore a new city and not waste any valuable daylight.

In the end, your vacation doesn’t have to be stressful. With a little forethought and planning,you’ll be cruising to your destination with everything you need.Enjoy your time to the fullest wherever you go!

Here are 8 cleaning tips to help allergy-proof your home for the New Year…

1. Bare the Floors

Carpets and rugs are notorious for collecting dust mites, pet dander (dead skin cells that are naturally shed by your pets), and other allergens, which can trigger allergy-sensitive guests. If possible, remove rugs and carpeting from your guest room. Plus, wooden or bare floors are easier to clean!

2. Don’t Be Blind to Your Blinds

Those window blinds that protect your privacy are also dust magnets in need of regular cleaning and dusting. Here’s an easy DIY Dusting Solution: Mix equal parts vinegar and ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda to a spray bottle of mostly warm water. Spray the blinds until they’re fully soaked (make sure you have a towel underneath to catch the drippings!) and then wipe clean.

3. Love Your Lamp Shades

Lampshades are tricky to dust, so they’re often skipped over during cleaning. Want an easy way to wipe away dust? Use a lint roller or packing tape; their sticky surfaces work faster than a cloth to collect dust on lampshades, holiday décor, and other neglected areas.

4. Come Clean with Your Pets

Contrary to popular belief, pet dander, urine, and saliva are the main culprit to allergies — not pet hair. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says pet hair isn’t an allergen, but since dander can stick to hair and hide underneath a furry coat, it’s partially to blame for allergy misery. A weekly wash and scrub — using warm water and a dander-reducing shampoo — can greatly reduce allergens! You can also put your pet in a cute holiday sweater to keep fur from flying.

5. Designate Pet-Free Zones

Pet hair can get everywhere, but you can dramatically reduce these fly aways by keeping your pets out of certain areas of the house your guests will be. This can help keep pet allergens from getting into fabrics and rugs all over your home. Be sure to close the doors to guest rooms and install pet fences where appropriate.

6. Defend Against Dander

Dander can get everywhere and affect your allergy-sensitive guests. Run your clothes and bedding in the dryer before you wash them to remove pet hair, which carries dander. And before making up the guest room, wash blankets and duvets to make them fresh and dander-free. Consider using a dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic detergent that’s gentle on skin and free of dyes and perfumes, like ARM & HAMMER™ Sensitive Skin Free & Clear detergent.

7. Put Out Some Plants

The American Society of Horticultural Science and other organizations have performed studies that show how indoor plants significantly improve and clean a room’s air quality. Setting out plants like aloe, golden pathos, and bamboo palm can help filter out common volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air; bright flowers like azaleas, chrysanthemums, and peace lilies can do the same. Unfortunately, floral plants like poinsettias (yes, your favorite holiday décor) can trigger skin reactions for those sensitive to latex or rubber.

8. Freshen the Air

Air purifiers and filters can work wonders in reducing airborne allergens and keeping your surroundings feeling fresh through the holidays. Purchase air filters that have a small-particle or HEPA filter for your guest room and common areas and start running them a few days before guests arrive for best results.

While these 8 tips can help, it’s impossible to eliminate all the allergens in your home. Just in case, have some ARM & HAMMER™ Simply Saline Instant Relief on hand to help your guests stay comfortable. Its drug-free formula safely flushes out contaminants, quickly relieves congestion and is safe to use along with their allergy medications. Now, with all your bases covered, you can make the holidays even happier for you and your guests.

Enter the worlds of fantasy and reality in a new family friendly game, The Unicorn Princess.

In The Unicorn Princess, you will get to experience both real life as a horse rider and your dream world as a princess in this open world game of horses and unicorns.

Customize your character and your horses with multiple different outfits and accessories. Join your horse and unicorn in 15 different missions throughout the main story!

BUY IT NOW ON AMAZON 

Disclosure: I was given the products featured in this post to facilitate my review. Any opinions are mine and not influenced in any way.

At eCreamery.com customers can create their own custom flavor of ice-cream, gelato or dairyfree/ fat free sorbet, design the packaging, name it and have it shipped to their door. This is a really unique holiday gift idea and each flavor is made with the finest specialty ingredients, sure to delight all ice cream lovers.

They also carry some pre-made /pre-named flavors to choose from including several holiday flavors like Gingerbread Cookie, Candy Cane, Eggnog and more. I was sent their Holiday Premium Collection which includes:

• White Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream with Chocolate Flakes
• Chocolate Cake Ice Cream with Fudge Swirls & Brownie Bites
• Vanilla Ice Cream with Toffee Crunch (Butter Brickle)
• Sea Salt Caramel Brownie Ice Cream

Picking my favorite is really hard because they were all SO GOOD.  But since its the holidays, I will have to say the White Chocolate Peppermint with Chocolate Flakes really was a special treat.  It was so creamy and the chocolate flakes were the perfect amount of chocolate to add to the peppermint.  I ate the pint in 2 sittings and now I want more !!!

The Chocolate Cake Ice Cream with Fudge Swirls & Brownie Bites was definitely a close second.  It was such a delicious creamy chocolate base with chunks of brownies and globs of fudge.  I just couldn’t stop eating it and finishing off the whole pint in one sitting.  It satisfied my chocolate craving for sure !

No matter which flavors you choose, I can almost guarantee you will love it.  And if you decide to send this as a gift, the recipient is definitely not going to want to re-gift this present !!!