Travel gift ideas for a family with two kids in kinder travelling in whY

[runawaytrain]

What travel gift do you give two adults travelling with a 3 year old and a 4 year old in Y to LAX with Qantas? They will be visiting WDW in Orlando and possibly San Francisco and LA. I thought about spending money. My other ideas:

1. If allowed by the admin here, use the QC discount to get them extra baggage allowance and lounge access.

2. 30 day AA lounge access pass

I am thinking whatever gift I give would encompass their birthday and Christmas presents. Any ideas are welcome regardless of price. Maybe this thread will help others here too.

Thank you

 

[vetrade]

Focus on the kids - maybe a colourful backpack with some colouring books to keep them amused during the flight.
If you were intending on something more substantial, everyone wants to buy clothes or mementoes of their travels so money is always in order because they will know their own tastes best.

 

[markis10]

Maybe a DSLR or good compact camera if they have not got one, good pictures create great memories, and its the unexpected shots you don't get on postcards that stick long after the return home.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

What travel gift do you give two adults travelling with a 3 year old and a 4 year old in Y to LAX with Qantas? They will be visiting WDW in Orlando and possibly San Francisco and LA. I thought about spending money. My other ideas:

1. If allowed by the admin here, use the QC discount to get them extra baggage allowance and lounge access.

2. 30 day AA lounge access pass

I am thinking whatever gift I give would encompass their birthday and Christmas presents. Any ideas are welcome regardless of price. Maybe this thread will help others here too.

Thank you

I don't think they'd really need extra baggage allowance as they'll get 2 pieces @ 23 kgs per person on the QF flights but will have to pay a fee for every bag on each AA flight they take unless they have status.

I would find out first what cities they were going to first, if they are actually travelling on AA & if there is an Admirals Club at those cities, before I bought them a 30 day as they may not even use it.

If they are spending the majority of time at WDW, what about a theme park pass for multiple attractions around the MCO area that you know they will use.

Otherwise a travel money card from one of the banks or some US cash won't be wasted I'm sure.

 

[11sjw]

I'll assume Mum and Dad have iPhones or iPod touches (plus noise cancelling headphones) loaded with kids movies/cartoons or great Hawthorn games

These are great for mounting said devices off the back of a tray table. In Your Face: Welcome - the best iPhone holders

A little from left field but will help keep them entertained for a while.

Edit: Are available through Ebay.

 

[mella2007]

Can always check Groupon in the cities they're visiting and get a meal voucher or some other attraction

 

[runawaytrain]

My iPad keeps logging me out so I will try to get on to a computer and write a better reply later.

But thank you all for the great suggestions. They are much appreciated.

 

[totd]

Focus on the kids - maybe a colourful backpack with some colouring books to keep them amused during the flight.

Absolutely. If you can help them keep the kids distracted during the flight, that's a big win for the parents too. Do they have any sort of iThingies (including Android or similar) because they can be loaded up with movies, music and games. You can get cheap games machines like Nintendo DS for eBay or even second hand iPod touches for not a lot if they don't yet have any devices.

NB: you'd need to talk to the parents first, no point dropping a whole heap of money on something if the parents don't want their kids to have certain types of electronics.

 

[petercr]

Just returned from a similar trip (BNE-LAX-JFK and return) with Ms8yo and Ms10yo. A combination of the AVOD, their DSes, the wife's ipad and my Note 10.1 where enough to keep them ocupied all the way. Maybe buy them cheap Android tablets that can be loaded with games and videos - chances are that they can keep ghem charged all the way

 

[11sjw]

chances are that they can keep ghem charged all the way

A USB Universal Power Bank Battery will help with that. Available off Ebay for $40.

 

[michaelj]

All very serious suggestions so far....I'd upgrade one parent to J so that they can share the seat and take turns heading up front for a break.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Make sure they pre-order kids meals which you do online via the manage my booking tab.

For a family of 4 with kids as young as 3 & 4 I would recommend the 4 centre seats whether on the A380 or the 747. We flew SYD/DFW on one of the rows of two at the back & it seemed to work well for the family across aisle from us.

The parents had the D & G aisle seats with the kids in the centre E&F seats. It made it easy when taking a child to the loo is they didn't have to disturb the others by climbing over them.

If someone in the family is a silver frequent flyer or above seat selection on international flights is complimentary & ca be done at the time of booking or any time after.

If not silver & they don't want to pay the seating fee of $25.00 per person which is fair enough, QF generally pre-seat family groups together about 48 hours prior to departure. You can always checkin online 24 hours & select print out your boarding passes at home.

A meal is usually served about an hour after take-off with the kids meals coming out first.

Even if you don't have ipads the QF in-flight entertainment is excellent & there is a specific section with kids programs & games so this will keep them out of mischief when they're not sleeping of eating.

 

[harvyk]

Get distractions for the kids, pure and simple. It's not just during the flight that the parents will thank you for, it's the time at the airport prior, it's the bus or taxi ride to / from airports and hotels, it's the time between when kids wake up and parents wake up, it's also the time between when the family arrives home from the days activities but are not quite ready to head out for dinner.

iPad's with games are always good, but simple things like colouring book and lots of them are great for young kids, the magnetic erasable boards are also great (QF hands them out as a standard part of their kids pack, but they are cheap, flimsy and easily damaged). Avoid any toys which have any sort of real weight / size to them, make any sort of noise, or come with loads of parts, the parents will be cursing your name the entire time.

(Dad of 4 kids 5 and under)

 

[11sjw]

(Dad of 4 kids 5 and under)

Respect.

 

[Fruitcake]

All very serious suggestions so far....I'd upgrade one parent to J so that they can share the seat and take turns heading up front for a break.

Given the only ways to get to the J cabin from Y on the A380 are either through F or through Y+ I'm not sure that's practical. Even if Y did adjoin J the FAs will probably call timeout on your musical chairs game pretty quickly.

Unless, of course, that wasn't supposed to be a serious suggestion .

 

[runawaytrain]

Thank you all for your thoughtful and sometimes entertaining replies. - upgrade to J.

Well it is late and I do want to reply properly so I will have to apologise again. Oh the joys of overtime work! I hope I can get a chance to reply during the day instead of at 12:20am. Have a good night!

 

[michaelj]

Given the only ways to get to the J cabin from Y on the A380 are either through F or through Y+ I'm not sure that's practical. Even if Y did adjoin J the FAs will probably call timeout on your musical chairs game pretty quickly.

Unless, of course, that wasn't supposed to be a serious suggestion .

I have been upstairs in J on a QF 380 LAX/MEL, while my wife and 2 kids (11&9) were downstairs in Y. It was a work trip for me, not something we deliberately planned that way. I started in J for a few hours, then we swapped for a few hours and I finished in J. FA's were quite accepting, but I let them know what we planned and it certainly wasn't constant traffic up and down the stairs or "musical chairs". We walked through Y+ rather than risking F.

We also swapped between J and Y on other non-A380 legs of the trip (QF/AA/JAL) and had no problems. In fact, J wines were often delivered to whoever was in the Y seat and the kids were even given J pyjamas on one leg.

 

[11sjw]

In fact, J wines were often delivered to whoever was in the Y seat and the kids were even given J pyjamas on one leg.

Kids would've looked weird with pyjamas on only one leg


Boom boom :mrgreen:

 

[runawaytrain]

Lol @ 11sjw's comment.

Haha, I don't know how they would feel if I chose to help upgrade one and not the other. However, judging by michaelj's experience it can be done.

So I think a care package consisting of what has been suggested is a great idea. The battery, Groupon, money suggestions etc. are really good. Their parents both have iPads although as totd advised it's probably best to ask the parents beforehand! And perhaps, I can throw in some iTunes gift cards into the care package (hopefully Big W has a deal soon). Although, through my searching through the Virgin America Elevate website I came across this:

The Red Store

This brought me to this page. I haven't read through the terms and conditions etc. I'm going to the US myself in July/August so I could always post it to relatives. Plus, perhaps I can earn some Elevate points while buying an AA gift card for myself as well.

ozbeachbabe, thanks for the practical tips about seating etc.

My apologies, if I have not addressed each of your replies, last time I tried doing that I thought my post was incredibly hard to read for others. However, I am very grateful for all the thoughtful ideas.

 

[myfavouritescar]

And perhaps, I can throw in some iTunes gift cards into the care package (hopefully Big W has a deal soon).

Myer had 25% off yesterday, hopefully still running?