Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
light-yellow T-shirts, and three pairs of SmartWool or CoolMax hiking socks. What's
the point? First, you don't have to play fashion designer, coordinating a week's worth
of stylish combos. Each morning the kids put on their uniform. It's simple, it saves
time, and there are no decisions to make or arguments about what to wear. Second,
uniforms make your children easier to spot and keep together in the theme parks.
Third, the uniforms give your family, as well as the vacation itself, some added iden-
tity. If you're like the Shelton family who created the sample itinerary in the previous
section, you might go so far as to create a logo for the trip to be printed on the shirts.
unofficial
TIP
Give your teens the job of coming up with the logo for your shirts. They will love
being the family designers.
unofficial
TIP
Equip each child with a big bandanna. Although bandannas come in handy for wip-
ing noses, scouring ice cream from chins and mouths, and dabbing sweat from the
forehead, they can also be tied around the neck to protect from sunburn.
When it comes to buying your uniforms, we have a few suggestions. Purchase
well-made, durable shorts or jeans that will serve your children well beyond the va-
cation. Active children can never have too many pairs of shorts or jeans. As far as the
T-shirts go, buy short-sleeve shirts in light colors for warm weather, or long-sleeve,
darker-colored T-shirts for cooler weather. We suggest that you purchase your colored
shirts from a local T-shirt printing company. These firms will be happy to sell you
either printed T-shirts or unprinted T-shirts (called blanks) with long or short sleeves.
You can select from a wide choice of colors not generally available in retail clothing
stores and will not have to worry about finding the sizes you need. Plus, the shirts will
cost a fraction of what a clothing retailer would charge. Most shirts come in the more
durable 100% cotton or in the more wrinkle-resistant 50% cotton and 50% polyes-
ter (50-50s). The cotton shirts are a little cooler and more comfortable in hot, humid
weather. The 50-50s dry a bit faster if they get wet.
LABELS
A great idea, especially for younger children, is to attach labels with your
family name, hometown, the name of your hotel, the dates of your stay, and your cell
phone number inside the shirt—for example:
HODDER FAMILY OF DENVER, CO.;
CAMELOT INN; MAY 5-12; 303-555-2108