When the twins turned toddlers we took our first steps in travelling with them. There was no looking back. Their curiosity and enthusiasm motivated us to step out more frequently as they grew.
The first time they took a dip in the sea at Dapoli, climbed a hill at Hathgadh, wandered through the Bhool Bhulaya of Bara Imambara at Lucknow and went Strawberry picking at Mahabaleswar are all memories we treasure.
At the cusp of their teens, I find travel opening the children’s minds in a hundred ways, making geography and history so much more interesting. They come back bubbling with excitement, talking constantly of all they have seen and I just want hold on to those moments, forever, as do they.
We have photographs, hundreds of them, but they’re more for me than them. Besides, we don’t make physical photo albums like we used to, and that makes them hard to access.
The Travel Bug
…reached out to me recently, to review ‘My Travel Scrapbook’. As I went through its pages I thought it was a wonderful way to keep travel memories alive. I have to admit I have always loved scrapbooking.
My Travel Scrapbook
…is divided into two sections – National Travel (Ten pages) and International Travel (Five pages). I think that’s a fair allocation, though I wouldn’t have much minded doing away with the International pages, for now at least.
There’s a map where children can mark off places they visit. A section asks them to mention the State they’re going to and the cities they visit. While on that, we kicked off a great conversation on Indian states, how they were formed and why they divided (because we had gone to Uttarakhand recently). We didn’t even realise when we had segued off to discussing the Cauvery water dispute. You really never know where the conversation will take you once you begin talking to the children.
A tiny section asks them about favourite local foods they sampled (Petha at Agra, Dal Baati in Rajasthan) that encourages them to try different kinds of food rather than sticking with pizza, noodles and ice cream.
The book also has space for them to record their travel stories. They do accumulate plenty of them from train tales to local legends. Mine wanted to write about a quaint restaurant they’d visited where they discovered a tiny library and the little boy who sang funny poetry at the Agra Fort. Those nuggets are priceless memories to look back upon.
Of course there’s space for photographs and also a box for the children to make and stick their own peel-off stickers. There are some pre-prepared ones plus some blank ones too. I loved the wonderfully glossy pages and the small cheerful boxes. The layout is clear and easy, perfect for the younger tweens. The book makes for a great keepsake, something the children can flip through (as can you) for a bit of nostalgia.
What I loved most
is that this turned out to be a fun, no pressure exercise. It’s a personal account, much like a journal, so there are no benchmarks, no specific way for things to be done, just a rough guideline. That leaves the children free to do it their way. I love that the book helped cut down on their screen time and kept them creatively employed.
What could be better:
Given that this is a scrap-book I would have liked a few more fun stickers (sun, beach, etc) to be picked from, and randomly stuck on to brighten up the pages.
Price: Rs 699
Published by: Curiosity Bug
www.littletravelbug.in
Final Verdict: This one is a keeper for the travelling tween.
Disclaimer: I was given a complementary copy of the The Travel Scrapbook in exchange for an honest review.
Travalling is a better experience and travaling with childrens is create a fun moment. I like to travel with childrens.
Very helpful review. My son loves traveling and exploring places with us. This travel book will be a perfect gift for our little traveler.
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Glad you found it helpful Neha. I hope you and your son enjoy the book.
Wow ! I wonder where was this when I was a kid. A wonderful way not only to track your visits but also learn about a place and document it.
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I thought so too. These new age children have no idea how lucky they are.
What a lovely idea. Travel scrapbook is something my daughter would enjoy I think. Loved your memory trip.
Thank you Amrita. Happy to share :-).
Wow! This looks super cool! I think I can use it too 🙂
I know. I thought the same.It would be great to keep a record of the places we went to.
This is such a cool concept to journal and create stories of your adventures. I’ll pick this up for gifting to kids. Thanks for sharing about My Travel Scrapbook, Tulika.
Yes, I liked the idea a lot. And it proved to be great for the kids.
This is quite handy and such a joy! Somehow, my kids have never shown any interest in scrapbooking till now. Or perhaps I should check with them if this is something they’d enjoy.
I think your older one might be too old for this. Besides, he has his blog, right? Is he still writing? G might enjoy it, though.
Wow! Interesting journeys OM. The scrapbook sounds interesting. I’m sure Ammu n Adi will love it 🙂
Yes, I think they will. Both H and N liked different things about it so it proved to be a win win for me :-).
This looks like a cool travel journal. Tulika, especially for kids..such an enjoyable activity for them. The book reminded me of the Matrika diary I received from Matrika stationary..Such awesome stuff we get these days, na? 🙂
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Oh yes. I want to buy them all :-). So tempting.
Everytime I look at something like this for kids, it makes me wonder where was it when I was growing up. I would have loved owning travel scrapbooks lIke these. This would give your twins a wonderful opportunity to be creative
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I think the exact same thing Raj. And that’s half the reason I get things like this for them. We used to cut and stick pictures and doodle and write on handmade scrap books. Kids these days are really fortunate.
How absolutely lovely! I know Gy would love this. Of course, she likes anything which has to do with books 😛
But she is actually a geography buff so this would hold special promise for her. Will keep an eye out for this if a certain set of travel plans work out later this year. Fingers crossed.
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Good luck for your travel plans. This is the best bit about slightly older children – it is such a pleasure to see them enjoying, understanding and absorbing things when they travel. I think Gy will like the book given that she likes crafting too.
This looks like a perfect gift for tweens and teens to record their travel journeys. The moment I read glossy, I became sure this is for me. Going by your recommendation, if this one had stickers, they would have got all used up on the first day itself here in my house so what if we don’t travel much. The cover page is inviting.
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Glossy is good, isn’t it? Specially where kids are concerned. I like anything that gets them to express/talk about/ think about what they saw.
Sounds interesting, Tulika. A good fun activity for kids, I must say, and as you rightly said cuts down on their screen time. I will buy it when my daughter is around 10, that’s when she can do these activities without my need or intervention.
Your travelogue seems interesting – even we went with our 3-year old to Dapoli and had fun spotting dolphins and playing at the beach and then the same year we did Agra – Taj Mahal + Fort + Fatehpur Sikri. It is so much fun traveling with family.
That’s true, travelling with children is fun, specially when they’re older. Dapoli is synonymous with prawns and dolphins for us :-). And Agra was great too – those the exact same places we visited.
Wow! This really looks like a keeper, Tulika & kids would surely love to possess it. My daughter is also fond of travelling & this idea of journaling her journeys will fascinate her. By the way, which is the Agra Fort? We had a quick tour around Delhi, Agra & Mathura 2 years ago & Agra was all about the Taj Mahal & a trip to Fatehpur Sikri.
How old is your daughter? I’m sure you’ll both love it.
Oh the Agra Fort is just 2-3 kms from the Taj. Almost all Mughal rulers have lived there at some point. That’s where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by Aurangzeb. It’s quite interesting, not to say magnificent. Do try to visit next time round.