This year’s holiday party chit chat centered around predictions for 2009. People ask me continually how the current state of the country impacts Ciao Bambino and the decisions people are making about family vacations.

I polled friends to see if I could find any common themes and indeed I did.

People are definitely planning on taking family vacations in 2009. Good news—we need meaningful, stress-free periods more than ever right now.

The vast majority of people I polled do not have plans in place. This is the single most obvious trend I see on Ciao Bambino right now—people are looking, but they are waiting until the last-minute to confirm plans.

People are getting creative and planning on staying with friends and/or using frequent flier miles to reduce expenses. Kim Orlando of Traveling Mom has an interesting plan—they are pursuing a house swap. “We’ve house-swapped before (thanks to HomeExchange.com) and loved not only the money savings, but being part of a neighborhood.”

Foreign travel is still the preferred plan for some families, although the majority of people listed US destinations as their target vacation spots—everywhere from California to New Hampshire to North Carolina. Shannon Venable of ItaliaKids.com runs a summer camp in Italy for kids and had an interesting comment: “For those families inquiring with me about coming to camp for next summer, I find that many are still committed to their Europe trip, but they are scaling back and/or economizing in certain ways to make it more affordable.”

The Travel Industry Association (TIA) released their annual travel forecast in November and concluded that the uncertain economic climate is leading American and global travelers to change their behaviors. Although leisure travel is stable, business travel is projected to decline. Interestingly, their research matches my micro-poll data—consumers are likely to plan and purchase leisure trips with the pursuit of a “good value” (read the full article).

Of course, I’m biased but this is uplifting news as we ring in 2009—we need hotels and resorts to return to a place where providing value is a priority and in turn, consumers will appreciate vacation time more than ever.

Wishing you and yours all the best for 2009!

Free stays at great hotels are a good thing—welcome to our first of many 2-Night Giveaways! Does a weekend in San Francisco sound fun? The Hotel Del Sol has generously donated a stay for a family of 4 without date restrictions, i.e. assuming there is availability, you can take advantage of our certificate whenever you want.

Participating takes seconds—simply enter your email on our 2-Night Giveaway window (get there from the CB homepage)—we’ll draw from the addresses received during the month on January 30, 2009. Note, emails will only be used for the drawing and will not be used for other marketing purposes.

A freebie that requires no work—spread the word!

I was surprised and disturbed to read an article in the recent National Geographic Traveler about post-trip surprise charges added to client credit cards from rental car companies and hotels. I always check every line item of a final hotel bill and more often than not, there is a mystery charge of some kind. These charges are not deliberate attempts to gouge me, but reasonable errors that can arise given the number of smaller incidentals that add up during hotel stays.

The charges this article highlights are things like traffic tickets (one the driver was not aware of) from rental car companies that appear months after a trip is concluded and mini-bar charges at hotels—again, appearing weeks after check-out. These types of charges are not new—the ominous part of the piece is the fact that these late charges have increased in number over the past year and the implication this activity may be a deliberate attempt to increase revenue as occupancy rates drop.

For hotels, assuming the late charges are valid—it seems to me that this practice is inconvenient, but not totally unreasonable since things like the mini-bar may not be re-stocked prior to check-out. I would assume then that the charge should be posted within 24 hours of departure. Charges that come weeks later, however, should not be fair game, irrespective of the validity of the original transaction.

The article states that these late charges are possible because credit card companies have varying rules around the approval and timeline for authorizations. I wouldn’t bother studying the terms and conditions for every credit card you own—it seems unlikely you can manage the process by finding card that categorically doesn’t allow late charges.

The bottom line is that you should pay special attention to credit card statements after a trip to ensure that the amounts charge match receipts and continue to monitor the cards carefully for additional charges over a several-month period. If you find a late charge, call the hotel or rental company first to see if quick resolution is possible, and if not, open up a dispute with your credit card company. One of the things I love about blogs and user-generated content is that consumers have an unprecedented opportunity to voice grievances—unfair business practices still happen, but service providers have more incentive to do the right thing now since spreading the word is easy.

For more information and tips around how to avoid these charges, read the full article, “Post-Trip Stealth Charges,” in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

This week’s Photo Friday post features a photo of our then 3-year-old Devon taking in the sunset in Mexico on Christmas day. Like everything in life, vacationing during the holidays is a trade-off. During this time of year you overpay for rooms and flights, quite possibly experience some sort of travel hassle, and it is more work to transport gifts—but once you arrive, the joys of being in a wonderful destination set in, and you aren’t caught in the seemingly endless cycles of cooking and cleaning experienced when the holidays are at home.

We stayed home this year and I have to say—despite being exhausted with all the logistics, it was relaxing, cozy, and fun. Although on this “day after”—I’m looking at the holiday carnage and dreaming of that beach in Mexico …

The holidays are truly a magical time, especially when you are able to spend them with family—for that same reason they can be stressful with kids. I always find it challenging to maintain discipline during the holidays. The kids are excited about Santa and presents and seeing the family, the aunts and uncles are feeding them snacks all day and letting them have entire cans of soda and bedtime is a nightmare because we are 2 or 3 hours off our normal time. And when the meltdown comes, it comes with a fury and the aunties and uncles are either nowhere to be found or they are giving me those “looks” or my favorite, the “head shake and hmmph” as if they have no idea how this tantrum could possibly be happening.

Last fall at a family dinner, my kids were having a hard time sitting in their seats while we were waiting for dinner. My sister was becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation and finally, I heard her mutter loud enough for me to hear, “I believe in traditional discipline”. I took a long drink of my brandy old fashioned, took the kids outside for a walk and started thinking about “traditional discipline”.

I also believed in “traditional discipline” before I had kids. It’s a very simple concept—you tell the kids what to do and they do it. And then you actually have your own children and realize that it is much more complicated. It did get me thinking though about how my parents handled the going-out-to-dinner scenario. I grew up in Wisconsin and every Friday we went out to dinner for fish at a local restaurant. My parents let me order kiddy cocktails, aka Shirley Temples, and my Dad gave me quarters to play pinball—I loved going out to dinner! When the food was ready, it was set on the table and we all sat down and ate together. I never had to sit at the table for an hour and entertain myself before I ate dinner.

This Christmas we will visit my in-laws in Ohio. I already know the drill; much time will be spent thinking about food—where we’ll eat, when we’ll eat and how we’ll entertain the kids during all this eating. Their house also has many pieces of art as well as some medieval weaponry that my son has yet to discover. While it may not sound very kid-friendly, two years ago we went home to a purple Christmas tree with life-sized circus animals around it (the zebra and the six-foot penguin are still there!) which the grandkids attempted to ride at every opportunity. There are some situations that you cannot control and this holiday will be one of them for me. Instead of getting stressed out because the kids are still up at 9 pm or that grandpa is giving them chocolate I will employ some “traditional discipline” to get me through it. That may mean kiddy cocktails and quarters for the kids and a few glassed of holiday cheer for me! Enjoy your holidays!

Tara Donovan’s exhibit at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is not to be missed! I just got back from a visit with my 5-year-old son who loved seeing everyday objects become works of art. She uses cups, straws, buttons, scotch tape, etc on a huge scale- literally by the millions to make impressive sculptures. The size and organic nature of the sculptures made quite an impact.

Unlike many destinations in Boston, going to the ICA is very easy and inexpensive. We parked 50 feet from the door of the ICA building- which is a work of art in itself. Parking was only $10, very reasonable for Boston, and admission was only $12. Also, the gift store is fantastic for creative children gifts. I was able to stock up on birthday and holiday gifts. All in all, we were in and out in less than an hour and had a great experience.

Note: Best suited for children ages 5 and up. Some exhibits are laced around the floor, making for some delicate stepping. Definitely nerve-wracking for mothers with runaway toddlers!

It’s easy to envy Yolanda Edwards—she gets paid to travel the world with her family (husband and daughter, Clara, age 5). Her travel insight is straightforward and credible. I love this—there are countless times when I read family travel pieces and feel like the writer doesn’t get it (i.e. may not even have kids) and/or is sharing details I don’t care about. Yolanda covers destinations that are interesting in a way that is relevant. I get a true sense of the places she covers and know if I want to get there (the list is long and growing).

It was fun to meet Yolanda—here’s what I learned.

How did you end up as the Travel & Lifestyle Editor at Cookie?

For years I was a photo editor for Condé Nast Traveler and W Magazines. During those times I was a wannabe travel editor, always piping up with ideas when anyone would listen. Just when I was ready to be a stay-at-home-mom with a 1-year-old, Pilar (Cookie Editor-in-Chief) approached me about the job. This was something I could not pass up. I’ve always been obsessed with travel and when we had Clara all my friends said my travel life would be over. I could not imagine this and set up to prove everyone was wrong—parents don’t have to give up what they love just because they have kids. We had Clara and never stopped traveling …

How often are you on the road?

6 to 8 weeks a year for 10 days at a time.

What is your favorite destination with young kids and why?

Italy. And, I’m not just saying that because you run Ciao Bambino. Our biggest concern when traveling is eating good quality honest food that pleases all three of us. Italy is comfortable. You know what to expect here—beautiful scenery, amazing food, and the Italians love kids—even if they are running circles around the restaurant. We go every year and fantasize growing old in Puglia.

What is one of your favorite hotels?

I have so many, but this year my favorite experience was at the Rosewood Mayakoba in Mexico. We travel in so many different ways—from simple to fancy, and for a resort, this one had the luxuries that we were really impressed by. It had the nicest kids club I’ve ever seen—Clara wanted to hang out at the club the whole time. It was located next to the pool, the beach, and the restaurant—probably the best designed beach club I’ve been to—so we could relax and peek in on her, and she could run out and have a swim or lunch with us. The cheaper rooms are on a lagoon facing mangroves—so you just sit on your terrace (with a mini pool) and watch the birds and look for turtles. It was so peaceful to hang out here—one of those places where we felt no need to leave the property—plus its so close to Cancun, so it was an easy flight and immediate decompression for all of us.

What would you never leave for a trip without?

Clara’s notebook. This is her designated place to write down her memories of our trips. I also never leave without Bach’s Rescue Remedy to help me cope with flights.

Given the amount you travel, how do you keep Clara excited and engaged from trip to trip?

She is excited because these trips are just the 3 of us and this is the most concentrated time we get to spend together. It helps that part of what we are always doing is looking for the best kids angle—she has never once expressed that she wants to go home early or is missing friends.

Far more challenging is making sure Clara has a sense of how lucky we are that I get to do this job for a living. When a 5-year-old automatically picks up the phone to order her own room service—it’s is hard to coach her that things like that are a treat and not a daily activity. We try and remember not to compare ourselves to families we meet along the way noting how much more “stuff” we possess— instead, we focus on how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to share these amazing experiences.

What is your travel philosophy?

I think as much exposure as possible to different ways of living is so important. But this doesn’t mean you need to put far-flung spots on your list and feel badly if you can’t. It can be as simple as going to the Vietnamese place in the local mini-mall, or visiting your closest Chinatown. Or renting DVDs like The Little Travellers (a favorite of Clara’s). But also, it doesn’t also need to be overthought. A huge reality check for me came a couple of weeks ago after we had taken Clara to Disneyland for a day. We were talking about it while we were in Bora Bora on a scout, and she squeezed my hand and said “Mom, thank you so much for taking me to Disneyland. That was the best trip of my whole life.”

Yolanda Edwards is the Travel & Lifestyle Editor of Cookie Magazine, a Condé Nast Publication, available via subscription and at www.cookiemag.com. She is also a regular contributor to Cookie’s family travel blog Going Places.

With all the coming and going this season, the last thing any of us wants to worry about on a travel morning is breakfast. But putting hungry kids in the car or dragging them through the airport in search of decent food is a recipe for frustration. The option is usually a blast of packaged sugar and carbs which means lots of bouncing off walls.

Then there’s the other holiday travel reality of being a visitor or being visited. Either way, it’s hard to come up with a group breakfast that isn’t a hassle. If you are the host, you want to make sure you can make stuff ahead. If you are the guest, you want to be helpful and cook at least one meal (well, you do if you want to be invited back!).

This is when I fall back on my strata strategy. If you didn’t have a mom who made these things back in the days, let me explain what a strata is: bread layered with cheese and other yummy things that’s soaked in eggs and puffs up like a sturdy souffle in the oven. Think of stratas as savory bread puddings. Think of them as breakfast casseroles, or “hot dishes” as they say in the Midwest. Think of them as a make-ahead, all-in-one solution to the above scenarios.

Here’s how it works. The night before you are traveling or hosting guests or preparing a meal for your hosts (say at a friend’s ski house), tear up bread, beat some eggs and milk, pour that over the bread, add a few other ingredients, then place the dish in the fridge. In the morning, get up, slide it into a COLD oven, turn on the oven, and go back to bed…or finish packing, dressing, showering, whatever. It bakes while you do something else. If you want to gussy it up, serve with fruit and baked goods, but that’s not necessary for the quick, out-the-door family meal on a travel day.

The other key to the strata strategy is that the recipe can be varied endlessly. The one below is a universal pleaser with ham and cheese. If you want it vegetarian, substitute cooked broccoli, asparagus, spinach, or Swiss Chard for the ham. Or use cooked sausage. Or any other cheese (even goat cheese).

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Strata
Serves 6

room temperature butter for greasing dish
1 pound loaf soft French or Italian bread (not sourdough), such as Pugliese
12 ounces thick-cut baked ham or ham steak, fat trimmed off, cut into cubes
1-1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated Monterey jack cheese
freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
2 cups whole milk
3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese

The night before, rub the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2–inch baking dish with butter. Cut the bread in half crosswise, then again lengthwise to give you open-faced quarters. Tear out the insides of the bread and tear into small pieces, getting every last bit of white from the crusts (save the crusts to make breadcrumbs in the food processor for another time).

Spread half the bread in the bottom of the buttered dish. In a food processor, pulse the ham until finely minced (or finely chop by hand). Sprinkle half the ham and half the cheese over the bread, then repeat with remaining bread, ham, and cheese. Grind fresh pepper over the top. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together, then whisk in the green onions. Pour over the bread-ham mixture, then with a large rubber spatula, fold ingredients gently until bread is moistened. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish. Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle the top of the strata with the Asiago or Parmesan cheese, then cover dish tightly with foil. Slide into a cold oven and turn the oven to 350°F. Bake until the strata starts to puff and eggs look set, about 35 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden, crusty, and delicious smelling, about 25 minutes more. Serve at once.

**

If you are craving something sweet, not savory, check out the French Toast Bread Pudding on my website. It’s just a fancy name for a good old strata.

Tori Ritchie is a San Francisco-based cooking teacher and cookbook author whose website tuesdayrecipe.com features a new recipe sent to your inbox every week. She travels often to Italy, but has yet to find the original “strata” recipe, despite its Italian name.

Winters in London tend to be very cold and wet (and dark, thanks to its northern position). It is certainly not my favorite time of year, but what does impress me every winter is that regardless of the weather, the Brits still get outside and carry on. Wellies (rain boots) and brollies (umbrellas) are standard winter-ware accessories!

A favourite place for Londoners to gather (come rain, sleet, snow, or sun) is the Hampstead Heath in Northwest London. The ‘Heath’ is London’s largest historic parkland, and arguably the most beautiful. A walk in the Heath will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the English countryside, far from the hustle and bustle of London, yet you are still smack in the middle of this busy city! Unlike the more manicured and planned Royal Parks of London, the Heath is wild in nature, offering 3.2 sq km of roaming meadows, fishing and swimming ponds, dark and lush woodlands, hiking and biking trails, and some of London’s best playgrounds.

It is here where you can take advantage of a windy winter’s day by flying a kite from the top of ‘kite hill’. No matter the weather, you can always find families gathered here to enjoy this decades-old tradition. Kite Hill is one of the highest peaks in the Heath, and from here you can enjoy incredible views of central London. At the bottom of this hill is one of London’s best playgrounds, the newly-renovated Parliament Hill Playground. Your kids will surely not complain about being out in the cold if they’re offered a bit of playtime in this popular playground!

A winter’s walk in the Heath would surely not be complete without a visit to Kenwood House . This beautiful 18th century country house, located at the top of the Heath, is home to a stunning library and houses a good collection of famous paintings (including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Turner, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Vermeer). If it’s an especially chilly day, you can also visit its café for tea and biscuits to warm yourselves up!

The Hampstead Heath is one of London’s finest outdoor gems, and certainly worth visiting no matter the season. Just don’t forget the wellies!

Courtney writes for Babyccino from London.

This picture was taken at Shipwreck Beach on the island of Lanai in Hawaii. We had rented a jeep for the day and decided to drive out in search of this beach we heard was gorgeous. We grabbed some sand toys and walked to a secluded part of the beach that had amazing views of the shipwreck and surrounding mountains.

I love this picture because it reminds me of how easily kids can be entertained and how easy it is to slow down and enjoy the moment if you let yourself.