2013 is upon us and it’s time to plan family trips for new year! To support this effort, Anne Taylor Hartzell — aka Hip Travel Mama — and I put together a list of our top 10 family trips for those New Year’s resolutions.

In short, dare to experience new destinations with your kids, not just return to tried-and-tested favorites!

Relieved the holidays are almost over? I am. December is the month of perpetual plans. While individual events are fun, they all snowball by the month’s end and leave parents exhausted.

I’m pleased to say that I got my fill of amazing holiday decorations this year as I was lucky enough to kick off December in Paris …

The list of Passports with Purpose prizes is truly exceptional this year. From travel gear to hotel stays, there is something on this list for everyone. Some prizes are worth thousands of dollars, while others may not have high values attached to them, but are priceless all the same.

Regardless, every item on this list represents blogger support for this incredible fundraiser to help bring clean and safe water to the people of Haiti.

If you’re scratching your head for a great holiday gift this season for friends and family, an experience gift through Cloud 9 Living, is something unique and exciting for all ages. Cloud 9 partners with experience providers all over the country — everything from flying lessons, to racecar driving, to tamer things like city tours and the Pirates Adventure Dinner Kristi just experienced in LA with her family.

My 9-year-old gladly helped me test drive the iFly SF indoor sky diving gift a few weeks ago.

If you’re scratching your head for a great holiday gift this season for friends and family, an experience gift through Cloud 9 Living is something unique and exciting for all ages. Cloud 9 partners with experience providers all over the country —everything from flying lessons, to racecar driving, to tamer things like city tours and the Pirates Adventure Dinner Kristi just experienced in LA with her family.

My 9-year-old gladly helped me test drive the iFly SF indoor sky diving gift a few weeks ago

For me, the ultimate holiday cheer is finding the balance between giving to others while taking care of myself over the holidays. One constant way I’ve done that over the past few years is by participating in the fantastic travel blogger fundraiser, Passports with Purpose. That’s the “give.” The “get” is making my own donations for the chance to win a laundry list of sensational prizes.

There are some activities that I do as a parent because I know that my kids will love them and Pirate’s Dinner Adventure, next to Knott’s Berry Farm in Southern California, is one of them … or so I thought.

This family-friendly pirate adventure show is not just for kids; it’s an adult crowd pleaser too.

Kimpton Hotels recently hosted five writers in five cities across the country as part of a holiday blogger getaway event.

My family loves Kimpton as this kid-friendly brand offers a fresh departure from typical hotels with updated décor and whimsical themes. We stayed at Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge for our family getaway and it was quite a treat!

The holidays are a perfect time to stock up on inspiring travel gifts for kids. As family travel becomes more mainstream, there are more and more beautiful options from which to choose.

Conveniently, the gift-giving season corresponds with holiday travel so the gifts get to be tried out right away — always a bonus!

I love creating this list every year. It’s a great excuse for me to test out new products and indulge in the latest toys and gear.

Can you imagine a world without books or libraries? Books stir up our imagination and open our eyes to the bigger world around us — much like travel does. That’s why we love this year’s Passports with Purpose fundraiser.

For the fourth year in a row, travel bloggers around the world will unite to raise funds for a charity. After last year’s success, $64,000 raised to help build housing in India, Passports with Purpose is aiming to raise $80,000 to build two libraries in Zambia.