…sending stuff to them (I love to make cookies for them), webcam visits, phone calls…and them having good quality time when they are with us with lots of hugs and affection will be remembered and cherished…they will keep them warm even when our arms aren’t there to hug them.

- Deb, a long distance mom

• Send your child a back to school care package with cool pencils, folder, notebooks or even back to school clothes.
• Call your child on the morning of his/her first day of school before school to wish them luck and/or after school to check on how their day went.
• Keep a binder, folder or letter tray for your child’s school information, progress reports etc for that year. At the end of the year, close it up, stash it and start a new one.

As a result of travel costs being higher on that particular weekend, I was unable to visit my daughter on her birthday this year.  I was able to go a few weeks later and bring presents but I wanted to do something extra special for her on that day.  I arranged to have balloons delivered to her school.  I did not tell her in advance about the surprise.  This was such a big hit with her that I’ve already decided to make it a birthday tradition!  

If anyone has creative ideas for celebrating birthdays, holidays, or any other special day, please let us know! 

~Holly

The end result is a binder that your child can pull out any time they want to write a letter to you - and have everything they need. This makes them have less need to rely upon the custodial parents to allow letter writing and gives them something fun to do from you.

Long distance parenting can be expensive. As part of my continuous quest to find affordable airfare and to make the traveling experience as pleasant as possible, I have …