Did you know that when you get you child's first passport:

1. You need to apply in person
2. and both parents need to be there [or you need a notarized statement of consent from the non appearing parent or other documents from single parents]

We were surprised that both parents had to apply in person with the child, so it took us much longer to find a day for us all to schlep to the Post Office.  See all the rules here.

One nice thing is that you can fill out all the forms online and print them out in advance - see here.

We found it helpful to find a nearby Post Office that had early morning passport hours on Saturdays so we could arrive right when they opened. Even though we arrived at 7:30, we still had to wait in line for about 30 minutes.  You can find post offices and other locations that accept passport applications here.

And if you are a AAA Plus member, you can get your passport pictures taken for free! [at least in Southern New England]

It's quite a rigamarole to get your kids passports, but worth having them in case you get a chance to go somewhere fun!