On the weekend our family had a beautiful little mini beach holiday. As my husband is often away for work we decided to make some special memories before he goes off on his next trip. I splashed out and booked an apartment right on the beach, let Master 7 have the day off school on Friday, and off we went for our adventure. A few times now I have had to take the kids places on my own (as my husband was away for work) that have required a night or two stay over in a hotel, we’ve had a few weddings and things like that. So today I figured I could share some tips for travelling or overnighting it with little people.
1. Accommodation. Really give this some thought, I have found if we all try and bunk up in a hotel room no one is going to get any sleep, it is worth paying that bit extra for a two bedroom suite of some kind. This gives everyone some space and makes it easier to put the kids to bed at night in order to try and keep your routine alive! Nothing worse than tired exhausted little people and parents!
2. Food. I try to take our food with us to cut out the junk food dash, saves money. I take familiar foods that I know they will eat. I pack it all up in a big container and it sits in the kitchen area, no need to unpack it. Two minute noodles, vegemite sandwiches and fruit do the trick on our stay over’s. Probably not a good time to try different foods that may upset little tummies, stick to the basics and keep it really simple.
3. Be Prepared For Everything. I am so glad that I grabbed my Kids Medicine box that I have talked about before see Medicine Cabinet Makeover. As on the Friday afternoon of our trip Mr Chilled 1 decided it was a good time to pop two eye teeth and turned in to an upset grizzle bum! So I had the baby panadol on hand to treat his pain. I also take bandaids, stingoes, bug repellent, sun screen all that stuff, because rest assured someone will graze a knee and someone will get mozzie bites.
4. Washing Clothes. By taking some coat hangers you are able to double your drying space. There is no way I am dragging three kids to a laundry so it’s hang it up in the bathroom or nothing. Don’t worry too much about getting the sand off, as it will shake off when the clothes are dry. Most things can be washed in the shower and hung up without too much effort.
5. Packing. With the kids I pack them a bag each and they are in charge of their stuff. If you pack it all in one suit case you have to get everything out each time you need one item. Pack as much as you can fit in to their bag as it’s better to have too much than not enough. Pack anything that can leak all over clothes like toiletries in plastic zip lock bags. Pack two sets of shoes so when one set get wet, you have a back up pair. Let them take what ever it is they sleep with, and pack some pens and note books for them to doodle in while you are having some down time.
That’s the kids sorted, now for you! Have fun on your adventure, don’t worry too much about keeping the place clean or the kids looking fab, let them get wet at the beach, let them play in the snow, let them make great childhood memories. Try not to spend the whole time stressing, if you find yourself stressing, stop what you are doing and take a five minute break, remember why you are doing this and keep calm and carry on!!! Warning, you may need a holiday to recuperate after your holiday!
Renee
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