How to survive a holiday with kids!
Holidays are amazing aren’t they? A time to rest and recharge. From the moment you arrive, you feel your shoulders relax as you shut out the stresses of everyday life and enter your holiday bubble of nirvana!
And then you have kids…and your holidays start to look a lot different. A little less idyllic and a little more same shizzle, different location.
BUT it doesn’t always have to be like this and in truth it won’t always be like this.
Over the years, through a lot of trial and error, I’ve found things on the lead up and during out holiday that have made things a little less stressful when away with the girls (now 6 and 9). And in case they are of any use to you, I wanted to pass them on.
Pack smart!
There is always the temptation when packing for kids, to give them 70% of the suitcase leaving you with barely enough room for a few pairs of pants and one swimming cossie. Please don’t do that. This is your holiday and you deserve to wear beautiful things, not the same dress over and over again because you decided your offspring needed seven costumes and three changes of clothes per day…because (unless I wasn’t clear) they don’t!
Reminder…they will live in swimming stuff all day, with the occasional t-shirt thrown on for kids club or to protect their shoulders. Pack light for them…more shoes for you!
The Plane
Cards on the table, we all may worry that our child is going to be THAT child. The one that screams through the entire journey, continually kicking the seat in front and keeps running up and down the aisle.
First of all, (and I will break this to you gently), there will be a time when your child is THAT child. It’s like a rite of passage that we all have to go through.
I distinctly remember when it was Grace’s turn to transform into a demon at 40,000ft. I’d packed all the snacks, toys, comforters…everything she could need and more. What I didn’t foresee was ‘Hey Duggee’ not downloading on the iPad properly…cue four hours of screaming with a side order to tuts and slide glances from some of the passengers.
I wanted the ground to swallow me up. But guess what? I lived to tell the tale! Also learning a very important lesson in the process…make sure their favourite programmes have been downloaded properly before you leave for the airport!
Other things I’ve learnt:
- Take plenty of snacks and drinks. For longer journeys, we use a multi-sectioned snack box and fill it with a variety of fruit, cereals, breadsticks, crisps and crackers. Avoid too many sweets unless you want them bouncing off their seats! If you’re going to do fruit, just check you can take your chosen fruit into that country.
- The smaller the toys/bits, the more you’re going to have to pick up! And trying to squeeze your head under tray table in a small space is not easy! Oh and on that note…
- They really don’t need a lot of toys to entertain them on the plane. The first year we travelled with Grace I looked like a walking version of ToysRUs, yet all she wanted were the snacks and paper to scribble/colour on. They will play with 25% of what you bring.
- If you’re taking an iPad (and I REALLY recommend you do) make sure its fully charged before you go, or take a remote charging pack. I learnt the hard way so that you don’t have to!
Suncream Chase!
When the girls were little, we played this really fun game where I would utter the word suncream and they would run away at break neck speed. I would then chase after them like a lumbering sweaty mess, trying to get lotion on them where, after I had kind of been successful with the application, be branded ‘mean’ for trying to stop them getting sunburnt.
We have since switched to sprays and roll on sun creams. Sprays for a super quick application and less time listening to them moaning. And roll on lotion, often in fun colours, because they then want to do it themselves! Obviously I am watching them like a hawk to make sure its applied properly, but at least it’s on and they’re protected.
Beach or pool?
Pre-kids, we loved a mix of pool and beach, because whilst it was lovely to have a sand-free dip, there really was nothing like paddling in the sea, listening to the waves gently lapping the sand.
So on one fateful day, when the girls were 5 and 7, we packed up the car on a trip to Majorca, and drove about an hour to a beautiful beach.
We had been there approximately five minutes before the meltdowns began about there being “too much sand” along with it being “too hot”, accompanied by screams of “get it off me”.
So my word of advice on this to you is simple…ensure your kids actually like sand before driving in blistering temperatures to a beach which is ultimately going to test every fiber of your being! Maybe pick a beach a little closer…or just stick by the pool!
And that brings us to the end of this week’s summer holiday focused whitterings. I hope however you plan to spend the summer, home or abroad, you have the most amazing time with your family.
See you next month when we’re talking back to school…I know, I hear you, don’t say that yet!
Love and strength!
Kelly x
