I’m on a forever mission to be the fun mum: This usually ends in major #mumfail. Like that time I tried to impress my 3 year old and ended up flying face first off of a trampoline, almost breaking my knee. Or when on holiday I fell head first into a river, in an attempt to get the perfect angle for a family photo. Laughter is the soundtrack to our parenting style and without fail Stuart will be able to make the boys fall about in fits of it mid toddler meltdown, essential skills for life with 2 under 4!
As both a Mum of 2 young boys and a huge fan of travel we’ve seen our fair share of change when it comes to travel must haves before and after children. We’ve been so fortunate in the past to have done a lot of traveling and have managed to see so much of the world as young and care (child!) free singletons. Flash forward 5 years Stuart is out the house 12 hours a day working and as soon as the children go to bed it’s my turn to work. Time together is a fragile balance and duly savoured over the weekends, our carefree days exchanged for a blur of nappies and sleepless nights.
We love to make all of our travels an adventure even within our own country but I’ve been thinking a lot lately how I would love to spend quality time as a family learning new things, and not just seeing new things. A chance for balmy days spent teaching the boys to swim under the summer sky, the opportunity for Stuart and I to learn a sport or skill together.
After we had Henry we did a little traveling in North America, however latterly our adventures have been constrained to the UK. You see traveling with children isn’t quite what it used to be. Gone are the spontaneous weekends away, jumping on the Eurostar a distant memory. Our Top 10 holiday essentials are not quite what they used to be.
I thought I would share my top 10 travel must-haves…Now if you’re a parent also you’ll know that packing isn’t quite the same post children, so I wanted to share my top 10 holiday essentials – before and after kids!
TOP 10 HOLIDAY MUST-HAVES BEFORE KIDS….
- Outfits. 3 per day. Hiking in the morning, perusing the town’s market in the afternoon, not forgetting a special dress for each evening to wear to a fancy restaurant.
- Bikinis. 7 in total. Well I can’t be seen in the same one in each photo?!?
- Books. Plenty of them and as many magazines. Hours spent reading, lounging by the pool ordering cocktails and nachos.
- Factor 6 tanning oil. No responsibilities and no apparent awareness for sun safety!
- Cocktails!! See points 1 and 3. Time to drink and party and roll in at 4am...well we wont be getting up ’til noon anyway so we can worry about the hangover tomorrow…
- Make Up. Lots of it. A bag full! Nights out are prefixed by 2 hours blissfully getting ready by myself.
- Sun bathing. Not a must have, but certainly a must-do. To be done at our leisure. Hot? Take a dip in the pool or a trip to the swim-up bar…
- Accessories. Planning outfits months in advance and making sure I have just the right fedora to compliment that new Maxi dress of mine.
- Hair dryer, straighteners, tongs, curling iron…Did I mention I have 2 hours to get ready each night??
- The Spa. Ahhh, the spa. Couples massage? Go on then, we’re on holiday after all…
TOP 10 HOLIDAY MUST-HAVES AFTER KIDS….
- Outfits. 3 in total for the week including something I can be comfortable in whilst cosying up on the sofa once the children are down to sleep.
- Bikinis. High-waisted essential to hide inevitable mum-tum. In fact a swimsuit would be best. There’s a whole lot of bending down involved when looking after children by the pool.
- Books. Hmm, I had one of those once. It was replaced with an iPad, pre-loaded with the CBeeBies App.
- Factor 50 sun block. To be frantically applied 6 times a day, attempting to avoid mixing with sand, dodging imminent toddler meltdown.
- Juice…Squash. Water. Ice Pops. Anything to make sure little one is hydrated and won’t suffer from heat exhaustion when all they want to do is play. Repeat hourly.
- CC Cream. Store by the front door so you can apply quickly on your way down to breakfast (after having packed 4 beach bags full of stuff, wrestled toddlers to get dressed, yawned 3,000 times)
- Bucket and spade, frisbee, skittles. Anything to entertain the children with. Why not build a huge sandcastle with big windows for you to look out of over at the couples sunbathing, carefree, cocktail in hand.
- Accessories. 12 children’s sun hats – ensuring you have at least 1 that doesn’t get lost throughout the week.
- Dry Shampoo. You may, if you’re lucky, have time for at least one shower without a small visitor or 2 tugging at the shower curtain. Maybe take a couple of cans just in case.
- Baby Wipes. Ever been at a spa where they bring round cold cloths for your hot brow? I have and it was bloody glorious. Well that you can forget that. Instead bring 247 packs of wipes for all those baby related spills, scrapes and sick.
Check out my Pinterest Board for more Travel must-haves and holiday Pins!
I hope our passion for travel is passed down to the children. There really is so much to see in this world and I love showing the boys the beauty that travel has to offer. As part of our application I’ve made a little vlog of our travels in 2016, we would love it if we could make a very special one for 2017!
#nofilter – have you ever seen a more incredible sunset?!
I’d love to know how your must have holiday items have changed since having children – let me know below!
