These past few days we’ve had some glorious weather and it feels like summer is
finally here. Many of us are going on holiday elsewhere too – and with that come the
trials and ‘wonderfulness’ of travelling with young children. My last blog was all about
audio books and in our family, they go a long way to making any journey more fun.
But there are other things that I have found really useful as a parent too when
travelling – either on the journey itself, or when we get to our destination and I’ve
listed a few here for you to try. I’d also love to hear from you – what are the things
that have helped you and your family when you are out and about? Comment below
or join our Facebook group here:
We’ve recently just come back from visiting grandparents in Germany, and one thing
that was great for the airport lounge, the coffee shop, or even dinner out were the
following few items:
Mini colouring in books and pens – you know the ones that the kids get in
party bags… with mini quizzes or images to colour… I had saved a range
of them and put them in my rucksack for a rainy day. And they were
brilliant to keep the kids entertained while we were waiting for our meal to
arrive https://amzn.to/4fvjB6g
There are now also some wonderful colouring books that the kids can use
water paint with (thank you for the recommendation, Turan!) – I’ve used
these in a beer garden before while we’ve been out and about and it’s
been a nice way to mix things up: https://amzn.to/4fsBjY0 . Many of them
are also the size and shape of beautiful bookmarks when they are done,
which is a lovely added bonus.
And of course, we still use our very own DoodleCloths for outings – it can
double up as a blanket to sit on while the children colour and play, so it’s
particularly great for picnic days. We have a new bundle available too that
includes the washable pens to make things easier
Another item that’s been a firm favourite in our home – and that was originally
recommended to me by another mum, are travel black out blinds. We’ve taken these
EVERYWHERE for years and it’s meant we were able to make any holiday home
bedroom dark and calm when it was time for sleep. My absolute favourite is the
Tommy Tippee one. We’ve had ours for over 10 years and it’s still going strong
We also used to travel with a portable highchair. And when we were in the UK, it
would live in the boot of the car in case we needed it. It can double up as a sandwich
bag (or hold plastic spoons/ plates and a water beaker) as it has space to hold items
inside it too. https://amzn.to/3Wp6gnc
This year at the airport, I spotted a travel car seat by Trunki which looks absolutely
genius! I don’t know about you, but having to either fork out for expensive car seats
(or worrying they won’t have the correct size) when we hired cars abroad, or
travelling with our own car seats used to be a real pain. When we used to travel with
a double buggy, three car seats, bottles for the flight, and a hiking rucksack to sit the
children in, it truly felt like we were taking the kitchen sink! This nifty little invention
folds into a travel backpack for the kids to carry themselves too (double bonus!). It is
for ages 4-12 (group 2-3), so admittedly it’s more of a booster car seat, but it will still
mean you can leave the car seat at home for the slightly older children.
https://amzn.to/4cg213c The kids fill it with their toys and snacks for the journey, or
even their clothes if you are only going on a short trip.
Finally, as I am sure is the case for many families – holidays are also a really special
time to reconnect with each other. And one of the ways we do that is to play card
games with the children – often while we are waiting for food to be served in a
restaurant (or for a roast or pie to finish cooking in the oven at home). Our top
favourites are playing with normal playing cards https://amzn.to/3Yt158g (things like
poo face – a game which we were recently taught by another family and is
awesome!) or Uno (https://amzn.to/4cc0MlN ). This holds special memories for me,
as I used to play Uno with my siblings, when I was a child. We had our own family
rules that were unbeatable.
Whatever you and your family get up to this summer, I hope you have a wonderful
time.
Anika xxx
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