Your essential family holiday guide
The tips you need to have a stress free family holiday
Holidays with children in tow is a very different scenario to holidaying with friends or a partner. There’s way more to think about. But be organised and it doesn’t have to be too stressful, here’s our guide to getting away with little ones and minimising stress levels.
1. Travel as light as you can
Think about a baby carrier instead of the buggy to make airports and beach visits a bit easier. If you really need a buggy, invest in a superlight one that’s easy to put up and down.
Encourage toddlers to carry their own hand luggage, you’ll have enough to carry. Don’t feel you need to take nappies, wipes etc with you, it will weigh you down, just buy what you need when you get there.
Pack mix and match outfits for little ones that can be worn more than once and with different bottoms or tops to create more outfits with less clothes.
Keep toys to a minimum and for younger ones a play mat is ideal for a safe place to sit wherever you are with familiar toys around.
Leave the car seat at home if you can, when booking taxis you can request a car seat for little ones.
Choose lightweight Turkish towels to cut down on the bulky packing and pick up a pop-up seat to save worrying about a highchair.
2. Make sure you consider ‘child-friendly’ places
Might have had you running for the hills before you had a baby but now child-friendly places with baby changing facilities are your BFF!
3. Breastfeed when you need to, don’t worry about others
If you get stuck in traffic and your baby needs feeding don’t pay any attention to other drivers, or uncomfortable looks, just feed your baby.
4. Think ahead…
Rather than retrieving bits of partially-chewed biscuit out of the hair of the passenger in the seat in front, just turn your little one round to face you when they eat.
Occupy them for a few minutes by creating origami animals out of sick bags and safety instruction cards...it might buy you a few minutes quiet.