Tag Archives: Family Holidays

Oct 30 2017

Terrified of travelling with toddlers? There’s no need to be…

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When you’ve got young children, you don’t need to wait until they’ve grown up before you embark on your first family holiday.

For the majority of parents with babies or toddlers, the concept of sitting on a plane that’s full of people trying to catch some sleep before their vacation starts is a nightmare. From tired, screaming toddlers to boredom and travel sickness, this can be a recipe for disaster.

However, with some careful preparation and planning, there’s no need to be terrified of travelling with young kids. Instead, holidaying with your little monsters can be an exciting and fun experience that you’ll all treasure forever. Just follow my simple tips and get planning a wonderful family holiday.

Holibobs

Pick the Right Destination

If you’re traveling with an infant, you’ll want to keep things simple. This may mean choosing a direct flight and one that lands as close to your end destination as possible. You might also want to consider English-speaking countries with familiar foods, and places that aren’t going to pose any health risks to your children (e.g. malaria).

Look for family-friendly hotels like Princeton NJ Marriott Hotel, too, as this will give you peace of mind that your kids are going to be well catered for. And if you’re jetting to an exotic resort, be sure to look out for great kids’ clubs.

Fill Your Phone or Tablet with Cool Apps

Before you set off on your journey, make sure your phone is full of apps and games your toddler will love. You might also want to download plenty of cartoons for the plane journey too. Some people frown at giving children tablets to play with, but this is far more likely to keep them entertained while there’s nothing else to do on the plane, and they’ll love acting like a big boy or girl as they get to use Mum’s iPad.

Consider Your Child’s Sleep Patterns

Long-haul flights may be difficult to time around your child’s sleeping patterns, but if you can, try not to disrupt their natural sleeping pattern. Book flight times that don’t involve getting up at the crack of dawn so your child will easily adjust once they get to the new destination.

Pack Some Extra Clothes

When you’re heading off on a long journey with toddlers, it’s a good idea to pack some extra clothes, just in case, there are any mishaps with food etc en route. Accidents do happen and if you’ve got some backup clothes, it’s much easier to deal with the situation and much less stressful for your child too. Don’t forget to pack plenty of nappies as well.

Get the Kids a Camera

Finally, one great way to keep your kids entertained while they’re on vacation is by giving them a camera. This doesn’t have to be a high-tech one but a child-friendly design or even a disposable camera. They’ll love to take photos of their adventure and it also provides you with a great activity when you get back home as you can create a scrapbook of their first family holiday.

Even though travelling with toddlers can seem daunting, especially when you’ve never done it before, it needn’t be. All it takes is some preparation ahead of your travels, some savvy parenting skills while you’re travelling and plenty of entertainment at your destination.

Jul 15 2016

Confessions of a Brit Abroad

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Us Brits are renowned for racking up some pretty impressive rap sheets when we get a bit of foreign sun on our backs. Traditionally it’s thought we literally dump our bags in our hotel room, strip down to our tankinis, don some sunnies, and head straight for the nearest bar. Fast forward ten hours and we’re on our backs on the street, bloodied, sunburnt and covered in our own vomit - before we’ve slept under newly pressed sheets for the first time.

But just how true is this?

The guys at Auto Europe have undertaken a survey to better understand British traveller’s holiday habits, and it seems we’re not the lager louts many think we are. They’ve grilled some 2,000 of us about our holiday escapades, culminating in this revealing infographic which does a pretty neat job of challenging some of the more sensational preconceptions about Brits Abroad.

£1,850ish for a holiday seems more or less fair to me. Craig and I tend to spend significantly over this sum now we’re parents, and our alcohol budget is constantly nibbled away at as the children profess undying love for bits of over-inflated tat. You might therefore think that 56 drinks over the course of a week is wildly optimistic, yet sadly we usually manage to double this after dealing with the stress of several tantrums, and hours spent ensuring our children don’t get swept out to sea.

Intimacy-wise, I bet those 8% who lose track of the time spent without their kit on aren’t parents. Craig and I are usually too knackered (or indeed drunk) to manage much more than a quick fight before bedtime. I can’t say we’ve ever made it to a sunbed by 10am either - trying to find a Greek alternative Coco Pops is no easy feat, and it takes at least 30 minutes to apply sun cream to any one child.

Social media would be a fine thing too. We usually manage to check ourselves in on Facebook at Terminal 5, but don’t have the time to sit editing tomato sauce from the mouths of our babes to make pics Instagram-worthy. Craig will manage to keep his inbox in check, but that’s only because he averages about 6 emails a day (mostly asking if he’d like a few extra inches, or whether he’d like a spa day for 70% off - NOOOO Groupon. Get lost.) whereas I’ll receive some 300 in an hour.

Holibobs

I totally get the whole diet-thing though. I can’t pretend I’m swerving burgers for salads on the Costa del Sol. I’m usually way too drunk to translate anything that isn’t served with frites on holiday.

Yet life wasn’t always like this.

Although life before children now seems like a bunch of sepia Polaroids, it did actually exist. In fact, red-eyed photographs of you aged 16 on the beach, quickly become your most liked on Facebook as you were some 4 stone lighter.

Most of us did in fact lose our purses on a girly holiday and have to ring our parents to bail us out. Most of us have managed some sort of a one-night stand on holiday too (even if you can’t now remember his/their name/s) … I find it helps to tell yourself they were bronzed, God-like and way out of your league to help overcome any wine-shame.

Somehow though, the best of these pre-child experiences, don’t quite seem to measure up to the worst of those spent with Craig and the kids. When someone has seen you cut in half to liberate a screaming mass of bloody baby, you somehow don’t feel anxious about how your cellulite-ridden thighs look in your swimming suit anymore. If I’m overlooking his receding hairline, he’ll just have to get past the fact my toenails aren’t painted. There’s a sort of quiet easy confidence that comes post-baby that means you never lose your shit if you forget to pack your hair straighteners either - as long as your two-year-old has that cute dress you impulse-bought from H&M.

Dex

Suddenly, it’s the sunset moments spent at a rickety plastic table trying to coax your toddler into eating what has been described as (and must therefore be taken as read to be) chicken breast nuggets, that stand-out to you. You forget you had a killer stress-headache and instead remember how the sun bleached your child’s hair that little bit lighter, that their face was that little bit browner, and you were that little bit more in love with them - now that’s what this Brit does abroad.

This is a collaborative post with Auto Europe - come and share your greatest holiday memories (so far) using the hashtag #AEMemories
Feb 12 2016

Right then Icelolly.com, #SendMeAway to Crete

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Dear Icelolly.com,
2016 has been a complete letdown so far and, with half term upon us, I’m already thinking of selling the children via Preloved.
Having spent a fortune on toy tat this Christmas, this weekend has been crudely put aside to draft a letter to Mr Cameron to see if he’ll consider inviting the taxpayers to bail out Mills Plc. On top of this my new year’s resolutions to lose weight, and keep a constant supply of Dom Pérignon in the fridge are failing miserably. Right now the only thing my fridge is chilling is 2 out of date Petit Filous, a bag of carrots and half a litre of almond milk. Yes I’ve lost weight, but only because I can’t afford my beer subscription this month.
I’m clearly showing the early symptoms of YAD (Year-long Affective Disorder) so selecting me as your latest blogger comp winner & sending me away is surely the most charitable thing you could do.

Why Crete?

Well I’m guessing the in-laws would laugh me out of their home if I suggested the kiddies stay with them for a week. So this means the mini-mes will be coming with us. If it were Craig and I on our own, I’ve have plumped for a week of debauchery, skinny dipping and sunning ourselves in the Bahamas, but I think Dexter is finally of an age where it would embarrass him to see his mummy half-cut with her stretchmarks on show.

Holibobs

So, with kids in tow, there’s a few things we need to take into consideration. The heat can’t be too fierce lest the kids start whinging, we need a villa or we’ll all be bedding down at 8pm to the sound of mummy slaying a lullaby, and the flight times can’t be too long either. Yes flight times. I vowed that after last time I wouldn’t fly over 4 hours ever again with children young enough to flout seat belt signs, and even the prospect of a free holiday isn’t enough to convince me otherwise. In fact, the only good thing about 2016 as I see it, is the fact that Heidi is no longer required to travel on our laps - I’d have been happier checking her in as excess luggage.

In short, we selected Greece as it’s not too far so as to result in Craig and I aging from stress, yet it still boasts a climate that might force my freckles out of hiding.

So Greece it is.

Yep, and I’m not sure it’s such a boring option either. I mean, I’ve never been and there’s tons for us to do…

Elafonissi Beach

This is supposed to be a little patch of paradise with white/pink sand made from corals & sea shells, and shallow child-friendly waters. It’s crystal clear waters are prime for snorkeling, and its home to thousands of rare and beautiful sand lilies. A bit of a tourist trap in peak season, luckily my two are young enough that we can explore in term-time and potter around in relative peace and quiet with the locals (I struggle with the noise my two children make, let alone anyone else’s!).

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Ancient City of Phaistos

Growing up I always dreamed that Time Team would find some excuse to dig up my mums dahlias. I always found archaeology interesting & will one day definitely visit Easter Island. Visiting the archeological site of ancient Phaistos would therefore be a real treat. To tread where others have some 4000 years ago, sit on walls made of ancient limestone and gypsum, and get to witness any live excavations would thrill me almost as much as bumping into Chris Robshaw trying on t-shirts in Sport & Ski.

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Lake Voulismeni

Craig and I plan on marrying overlooking Lake Como as we both really appreciate the beauty and serenity of still waters. Lake Voulismeni is highly recommended as a quiet beauty spot with old tavernas, traditional food and cold beer. Legend has it that the Lake is bottomless and that the resistance, when they defeated the Nazi occupying forces in WW2 dumped tanks, lorries and weapons into the lake. So if the kids are playing up when mummy and daddy are tucking into their Baklavas…

Capture

… I’m only joking. I love my two babies and would simply love to spend one last off peak adventure with them before the cost of holidaying skyrockets.

Apparently I need to tag some other bloggers to take part in this in order to qualify, which makes me raise my eyebrows slightly. I mean, what if they pick somewhere beautiful and write something so frigging awesome that Icelolly send them away instead? I’m already up against lots of childless beauties as it is! The dream holidays they’ve blogged about look amazing - husky-sledding in Iceland and styling it out like a VIP in Dubai - I only wish they were as deserving as me so we could all go away… (again, I’m joking).

In any case, I have to tag a few people so Jada, Bex and Emma - do your worst best. Or don’t enter at all, I mean that’s equally cool…

NO, SERIOUSLY - If you would like Icelolly.com to send you away (with or without your kids) - check out the competition HERE - you could win a grand towards your 2016 getaway & a shiny Olympus Pen E-PL7 camera to boot. Be quick though, it ends February 14th 2016. I’m thinking I’ve played it seriously risky with my entry, so I look forward to reading your altogether more sedate posts!

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