On the Brink of Holidays: the Packing List

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We’re all going on a summer holiday… la la la lalala

We’re packing all 3 kids, including our 6 week old, into the car and are heading over to France to a Siblu holiday village. This a first for us: we’ve travelled quite a bit, but it’s usually been a flight or road trip to visit family or friends, but at least stay in a hotel. Now we’ll be staying in a caravan, though a luxurious one, apparently.  It’ll be close to the beach and there’s a swimming pool complex with slides on site.

I’ve compiled our packing list based on our previous travel experience of travelling with kids and also taking into account some of our pre-kids camping experience. So here is goes:

The basics:

• Clothes & shoes– a mix of summer and cool weaather wear, probably about 10-12 days’ clothes to account for not having to wash anything (over the 8 days) while away.
• Toiletries

• Sunscrean, Hats & sunglasses– we’ve not had much sun so I need to remind myself to pack all these…I’m seriously hoping for some sun!

For the beach and the poolside:

• Beach towels– BIG towels they are something to lie on, dry you off, provide protection from the sun and wind and they are great as a blanket on a hot night (…if only!)
• UV tent- an item that has served us well- it gives shelter from sun and wind and has allowed us to extend our stay on the beach.  I have even had the Littlins having their afternoon nap in this before.
• Swim nappy– … for obvious reasons
• Wetsuits– so the Littlins can enjoy splashing in the cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean too.

Out and about:

• Kids’ bikes & scooter– Any sightseeing will be much quicker if we are accompanied by Little Miss and Little Man on some for of wheels than them walking and hopefully, they’ll be able to use it in the holiday village too.
• Booster seat– for strapping onto any chair so Little Man reaches the table (saves on having to get an extra child seat by the table)
• Picnic rug-  this lives in the car anyway

For the baby:

• Travel cot, bassinet, changing mat & mosquito net cover– although we have a cot booked I tend to take my own, as I know what to expect then.  We have a trusty Graco with a bassinet & its own changing table. (Saves my back in having to bend down.) This goes on road trips with us.
• Calpol & thermometer- because you never know
• Sterimar- the change in temperatures (especially if using air conditioning) often brings a blocked nose, so this always travels with us
• Hand pump– as I’m breastfeeding this is a just in case
• Baby monitor?– Not sure about this.  Will we need it?  I’m thinking if baby and kids asleep inside and we want to sit outside.  Can we hear them stirring?

The extra bits:

• Paddling pool- this is so we can lounge by the mobile home if one or more members are having a siesta
• Mosquito repellent candles– We will be by water, so for sitting outside enjoying the summer evenings with Dadonthebrink these have been a good idea in the past
• Salt, sugar, oil, vegeta & wheetabix– being self-catering, although I’m hoping not to do a lot of cooking, not having to buy these basics is always useful. (Vegeta is a seasoning salt that is great for cooking rice, pasta or most vegetables with)
• Tea bags, pint glass, big mug– I like my big mug (just because I’m lazy in making multiple cups of tea or coffee), so that travels, as does a pint glass or two, helping to make sure we drink enough in the heat… which we will have!
• Fans– We had a camping trip to the South of France where we spent 2 nights not able to sleep due to the heat, then caved, moved to a pitch with electric hook up and went out to buy a big fan allowing us wonderful restful nights then onwards. I’d hate that to happen with kids… tired whingy kids and adults= holiday nightmare!
• Sleeping bag– the kids love their sleeping bags and they have proved very useful for the car, ferry crossings, so on.
• Folding chairs
• Extension cables & adaptors– You always have more things to plug in than you think, so an extension cable solves that.
• A laptop, a tablet and a phone– hopefully these will be rarely used once we are at the holiday village, but will definelty help the 350 mile drive there and back go quicker for the Littlins.
• Film & cartoons onto USB + speakers

Am I taking too much?  What am I forgetting?

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