How to prepare you and your kids for a family vacation

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Travelling with kids is not always simple. Of course, spending some time together with your family, away from your daily routine, can be a very fun and rewarding activity, but it takes a lot of patience and organization. Kids are different from adults and might not like what you like, so you need to keep them busy and prepare them for the journey while you are still at home. I previously wrote a post about preparing a two year old for a flight and today, I would like to talk again about preparing your little ones for a journey. I am sure that following these simple rules will help you to enjoy your family vacation with no added stress.

1.       Plan ahead

Planning is the secret for a successful trip with kids. Choose your destination, find a cozy place to stay and create an itinerary and do it beforehand. If you’re thinking about going to sunny Italy this summer, which is in fact a very child-friendly country, you might reserve your accommodation for instance in Rome on online platforms like this one. Read through reviews written by families, look for baby-friendly options with extra beds and activities for kids, to keep your children entertained and have some time for yourself to relax and enjoy the time off. Show them pictures of the place you have chosen, so that they know where they are going and what they can do there to make them curious and look forward to it.

2.       Make it fun

Children don’t understand why you are so excited about seeing a place, unless you explain your reasons to them. Share your interest and make the activity sound fun and enjoyable. Tell them where you are going and what you are going to do, show them some pictures of your destination on a book or its position on a world map. Talk to them about what you are going to do and see, explaining what’s behind it and making them be an active part of this journey. They will learn a lot and never get bored.

3.       Train them

If you want your kids to behave in certain circumstances while you are in another country on holiday, you’d better talk to them about it before leaving. Some of the situations you are going to experience on vacation are not exactly common and easy to understand for them. Spend some time to teach them how to behave in a restaurant or in a museum, for example, or train them to get used to long rides or walks if this is what you are going to do on holiday. Introduce different kinds of food on your table to get them used to other dishes and cultures. It will be a fun game to do at home for them, but it will pay during the holiday.

4.       Go for it!

Don’t forget to have fun. All these rules might help you to keep everything under control, but you should not spend your holiday worrying about what might happen or not. Try different activities with your kids and you will learn more about them and their reactions in different environments.

 This is a featured post by Mary Smith, an expert travel blogger

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, before kids and before the responsibilities of running a house we used to have a lot more expandable cash, much more than we do now. Life was all about taking risks and enjoying holidays. We didn't have to worry to much about how long the flight duration to our chosen destination would be, or whether the hotel would be child friendly. In fact back then we would have probably preferred a grown up only retreat with no children. It's funny how becoming a family can sway your idea of the perfect holiday, instead of spending the day exclusively by the pool or trying our hand at scuba diving in the red sea... Or even hopping on a bus to see the Pyramids of Giza, we are looking at different aspects, and we are doing this because we are now a family, and because we have to cater for Leo's needs too.

Last summer we took Leo to Cyprus on a 4 and a half hour flight. We had planned ahead and packed a Trunki full of goodies that would hopefully keep him entertained along the way. I even invested in a portable DVD player so that when all else failed we could sit back and let the screen take over for 5 minutes.

Of course when kids come into the picture you may decide that you don't want to take them abroad until they are older. You may decide that you would keep the hair on your head in tact if you take your family holidays closer to home. We have done both and they both take just as much preparation in my eyes, if you aren't stuck in a airport or on a plane, you will most likely be sat in the car and maybe even stuck in traffic (if you dare venture on your trip the Friday of a bank holiday weekend!).

My pearls of wisdom before booking any kind of holiday are simple..

- Carefully select a destination where there is lots for everyone to do. If you are flying or even driving, take into account the traveling duration before hand.

- Get the kids to help you pack a bag together full of things that will entertain them along the way. Books, colouring pencils, paper, games consoles, travel games and so on.

- Don't forget to pack refreshments, you will want snacks and drinks along the way.

We are now getting to the time of year where Summer is not a million miles away, and we are even encountering some Blue skies for the first time in a long while. Luke and I have definitely been pondering the idea of a Summer holiday, but the jury is still out on whether we will go abroad or have a stay-cation within the UK with Hotel Direct.

There really is so much more that we have to take into consideration these days, and for the moment those adventure holidays that we used to jet off on are on hold. Now is the time for a whole new adventure, an adventure with our toddler in tow, opening up Leo's eyes to the wonders of the world. Leo adores being by the seaside and he doesn't care if he has flown 5 hours to get there, we could take him an hour down the road to Western Super-mare and he would be just as thrilled. 

And as long as we get away on a family adventure, we could be absolutely anywhere in the world.

Disclaimer: This is a featured post

Flying With A Two Year Old

The first time Leo flew he was only 5 months old, a mere baby in arms he slept most of the way there and most of the way back. I had been worried about taking baby milk and water through security and panicked that the pushchair would get lost or damaged in transit.

I needn't have worried, the whole process of flying with a baby was a relatively easy and stress free experience.

So how did I feel about the prospect of flying with a 2 year old?

To be honest... I couldn't think of anything worse than a toddler who had ants in his pants for 4/12 hours.

I had decided ahead of the trip to leave the pushchair at home, but in hind sight this would have been a very welcome addition to just have around the airport to keep Leo where he was supposed to be at certain points.

Outward Flight

I took a number of steps in preparation to taking Leo on such a long flight. It involved a Trunki and lot's of his favourite toys, the idea was that he could ride the Trunki around the airport and then have all of his toys for entertainment on board the plane.

I even let Leo help me pack up the Trunki with things that I knew he would play with, things that would keep him happy. His LeapFrog LeapTop, His Thomas Train, lots of little cars as cars are the ultimate toy's right now, and finally... I invested in a portable DVD Player for him to watch a few of his favourite DVDs which of course included... Disney's Cars.

Arriving at the airport for a very early flight Leo was thrilled to be riding his Trunki around, I lost count of how many people I apolagised too as Leo rode over their toes like a lawnmower cutting the grass. But still it kept him entertained while we were lining up to check in, and kept me firmly on my toes in case he decided to gain some speed...

With check in now behind us the next stage ahead of us was tackling security, a point I really did wish that I had brought the pushchair along. Leo was just interested in everything going on around him and this certainly reflected in how busy and into everything he was. Lining up and waiting for things is just very apparently not in a two year old's mind set.

In my head I had already in-visioned how I thought the flight would go, being so early in the morning I had quite honestly thought that he would succumb to his heavy eyes and sleep. Leo seemed to have other ideas... Leo decided he detested being strapped in on the airplane, and kicked up such a fuss that as soon as the seat belt sign came off, he was free to climb all over me. Luckily everyone around us was incredibly understanding, and I guess they have all been in our shoes at one point or another. 

In all fairness to Leo aside from the initial screaming at take off (because of the seat belt) he was actually incredibly well behaved.

Leo spent the entire flight climbing all over the seats (and me...) playing with Thomas and watching Cars. Leo was thrilled that his cars had been included in his goodie case, so Thomas and the cars kept on being crashed into one another just so he could say 'Mumma...Crash'.

If you are planning on flying with a toddler then the more activities you can take along with you the better. We made the most of Leo having his own hand luggage allocation (as for a two year old you have to purchase a full price ticket) and this made so much difference in keeping him busy. I don't think I would want to attempt a longer flight with Leo just yet...4/12 hours was really quite sufficient,

My visions of Leo taking a nice long nap on board the plane were far from realistic, despite how tired he felt, there was no sign of him falling asleep... Well not until we were nearing touch down we had to try and strap him back into his seat... Yes that is when my little sleepy head decided to finally close his eyes.

Nice timing as always little man...

Inbound Flight

A week comes and goes pretty quickly, and all holidays have to come to an end eventually. The return flight departed Paphos at 21:00 and after reflecting on the outbound flight I didn't hold out much hope for a sleeping toddler. I was mentally preparing myself for a very long journey back home.

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare so that we could get some dinner prior to departing, Leo jetted around on his Trunki having the absolute time of his life. Passers by pointed and smiled at my little guy as he passed them by, as usual Leo reveled in being the centre of attention, performing for his admiring audience. 

Boarding the flight I knew the time was fast approaching where Leo would have to get strapped into his seat, I even apolagised to people before Leo began to scream in temper about the seat belt keeping him firmly in his seat. I thought maybe if he stayed strapped in then he may just drift off to sleep like last time... but it turns out all my little man wanted on this occasion was a cuddle with his Mumma.

Leo is not one to cuddle up and go to sleep, so I relished this moment. Leo proceeded to cat nap for the entire flight home. It was by no means a deep sleep but it kept him quiet for the most part, but when he did wake up he was more than happy to sit and watch Cars in the comfort of his seat. 

Leo didn't mind taking off or landing (bar the whole seat belt shenanigan) and really was exceptionally well behaved. It was lovely being complimented on how well behaved he was, and reassured even when he did decide to have a little cry.  I definitely think Leo's Trunki full of goodies was the secret to our successful flights, and I will be packing it full of treats for each and every future flight we jet off on.

Flying with a toddler was certainly more of a challenge than flying with a baby in arms, but it was not as daunting as I had anticipated. The whole experience for Leo has been so exciting and I am sure he would have no objections to doing it all again.