FAMILY TRAVEL: 10 Things that Make Going on Holidays with Children Easier

Back in July I posted all about our first family holiday with Isabella. We ventured down to Cornwall and had a lovely time exploring the beautiful beaches and towns in Cornwall and Devon. Packing for our first holiday as a three and with a 11 week old baby took some planning. Now we've returned and experienced the wonders of holidaying with a baby I thought I'd share my tips on how to make it an easier experience for everyone. 

1) Do an online food shop that will be delivered to your holiday cottage the day you arrive. If you have the time you can even get an online food order set to be delivered at your home address for when you return from holiday too.

2) Make lists - preparation is key. I made an initial list about a week before we were going away and then kept adding to it when I thought of something else we needed. This way you're not likely to forget something. 

3) Buy as many things on the online shop, so you don't have to take them in the car - nappies, wipes, formula milk etc. We ordered a pack of size 2 nappies and that did us for the week perfectly. If you don't want to take/order a large box of formula then you could use the ready-made bottles. It's a more expensive way of doing it, but you can just throw the bottles away once you've used them. That's what we did, as we're combined feeding so only need one bottle a day. 

4) Take MAM bottles with you because they are self sterilising, which means you don't need a full size steriliser with you. If you use soothers you could also take the sterilising boxes they often come in, so that again no steriliser is needed. Anything to save space! You'll just need to check that where you're staying has a microwave. 

5) Plan ahead - look at what there is to do in the area for families and activities that are suitable for the age of your children.

6) It's also worth signing up to newsletters of anywhere you know you're going to visit. They might email you offers, discounts or deals that you can take advantage of. You could also have a quick search for deals/offers for tourist attractions - by doing this I found out that buying the May edition of Gardeners' World magazine we could get 2 for 1 entry to Eden Project, saving us £25! There was also an offer for The Big Sheep, in which Dads got free entry on Father's Day if you signed up to their newsletter.  

7) Invest in a Gro Anywhere Blind  - too many places have either curtains or blinds that just don't block out all of the light. That usually wouldn't be a problem, but with a baby we've found it important to keep it dark in the bedroom, if we want as much sleep as possible!

8) I made sure I started packing at least a week before we went, so that I could gradually add things into various piles around the house without it being a rush. Every time Isabella napped I would pack something, little and often is key. 

9) Take a baby carrier - there were quite a lot of places we visited that would have been difficult to access with a pushchair. Many of the shops/restaurants were either up stairs or too small to navigate a pushchair around. Some beaches can be difficult to get to with a pushchair and I didn't fancy trying to push it on the sand either! We used our Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier Original a lot throughout the holiday, which you can see in my holiday posts. 

10) Pack a range of clothes and sleep wear because you never know what the weather will be like or what the temperature will be like where you're staying. At the start of our holiday it was pretty cold in the cottage, so Isabella needed a sleeping bag but by the end of the week it was so hot and she only needed a vest. I packed far too many clothes for Isabella, but you never know how many clothes changes a baby/child will need throughout the day!

What are your tips for making going on holiday with children easier?

Feel free to leave a comment :)

Helen x