Each summer when we travel I find a new set of holiday essentials. Either that I take with me, or discover I need when I’m away! Before we fly – so that I have the holiday essentials we need – I keep an eye on what parent friends are using, take note of things that pop up on Instagram, and also try and see what other parents with slightly older children are using when we are away, ready for next year’s holiday essentials! Thankfully now that Bertie is a bit older things seem to last for longer too.
Here’s this year’s holiday essentials:
Inflatable body board – simply the best thing we bought this year. I got one from Decathlon but there are plethora available on Amazon too. So much better than a pool ring if you have a child learning to swim or improving their swimming. In the pool he used it rather than a noodle and in the sea it was a game changer in terms of confidence in the waves. A first attempt at surfing!
Parent rash vests – we added this to our packing list last year! Far easier than faffing around with sun cream is to do as our child does and cover up from the sun when you are in the sea. We’ve got lots from our sailing days but there are loads to choose from in Decathlon.
Swim vest – this was an essential last year and remains so this year. Keeps our little one safe around the pool, and importantly gives him confidence in the pool and in rougher seas. Finally this summer we’ve seen him swim in it by himself and he’s absolutely delighted by this.
Pens on a string – we use these all year round, so good. You can get 12 to 24 pens on a string and our first set are still going 9 months later so plenty of ink. They don’t roll either, which is great if you are on the move – train or plane. Bertie coloured avidly every day at lunch, working his way through a navy sailing ship colouring book that I’d found for him!
New books – Bertie is a bookworm so I always spend a lot of time looking for new books relevant to where we are going. I normally buy travel books from World of Books as they tend to get a bit soggy by the pool, or sandy on the beach. Two favourites this year were ‘Find Tom in Time – Ancient Greece’ and ‘Usbourne Map Mazes‘. We have most of these maze books now, they are great.
As well as books I still buy little sets of used Lego from Vinted that we enjoy making as some quiet time. And I bulk buy sticker books and colouring books when I see them on offer.
LCD tablet for drawing – always in my hand bag when we are out and about as it saves me buying tonnes of paper. This tablet has been great for drawing, but also we’ve found he’s loved writing his words and numbers on it and when he uses the tablet he doesn’t feel like he’s ‘learning’. Also works well with stencils over the top.
Rucksack – Bertie now has a 10 litre rucksack, he has previously carried a cute little one that didn’t hold much. This year I went a bit bigger which meant he could fit inside it everything he wanted – including A4 sticker/colouring books and his Hot Wheels collection.
Bottle – we were kindly gifted a lovely new bottle by One Green Bottle. It’s stainless steel and really keeps the water cold all day. The right size to fit on the size of Berties bag and with a tough and sturdy straw too. What I love about it, as an ocean lover, is that for every bottle sold they remove 25 bits of plastic from the ocean. The bottle is great quality too, it’s been dragged around on the sand all week and still looks as good as new!
Sandals – we are on our 3rd set of the same sandals, with the next size sitting in a cupboard ready for our next trip. I like a proper sandal that he can spend the day in without slipping around in flip flops or crocs. And they’re especially useful for rockpooling or running around on hot or shingly beaches too.
Waterproof camera – another big win for holiday this year. Bertie got a new camera for his birthday and I purposefully picked a waterproof one. We’ve got some fab pictures from in the sea and pool, and he loves taking his own photos on holiday too. I far prefer using this to wading around in the ocean holding my iphone (apparently waterproof, but I’m not sure I want to test that) high above my head!
Headphones with a cable – we’ve had wireless ones for years, but I have to say wired headphones are so much simpler as it is one less thing to worry about charging! A bit retro but anything for a simple life really!
Folding bucket – last year we paid an extortionate amount for a tatty bucket and spade on holiday. This year we took our own with us which folded down small in the suitcase. So useful as it meant that we had all our beach gear on day one and didn’t have to traipse off to a resort shop on day one this year!
Quick dry towels – something else we’ve always used for sailing, but is really useful for holidays too. If you are staying in a villa chances are there won’t be separate beach towels for you so rather than make fluffy white bathroom towels sandy and grubby! This year our villa did have beach towels but it was good to have the quick dry ones too given the amount of times we were in and out of the sea each day!
Ikea bags – god bless Ikea and it’s selection of non-bright blue/yellow bags. I found some nice cream ones when I visited a few weeks ago and they were so useful for lugging everything to and from the beach. Normally my wicker bag takes a bit of a beating, but this year it had to carry far less! I also found some nifty hat clips to go on my bag so that the hats were one less thing to carry around, especially useful through the airport – no lost or dropped hats!
Adapter – we never seem to have enough adapters for all the things we need, mainly because in Bertie’s room he’s using one for a Gro clock and another for his Yoto. So this year I found one with bells and whistles – 2 USB charging points, 1 USB-C charging point and a normal plug point too. For once we weren’t faffing around trying to keep everything charged.
Travel luggage organiser – I swear by this on business trips and this year used it for Bertie’s clothes. Hang it up in a door way and pack clothes in to it while it hangs. Collapse it into the suitcase for travel and then just pull it out again when you arrive. It saves loads of time and importantly keeps everything nice and tidy.
Also, take a look at the holiday essentials we took when Bertie was four, as a toddler on staycation, and also (with a covid gap) when we travelled with him as a baby. I’m already wondering what holiday essentials we will need to travel with a six year old!
a folding bucket? I didn’t know that such a thing exists:) great tips
Tanja/the red phone box travels recently posted…New Guest Post Invitation for Travel Bloggers
Author
So handy!! And good quality too