Travelling with my girl gang (and the husband)

As most of you know, my better half struggles with anxiety and depression so I knew that the prospect and completion of going on holiday with a 4 and 2 year old was going to be quite stressful for him. So naturally, I decided to take the lead with the organising and planning to make it as carefree as possible.

My attitude to holidays abroad is just go with the flow. We still had a routine, it was just a different routine to the one we have at home.

This was our first family holiday the 4 of us, and I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous about how it would go, especially the flight with Ivy, who is quite frankly a bit of a loose cannon. However it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it might have been.

Here are my top tips for flying with kids:

1- When booking a holiday, think of how long you are willing to fly for. If its you first holiday with kids, may try and stick to short haul, we did 4.5 hours in the air and it was probably enough. Also consider your flight times carefully. Both of ours were over times when the kids would normally seep, however both refused on the way there and were CRANKY when we arrived!

2- Don't take too much hand luggage. Gary and I only took a rucksack each, I had stuff for us and Gary had everything for the girls. The thought of having to carry a bag fur the girls too, and push a pram was enough of a turn off.

3- Food. Bring your own and plenty of it. We bought the kids a boots meal deal at the airport that shared, we knew they wouldn’t have eaten the plane food, it’s never that great really is it? Also we brought things that were a bit of treat, like a Pez sweet dispenser. Along with fruit pouches (@mylittlepiccolo) and Pringles!

4- Bring stuff to entertain them, but don’t go overboard. We downloaded a few episodes and films on the ipad and this was plenty. the Kids sky app and netflix are great for this, although once watched, they delete in 48 hours so you will need to re-download for the journey home.

5- Let them have a wander around the plane to stretch their legs and for a change of scenery. If your little one gets upset, just do what you have to do, don’t worry about other people. Your priority is your family, not the other passengers.

6- Our two love a blind bag, so half way through the trip, they each got a scooby doo surprise toy which kept them entertained for most of the holiday, they even made it home!

7- Take your pram up to the gate. Let your kids run about and burn energy and you can use the pram to transport the hand luggage if needed, as well as any duty free!!

8- If they are tired, they will eventually fall asleep, and when they do, you can move them to let yourself get comfy. my two literary slept in a tangled mess on the way home.

Our essential holiday items

-Swim nappies, we just used single use ones however washable ones probably would have been good to get, and take up less room in the suitcase.

-A pram, Ivy would have been a nightmare without one. We chose not to take one for Lily. Yes if we had a second one she would have used it, but 80% of the time it would have sat in the room doing nothing. Ivy usually fell asleep in hers during the evening entertainment, meaning we could still stay out later and enjoy our evening,…after all, it was our holiday to!

-Shoes for the pool. The tiles around the pool are slippy and really bloody hot, and I saw far too many people totally deck it. We picked up water shoes from sports direct for £4 and they were a life saver - Hot tuna I think the brand was.

-Little waterproof sandals. I got some in next that were foam and had buckles. They were a nightmare. Save yourself a lot of frustration and get velcro ones. I saw some today in tesco for less than a fiver.

-A tupperware box! I got this tip from Emma (@mumofmadlads) who has two hungry little ones like me. If you are all inclusive, take away some snacks at meal time to keep your little ones going. we didn’t do this daily but it was super useful for when we left the resort for day drips.

-Hooded towels, perfect to dry the kids quickly and keep them warm poolside, and protected from the sun.

-Home comforts, don’t forget their fave cuddly toy/blanket/dummy- whatever it is that they like to comfort with. They saved the day for us on many an occasion

-Arm bands. we bought the all singing all dancing body vest with the attached armbands which was great for the first day. then we realised that Lily actually only needed arms bands. Ivy never kept anything on, but she also never made it out of the shallows, where she played with plastic cups.

-A top to toe body wash. We brought our fave bottle of Childs Farm to keep Ivys eczema under control and to wash away all the chlorine that seems to soak into them!

I honestly had the best time on holiday with my little family. Both girls really came out of their shells and really embraced holiday life. They adapted well and were so much fun. They tended to favour a “little and often” approach to eating, which was one of the reasons we chose to go all inclusive and it suited to be able to go and get food and drink anytime of day.

Being abroad means that you can take things a little slower and just enjoy the day as it comes. Like I said, we had a general routine that we stuck to, but it was led really by the girls. most night were in bed my 10.30 and I wouldn’t have had it another way. if you share the parenting duties, then you may even find some time to work on your tan!

If your nervous about taking your kids on holiday, don’t be. If your organised and willing to recognise that your normal routine will go out the window (unless they normally go to bed at 10pm) then you have nothing to worry about.

Where can we go next year?

Big love