So holiday season is creeping up on us and I’m sure you’re all craving sun after the horrific weather we’ve had!! We are lucky enough to holiday pretty frequently and so I would consider myself pretty well travelled with the rugrats in tow. I’ve decided to do a guide for my top 3 travel essentials for 0 – 1 years, 1 – 3 years and 3years+
My parents used to live abroad and so I would take Dixie to see them every month, Dixie is by far the best little traveller I have ever met. She totally lulled me into a false sense of security with regards to travelling with children. I literally thought it was such a breeze until Indigo (who we nickname the terrorist came along!) Indi is energetic, hyper, super intelligent and never stops so containing her on a plane is a misson but after a few trips I think I’ve now cracked it!
I’ve linked all the pics so you can click on any and buy / get more info on the product!
For 0 – 1 years these have probably been my top buys to make the airport, plane journey and holiday smooth & easy (well as easy as can be!)
1 – The Cozigo.
This great little gadget pops out its handy little pack and sits perfectly over the bassinet on long haul flights. It’s totally black out and does shield some of the noise too from the annoying announcements! It has handy zips all round so you can peek in on the little one without having to take the whole thing off. Once your on holiday too it acts as a blackout shade over the pram if your out for lunch time naps or in the evening. It’s expensive but I do think it’s worth it for the PEACE it brings on the plane!
2 – BabyMoov Pop up sun shade and play tent.
This is another little gem. Perfect if you have older children who don’t want to get out the pool or off the beach. This little gadget pops up and even has little toys hanging down for baby to play with. The high sides mean they can roll around without loads of sand getting in it and it’s UV safe too. Great if you are out all day as they can have a comfortable lie flat nap in here too.
3 -GB Pockit+ Pram
This pram is a lifesaver, at the airport it really comes into its own. I check my big double buggy in (I have an out and about double nipper – it’s amazing) when we check the bags in and take both babies in these prams through the airport. They fold up so small they go on as hand luggage. Which is amazing because it’s so impractical carrying the baby through the airport to get to the luggage carousel to collect the pram. I will not travel without these prams!!
1- 3 years is the hardest age to travel with I think. They want to move around A LOT, my kids hate sleeping on me so it’s hard to get them to sleep if they are tired and they are LOUD at this age too. As much as I HATE seeing kids on ipads I have to admit we do have ‘holiday ipads’ that get pulled out when we travel then put away again when we are home. Weirdly the kids never ask for them at home which is great. I would still recommend the GB Pockit+ pram for this age group – in fact it’s still an essential I would say!
1- Ipad / portable DVD
Anything with Peppa Pig makes Indigo sit still. It’s bad I know, they shouldn’t be transfixed by technology and yep I totally hate it. But sometimes just sometimes anything for an easy life and that’s why this is my number 1 for travelling with a toddler. If you’re not a parent yet, don’t judge me. If you are then yep you totally get me!!
2 – Reuseable stickers!!
Who would have thought such a simple invention could provide SO much entertainment on the plane. Stick them anywhere and everywhere and they will unstick, restick, unstick, restick, unstick, restick… yep you get my drift this super cheap and easy product is a definite hit for restless toddlers on planes.
3 – A float suit.
I’m super paranoid about water and toddlers. They are at that fearless age where everything is an adventure so when we are round the pool the little one always has on a floaty swimsuit. It’s just a little extra piece of mind, especially if you’re running after more than 1 child!
So if you have managed to keep your child alive long enough to be travelling with a 3+ year old, congratulations!! Now travelling should be a BREEZE!! Haha well not quite but it will be so much easier.
1 -Zinc flyte scooter case
This has to be the best £70 I have EVER spent. Many a flights would have been missed without this amazing gadget. We always get comments on this case when Dixie is zipping through the airport happy as larry. Not only does it fit a decent amount of stuff in it (mainly snacks, colouring, the dreaded ipad, a blanket, pillow, manky half eaten sweets etc) but also it has a sturdy scooter that flips up and down and it fits under the seat. I cannot recommend these enough. We had one of those stupid trunkies before which was a total nightmare and really annoyed me. It is defo my number 1 purchase!
2 – Eyemask & earplugs
Ok so I know this sounds a little big diva like but honestly lifesaver stuff! On the plane they are great and when you get to your destination if the beautiful sun is streaming through the windows at 5am you’ll want them to keep the little ones tricked into sleeping that little bit longer!!
3 – Mifold grab and go booster seat.
This is perfect for holiday taxi rides or if you hire a car and the booster seats are absolutely ancient. It’s a handy booster seat that is super compact but also will make those holiday car rides that little bit safer.
Some other essentials & little tips for travelling with the kids are:
- Take your own car seats for babies and toddlers if you’re hiring a car. The rental companies car seats are about 100 years old, a nightmare to fit and nowhere near any kind of safety regulations.
- To get sand of little wet toes, hands and all the other nooks and crannies throw a bottle of talcum powder in your beach bag. The talc soaks up the water in the sand and it just brushes off, one of the best tricks ever!
- If your bottle feeding grab a bottle of NIMBLE bottle cleaner, it gets rid of that sticky / greasy milk film on bottles and stops them smelling too. (AND it’s only about £2.99 for a travel size bottle) If you don’t have a microwave then use Milton sterilizing tablets. If you do then get some microwave steam sterilizer bags by Avent or Dr Browns
- The best sun cream I’ve found is Childs Farm sensitive skin factor 50. It’s not sticky, lets their skin breath and still protects them.
- Get them a hat with a little neck cover that’s made from swimming costume material. They can wear it all the time and if it gets wet it dries super quickly!
- Swimzeez are amazing! They are super lightweight, non slip little shoes that they can wear round the pool, on the beach and they really are essential at waterparks where the floor is hot but it’s not practical to swear shoes.