We love to travel and have done a lot of trips with our son (almost 4 years old). Each time we go on vacation I do a little better job of getting it all together so the trip runs smoothly. It's hard working full time and juggling everything to get ready for our trips, so I thought I would share my best tips with anyone else interested. I hope this helps you get out the door on vacation a bit easier so you can actually enjoy your vacation!
Accommodations: We usually stay at a condo when possible. We do this for a few reasons. We love having our own room at night. We can stay up and watch movies, play games, etc...while our little one is sleeping in he other room. The other reason we like it is having a kitchen! I hate having to get up and out the door first thing in the morning while on vacation....I like to sit and relax a bit. My son however, likes breakfast when he wakes up. Having a kitchen in the condo allows him breakfast while I relax a bit and get ready for the day. My other main reason for the condo is a washer and dryer! Yes, it is vacation and I don't really like doing laundry all the time, BUT knowing I can pack only a few days of clothes so our suitcases are smaller is a huge bonus. Picture going to Italy for 16 days with a 2 year old, stroller, car seat, and large suitcases for 4 people....so, doing laundry is not so bad, right? The other thing I do to make it easier when we return home, is spend the last night on vacation doing laundry..when we arrive home I have all clean clothes to put away and NO laundry to do! It's the best....especially when I have to return to work the next morning after getting home late from our trip.
Food: I always pack tons of non perishable foods to take with us. Sometimes we have travelled overseas where you cannot buy the foods my little one is use to. I plan ahead and stock up on things like: cookies, crackers, granola bars, fruit strips, cheeze its, peanut butter crackers, applesauce containers, fruit cups, etc....If you have room for juice boxes, that's a plus too! I also try to bring some type of water bottle with a straw for my son so I can buy juice/milk on the road while we travel and fill it up for him in the car (this way it prevents spills with open bottles of juice or water). I always pack ziplock bags too so I can pack snacks or sandwiches while on the trip. It also helps to pack some bigger ziplocks to store leftover food (pizza, etc..) in the condo. I just take the ziplocks out of the box...they are easier to pack that way without the bulky box. Once I buy everything I plan on taking with us, I make out a grocery list for shopping when we arrive to our destination. The nice thing is if I do this, I can easily give the list to my husband and send him off to the store while I get us settled in the condo. I also try to plan what days we may eat out or eat in so I know how much food to buy based on our plans. I do bring a small soft sided cooler with us so we can pack lunch for the beach or a picnic dinner. I do try to pack coffee and small ziplocs with sugar/powdered creamer so we have it upon arrival (my husband NEEDS coffee!). I also throw in a few coffee filters just in case the condo has none.
Grocery List: (things to get once we arrive - for breakfast and lunch)
Frozen pancakes, syrup, bagels/cream cheese, OJ, Milk, soda pop, bottled water, apple juice or juice boxes, eggs, lunch meat, sliced cheese, bread, mustard/mayo, chips or pretzels, fresh fruit, yogurt, butter, beer/wine. If we plan on cooking dinner in at all, I try to pack some spices in ziplocks (they are too expensive to buy on vacation and throw away because we can't pack them to take home). I also like to buy meat marinades and fresh veggies to grill while there...hot dogs for my little one are a great treat. Mac n cheese is a good thing to have on hand too for the kids. Don't forget salad fixings and salad dressing.
Packing: Oh the joys of getting everything together while your husband only packs for himself.....right? I pack 3-4 days worth of clothes and a few ziplock baggies full of powdered laundry soap. Don't forget a few dryer sheets too...if you pack them in your suitcase, you clothes smell fresh when you arrive too. to minimize too many suitcases, I pack my son's clothes in my suitcase so we only have two bags to check. If there is room in my husband's bag, I put all the non-perishable foods in there (if we are flying).
Pre-trip Organizing:
I try to gather information on the Internet about our destination in advance and copy and paste it all into a MS word document. I print out the information and take it with us so I have detailed information. The things I like to look fore are restaurant recommendations, family activities, playgrounds, best beaches, best shops, etc.....and site seeing attractions with hours/costs. I also look for coupons for any of the attractions we plan to visit...sometimes there are coupons on line that will help save you a few bucks! I also make a list of ALL shopping that needs to be done for the trip (food, toiletries, clothes, toys, etc...) and shop for these things 3 weeks before vacation. I try to run errands on my lunch hour and on my way home from work. Two weeks before vacation I start getting clothes together in the guest room and make sure I have everything. Once I have everything together, I make a list of the things I can't pack in advance (things we still need to use) and keep that handy for the day before. Once all of that is packed the night before, I have a list out on the counter for the morning of...cell phones, empty garbage, my son's lovey toy, etc....then we are off! Don't forget to print your list of travel information to take with you!
Kid Pack: I always plan some fun things for my son so that travel goes well for him. I always fill his back pack with new toys for the trip. I don't let him open the backpack until we are on the plane either. I usually do color wonders, pipe cleaners, sticker books, stickers, small cars, magnadoodle, etc.....I also pack his lunch box full of snacks for the trip. He loves this! I also pack a few little toys wrapped in tissue paper as "presents" for him. When I need them, I pull them out of my bag and it buys me some sanity for 20 minutes or so. The presents work well when site seeing too...we got through a whole Vatican tour this way in Rome!
Kid Pack for a Road Trip: We just did a 15 hour drive to Hilton Head and I wanted to make sure my son had some fun things to do. I got a canvas bin and filled it with fun things for him to do and put it on the seat next to his car seat. My favorite toy was a new metal cookie sheet (yes, a cookie sheet) and a huge bag of magnetic letters and numbers. He had fun sticking the letters/numbers all over the cookie sheet. We also played word games...when he picked a letter, everyone had to name a word that started with that letter. Other toys he liked was the Leap Frog Writing/Letter toy, travel magnadoodle, travel aqua doodle, color wonders, Toy Story Stickers/Sticker book, pipe cleaners (to make shapes with), a light up spinning toy, books, matchbox pop up toy with cars, starwars stickers and a Thomas the Train Computer toy.
Other Things I like to pack: travel size first aid kit, bug spray, aloe/anti itch creams (in case we get too much sun!), travel thermometer, child meds (Benedryl to goes are great!), blow up water wings/inner tubes (From the Dollar store!), sunblock, sun hats, frisbee disc/small football, travel umbrella (just in case), disposable table cloth (for picnics), glow sticks (if we do night time activities, my son loves these), purell hand sanitizer, toilet seat covers (in case my son needs them in a public restroom), small packs of baby wipes, small packs of antibacterial wipes (to wipe off the remote control in hotel or meal tray on the airplane...ick!).
Making Coming Home Easier: I also try to plan a bit in advance to make things a little easier when we return home and try to get back to work. I try to spend the last vacation night doing all the laundry...I would rather spend my first night home putting away CLEAN clothes than doing 5 loads of laundry!. I also stock up on food before we go....I make sure we have chicken/meat in the freezer. I also stock up on frozen veggies. If you need sandwich meat, by the pre-packaged kind and don't open it before you go...if it's sealed, it will be good for several weeks. I also buy organic milk (it has a much longer expiration date than non-organic milk), yogurt, apple sauce, fruit cups, cottage cheese, sliced cheese, eggs and bread (I have to keep in in the fridge to keep it fresh). If I do this...we don't have to run to the grocery store right away.....it is much easier for me this way. I also make sure to empty the garbage before I go, run the vacuum and make sure there is little laundry. This makes the transition SO MUCH easier after a week out of town.
I hope my learnings are helpful to someone else trying to get ready for vacation. It's a lot of work, but in my opinion, vacations are worth it!!! I just had the best 10 days with my family!
