This June we went on our first abroad holiday with our 1.5 year old! Whilst we’d done the odd stay over at someone’s house or the odd hotel trip, we’d not dared to do a big holiday without our home comforts at an arms reach. We decided to go back to Tenerife which is where we went five years ago (to the exact date funnily enough) as it was a familiar spot!
Going away with a toddler meant packing was a whole different game to my usual difficult decision of how many tops is too many! So here’s the things that we did for our holiday that I found really helped us out!
As soon as we arrived in our new room I got Romilly out her favourite toys to make it feel like home. She had her comforter as well as a couple of go-to cuddles. She took these out in quite a few places, especially dinner and I think it helped her have that ‘safety net’ feeling.
I did buy her a cheap Peppa Pig, some new books and some fidget toys as well to occupy her when we needed her to be distracted in queues, traveling etc. She found these really exciting and Peppa Pig was a huge hit. I went to the Works to get some pocket money style toys so it didn’t break the bank. A couple of bath toys were great too as she bathed numerous times a day – more than at home!
I think the colouring set was used in nearly every situation! We used it on the plane, in restaurants, in the room, the pool, everywhere! We had crayons and a pad of plain paper which she used nearly every page of! But the best set was the Bluey special ink paper/pens that only work on the associated paper. It meant she couldn’t ruin a restaurants table cloth as the pens only work on the paper it comes with! These were really useful to take out too as at this age she doesn’t mind how many colouring pens she had!
It’s your holiday, you deserve a break. So if your little one wants to watch cartoons, or more to the point, you need them to! Do it! We ALL say we wouldn’t do it but there comes a point where it’s necessary in small doses. If it means you can enjoy the last mouthful of your wine, get the dessert or stay up a bit later – do it! You can download Netflix, Youtube and Disney so you don’t need WiFi to use every time too!
We purchased these children’s headphones for the plane too so she could listen without it bothering anyone else and they are sound restrictive so they can’t be too loud for their ears. We didn’t use it as much as I thought by any means but we had the option should we need it, take the mum guilt off and have a week off!
I was so sure I over packed snacks, I was thinking I had been a bit ridiculous. With Romilly having a bit of a bad appetite before we went away due to a viral bug, I just needed to be sure she had SOMETHING she would eat/be occupied with. We used nearly every thing we took with us and it’s important to remember that you need snacks for the journey home as well as during the holiday. I also took a number of fruit pouches for hydration and prune pouches! Since everything’s different to home, she got a bit blocked up and so prunes were a great way to help her tummy out!
And don’t forget zip lock bags, they are so useful for just about everything! I also put Rom’s plane snacks in these so I could easily put them through the scanners, they let you take them through but it’s easier to have them together so they don’t question anything. We had our snacks and teddies checked in security so anything to make that wait quicker!
I love a routine, I could tell you Rom’s to the minute! However, I said to myself there was no rules or expectation with this holiday. Romilly had doughnuts for breakfast, more apple juice than I care to count and slept at 4pm most days. It was important for us to switch off from the routine and strict ‘healthy’ ways so we could relax. One week of junk doesn’t result in bad habits and yes she now likes apple juice, but in the heat, it helps me know she’s had something to hydrate with. You really do pick your battles!
With the late dinner times (restaurant opening at 6:30pm) we made sure to push her nap back to 2-4pm then it helped dinner be later. We also offered snacks after that nap so it tied her over! I think being away helped take the pressure off the day to day at home that I’d got stuck in too!
I hope these some what help you believe that you CAN go abroad with a toddler, yes it’s different but we had the best time ever. Some of the best memories we’ve ever made too! Plus, the best thing about holiday’s is the cocktails, it helps any meltdown feel a bit easier!