Honey has an app that counts down to exciting, upcoming events. The next event on her radar is a week away, camping down in Cornwall. When we go camping, everything is really relaxed and chilled out. Ace has a nap whenever and wherever he falls asleep, most meals are picnics and bedtime is whenever someone asks to go to bed. At home, we encourage our children to be as independent as possible, while being on hand to help if required and when we are away, we try to carry on in the same vein. A great place to start with this is packing.
If your children are involved in packing, they will be aware of what's available to them while you're away and what's not. They will be able to help you find and fetch things you need while you're away because they know you packed the colander in the Paw Patrol bag for life and that their wellies are inside your wellies...
Here are just a few things we use to make packing easy and ensure that everything can be found in an instant when we reach our destination!
1. Packing Cubes
These were all over Instagram last summer, I love anything to do with tidying and organising to I invested £4.29 in a set from Ebay. Almost as soon as they arrived, I packed Honey's holiday clothing and loved being able to group items according to different criteria (e.g. underwear, socks) as well as being able to roll whole outfits up together, making it easy for me to ask Honey to put on activity appropriate outfits each day. After packing Honey's things, I ordered two more sets of cubes for Ace and myself. I love them!
2. Tiddlers and Nippers Swimming Bag
You can read our full review of this super product here, but in a nutshell, this bag and the Tiddlers and Nippers microfibre towel save us space in the car, mean that we can put all our stuff in one locker at the pool and mean that the kids can pack, carry and unpack their own swimming kits.
3. Tiddlers and Nippers Wash Bag
This little gem has a carry handle so little ones can take responsibility for carrying their own bags to the shower block. There are 3 open top pockets, perfect for toothbrush, toothpaste and and small bottle of hair and body wash, then there's a mesh pocket which is great for their sponge/facecloth and a small pocket which is the perfect size for hairbands, packets of teetha granules or even earrings for older children. When open, the bag has a hook that means it can be hung over a shower door or tent pocket. We adore Tiddlers and Nippers products and you can use our discount code HONEY10 if you decide to order anything from their website.
4. Wheeled Suitcase
Honey used to have a Trunki which was super fun for riding through airports and hotels but not very practical in terms of shape or size. With a cabin sized wheeled suitcase, the packing cubes allow you to make the most of the space available inside the case. You can use the space around the cubes to pack last minute extras like slippers and cuddly toys. I bought Honey and Ace a case with 4 wheels on the bottom, they're really easy for both adults and children to pull along and great for packing into the car, Tetris style! Buying a cabin sized case also takes care of future proofing, hopefully they will still be using them when they're teenagers!
5. Small Backpack
One of the last things I pack, is a small backpack of toys/activities for each child. They are involved in deciding what to put into their packs and I add in a couple of surprises (usually birthday or Christmas books/toys that they haven't got round to using yet). This means that if it rains or we decide to have a relaxed morning in the tent, they both have things to play with that interest them.
Whether your next trip away is camping, hosteling or going all inclusive, I hope these ideas have helped you get into your packing zone. Happy holidays everyone!
*Some of the Tiddlers and Nippers items pictured have been kindly gifted to us for the purpose of testing and writing honest reviews. All opinions expressed within this blog are my own.
Honey wears... Swimming Bag by Tiddlers and Nippers
If your children are involved in packing, they will be aware of what's available to them while you're away and what's not. They will be able to help you find and fetch things you need while you're away because they know you packed the colander in the Paw Patrol bag for life and that their wellies are inside your wellies...
Here are just a few things we use to make packing easy and ensure that everything can be found in an instant when we reach our destination!
1. Packing Cubes
These were all over Instagram last summer, I love anything to do with tidying and organising to I invested £4.29 in a set from Ebay. Almost as soon as they arrived, I packed Honey's holiday clothing and loved being able to group items according to different criteria (e.g. underwear, socks) as well as being able to roll whole outfits up together, making it easy for me to ask Honey to put on activity appropriate outfits each day. After packing Honey's things, I ordered two more sets of cubes for Ace and myself. I love them!
2. Tiddlers and Nippers Swimming Bag
You can read our full review of this super product here, but in a nutshell, this bag and the Tiddlers and Nippers microfibre towel save us space in the car, mean that we can put all our stuff in one locker at the pool and mean that the kids can pack, carry and unpack their own swimming kits.
3. Tiddlers and Nippers Wash Bag
This little gem has a carry handle so little ones can take responsibility for carrying their own bags to the shower block. There are 3 open top pockets, perfect for toothbrush, toothpaste and and small bottle of hair and body wash, then there's a mesh pocket which is great for their sponge/facecloth and a small pocket which is the perfect size for hairbands, packets of teetha granules or even earrings for older children. When open, the bag has a hook that means it can be hung over a shower door or tent pocket. We adore Tiddlers and Nippers products and you can use our discount code HONEY10 if you decide to order anything from their website.
4. Wheeled Suitcase
Honey used to have a Trunki which was super fun for riding through airports and hotels but not very practical in terms of shape or size. With a cabin sized wheeled suitcase, the packing cubes allow you to make the most of the space available inside the case. You can use the space around the cubes to pack last minute extras like slippers and cuddly toys. I bought Honey and Ace a case with 4 wheels on the bottom, they're really easy for both adults and children to pull along and great for packing into the car, Tetris style! Buying a cabin sized case also takes care of future proofing, hopefully they will still be using them when they're teenagers!
5. Small Backpack
One of the last things I pack, is a small backpack of toys/activities for each child. They are involved in deciding what to put into their packs and I add in a couple of surprises (usually birthday or Christmas books/toys that they haven't got round to using yet). This means that if it rains or we decide to have a relaxed morning in the tent, they both have things to play with that interest them.
Whether your next trip away is camping, hosteling or going all inclusive, I hope these ideas have helped you get into your packing zone. Happy holidays everyone!
*Some of the Tiddlers and Nippers items pictured have been kindly gifted to us for the purpose of testing and writing honest reviews. All opinions expressed within this blog are my own.
Honey wears... Swimming Bag by Tiddlers and Nippers
