The Big Packing Challenge 2103 – Family Caravan Holidays

Well, we are nearly done! Our big trip of 2013 commences very soon (Burglars, don’t bother – once again the house is covered)

There is no cupboard unturned, nothing that hasn’t been washed and ironed, and 3 million lists have been written (and lost) in preparation for the H word -Holiday!

I have absolutely no idea how people go about travelling with little ones on a plane. We have a 26 foot caravan trailing behind us and we still struggle for space. We don’t event have suitcases to contend with as everything gets packed straight into cupboards and wardrobes.

Its our 5th year of the big holiday and even though I hate to say it, I think we may just have cracked the packing lark…

Here’s our family guide to packing with 3 kids in tow:

* You can never have too many outfits! Imagine how many clothes 3 fashion conscious girls can get through and times it by 3 again. Every year I am astounded by how many changes per day the girls need. We try to plan ahead with buying things like shorts and T shirts but know we can always fall back on last minute purchases such as the gingham top and shorts outfit in the girls clothing by K & Co

* We stock up on jars of curry/bolognese and multi packs of crisps – If the kids have the type of food they are familiar with, they are happy and as a result so are we!

* Plan ahead for the journey – save a couple of DVDs that haven’t been watched (one year we bought 120 hours of Tom & Jerry to watch!) but also consider keeping something aside for the journey home.

* We try to make ahead what food we will feel like on our long journey – Our family ginger traybake has always been a popular choice.

* We also keep a bag packed for as soon as we arrive on holiday – this contains swimming costumes, swim nappy, towels and sun cream. After that journey, we know that the children are not going to want to wait until we are fully unpacked before they hit the pool. Time to split parenting in 2 and get the kids out of the way!

* Self catering suits us down to the ground but even we have to admit that the first night is going to have to be a pizza and chips night from the restaurant. Once we stopped beating ourselves up about it, we started to really look forward to our first evening.

I’m not saying we get everything right. Caravan holidays are never going to be for everyone but they suit us. We would never get such long holidays if we were not in our tin box and it has been great to see the girls make friends so easily. A campsite play area is where our girls have learnt so many life skills!

So enjoy your summer, everyone. Get the Factor 30 out, have a swim and most of all relax!