Self Catering with Kids

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Its that lovely time of year again, our caravan has arrived home! All ready to be cleaned and filled to the gills for our many summer adventures.

For us, self catering works best – whether we are in the caravan or in a cottage, in this country or abroad. I’m going to share today just some of the things we do that make our holidays work. A lot of our rituals save money, we still have treats when we are away but there’s no way we could go away as often or for as long as we do, if we weren’t a little bit careful.

The Journey

• Consider night-time travel – We have a 6 hour journey before we even get to our ferry for our abroad holiday. We have tried setting out in the morning but the kids are soon bored. For us, a 2am start works so much better – The kids are excited but then fall back asleep after about an hour. Bliss!
• Food – No matter what time of day it is, Violet will still get hungry. I go NOWHERE without an emergency bag of food and this cake.
• Activity packs – I collect notebooks, puzzles, party bag items throughout the year so I can drip feed the kids with new activities along the way. An alternative way to keep the kids occupied is with online games like connect 4 online.
• Don’t bother getting them changed – Much comfier to travel in PJ’s and change at a service station when you are nearly there – Did you know service stations are ultra exciting for children?!
• Have your plan sorted for what/where you are eating on the first night – This may be your night for a pizza and chilling in front of the  Oled TV. The kids will be happy and you can unpack in peace.

The Clothes

• Vest tops are my staple item for all 3 kids (and myself) on holiday – Perfect with shorts, cheap, come in all colours and can be dressed up with a posh skirt and a necklace for nighttime.
• Take a tiny pot of handwash – You may be in denial that you will need to do any washing at all when you are away but there is nothing like a stinky towel or tea-towel to make you yearn to do some washing!
• Flip Flops – I’ve never been away yet without one of the kids breaking their flip flops – I take at least 5 pairs each!

The Food

• Jars of curry sauce! Cannot live without them. So quick and homely – and you can always bring them back home if you don’t use them!
• Try to eat like you do at home – We love experimenting with food when we are away, but we have to admit the kids behave and sleep better if they eat similarly to what they eat at home most days.
• Bags of rice – Life is too short to be measuring out portions of rice on holiday!
• Take your own ice-pops – This is my biggie!! Saves an absolute fortune on ice-creams. We have bought 100 for £3 before now. You can freeze them as you need them and at that price, who cares if the kids have 10 a day? Keeps them hydrated too!
• Tupperware and melon – Our must for the beach. If its just too hot to eat anything else, a whole melon chopped up gets devoured like we are vultures.
• Take your own spices & sauces – Chilli powder, mixed herbs, stock cubes – Take up hardly any room but make a meal so much better. We took our own bottle of HP sauce last year – we could have sold it at $5 a squirt judging by people’s reactions when they walked past us having bacon butties in a morning.
• Save your carrier bags throughout the year – Use as rubbish bags. You will need them!

The Journey Home

• Keep 2 spare outfits clean for the journey – you know the kids will spill something on them just before you set off!
• Get the children to go through your phone and choose which pictures they like to create a photo book.
• A stash of sweets and a new magazine/toy (bought before your hols) for that last minute tantrum as they get in the car home – You will thank me!