Holiday planning!
For you holiday and planning might have never run parallel. But, if you are with kids, planning is the most essential step to make your trip memorable.
This was my very first international trip with my baby boy, Rishi (3.5 years) and I was totally cold feet about it. But we had a gala time and it turned out to be one of my best international trips so far. This was definitely possible because of the planning, I had put in. Starting from his medicines and clothes to eatables, I had to plan each and every thing.
A month in advance, we had started walking tutorials for him. Can anyone believe that? Yeah! I and my husband had made it a ritual to take him out on a walk for 30mins every day. And, it definitely paid off! On international trips, no matter how much you use taxies, metros or other transport mediums, you will definitely have to do a lot of walking. And thus, we came up with this idea. This is just an example to show how seriously I had thought about this trip.
Speaking of training, I had also trained him to eat fruits on a daily basis. This might be exclusive to Rishi, as he was fruit phobic. And, I was successful in breaking the same by feeding him, when he watched his favourite TV shows. I did this to be on the safer side, when you don’t find food and have to keep your baby’s tummy filled with healthy food during the trip as fruits are easily available everywhere. I should mention that Rishi and I are vegetarians and that made this job even tougher.
Not that I am an expert in holiday planning, but, I would love to share my holiday tips with all you mommies, so that you can spend your holidays, a little more peacefully.
1. Meal preference on board: Make sure you give a meal preference of kiddie meal with the airlines you choose to travel while booking the tickets. This is something most of us forget. This can be mentioned at the time of check in as well. Most airlines do give a nice activity kit along with these meals. These are served before the actual food is served. So you can make sure that your kid eats his/her share and does not need any extra attention when you have to eat yours.
2. Medicines: Please make sure you carry enough sealed medicines for emergency purpose, such as your child feeling sick during the vacation, which I wish should never happen.
Better be safe than sorry! Even if it costs some space in your luggage.
3. Choice of Hotel: Always look for the hotels which have their own kitchen units in the rooms. Nowadays, there are quite a number of interesting options available with hotels. These hotels are getting smart in order to attract more and more families. A lot of online travel platforms can help you with the selection of such hotels.
4. Packed foods: I had carried lots of ready to eat food (without preservatives - nowadays there are a lot of brands which provide this type of food) and a small electric rice cooker. I don’t know how to thank the rice cooker. Seriously, I used to cook (which I don’t do at home) but still didn’t find it painful. It was a life saviour. I used to pack one lunch for Rishi and could enjoy all my activities uninterrupted, without having to check time continuously or wander around in search of food.
5. Let your kids know about the place beforehand: If you have plans to visit some tourist places, then make sure you talk to your kids about it at every given opportunity before the trip. We did this with Rishi and he enjoyed it much more than we had anticipated.
6. Let your kids help you with packing: Let your kids pack their own luggage, they will love it! If you let them drag their own luggage in the airport, you will be saved from carrying them, and on the other hand, they will enjoy the trip more.
7. Keep them informed: At the airport, we always explain all the procedures to Rishi, which keeps him, entertained and creates a lot of general awareness within him. And of course the questions! Rishi is an expert now with most of the formalities and the documents at the airports. He handled the immigration process quite by himself by handling his own passport.
Things that I use to have in my handbag always:
1. Some quick snacks like chocolates and chips to treat Rishi when he had a mood swing or to boost his sugar level when he was tired.
2. One pair of extra clothing which easily slips into my handbag.
3. A water bottle is must to carry. It keeps kids hydrated in the sunny places.
4. A pack of wet wipes.
5. A small sanitizer.
6. A cap again for the sunny places.
7. A sunscreen lotion for Rishi
And yeah, if you are not the very strict mommy, don’t forget to download new games or videos for your little one on your phones/tablets. It will keep the kids entertained at times when you need your alone time or some rest.
These are some of the top priority things I wanted to share with you all! Happy holidays mommies!
Monica Rohit-Would like to identify myself as a mommy to the naughtiest 3.5 years old!
All said and done; Rishi will always remain the apple of my eyes.
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