Things you've forgotten to take on holiday

[BFPDec21]

We bundled DD up in the car at 3am, successfully got her back off to sleep. It's now 6am and we're half way into our journey. I've just realised we've only bloody forgotten DD's shoes.

We're in the UK and can buy some but I can't believe we overlooked them completely.

Anyone else forgotten something so obvious?

Funny you should say that I was just coming on to say Kevin. He was 8 the first time. He survived.

Richard Bacon told an excellent story about his dad on his radio show once. Richard’s dad traveled frequently for work, and was hugely forgetful and disorganised. Richard’s mum used to organise him, make sure he had everything and take him to the airport. One day she was away and he had to sort himself out. He had lists and timelines and was very pleased when he got to the airport on time etc. Until he went to get his suitcase from the boot of the car and the dog jumped out!

Oh and for dh. The passports and driving licences. His job is to amass these and the charging cables. One time in 3 he forgets. We’ve managed not to miss a flight yet but had a few hairy moments using the emergency cut to the services on the motorway.

Clearly dh is not responsible for Kevin.

Another dh one. Trousers on a business trip to the US many years ago. He went to the local mall and bought 2 pairs of the fugliest trousers imaginable, those being the only ones available. I take the kitchen sink so my forgetting something is always something I could easily do without.

Foreign beach holiday, I forgot my bikini and swimsuit... had to go and buy another one, the only ones available were skimpy g string types, I'm a 50yr old size 16, it wasn't a good look

Swim nappies. Only needed a few. But for it to cone on time (we were remote), had to order 3 packs. Lasted us almost 9 months.

Going out, now. Wipes. Tissues. Went to work? Lotion, small mirror

I've just come back from holiday, realised when I got there that I'd packed what I thought was a phone charger, but was actually a USB converter (or something) lead so I didn't have a phone charger

A list is only so good as what you remember to put on it….

🤣🤣👏👏👏

Lists are great, but they don’t physically put the
bags, coats and shoes in the car!

No, they don't - but you need more than one part to your list to get round this. Your list needs to be things to pack, and things to do. Things to do should include 'put big suitcase in car' and so on. You cross the list off as you go. The last item on your list is 'check list'. You do not leave until everything is crossed off. Then you cannot forget anything on the list.

Is he unable to pack himself?!

My dad was famous for losing things while on holiday. Passports left in other countries when travelling through the Schengen area, car keys for the car he’d left in airport parking, his wallet in service station, he definitely won Lost Essentials Bingo.

H&M in Berlin saved me once too! I hadn’t forgotten anything, but Lufthansa had lost my suitcase and I was on a work trip and had to meet clients. The handy overnight pack provided by the airline included an enormous but very thin white t-shirt, which wouldn’t have looked terribly classy with my black bra underneath…

Swimsuit on the way to Bali. Thank God I remembered when we had time to turn back. I’m fat with a freakishly long torso and wouldn’t have found anything suitable in Bali.

I’m another fan of lists. People laugh at my lists but they work. I have lists with tick boxes saved for different types of trips, self catering, summer, winter, oversea etc.

As for adapters, chargers etc, most hotels have a box of those left behind by others in a box under or near the reception counter, so always ask.

it’s possible they might have a spare husband left behind too 😂 !

I have lists with tick boxes saved for different types of trips, self catering, summer, winter, oversea etc.

I have similar - a 'master list' on Excel including everything I might need for any holiday. I filter out what I don't need before printing it off a couple of weeks before my trip.

This made me chuckle! 😂😂

Were you somewhere cold? Just asking because I would've slept naked rather than sleep in clothes

Sunglasses. We were only a mile from home and my boyfriend at the time refused to turn around a drive back to get them, pig. I had to buy a crappy pair in the market in Spain.

I went on holiday with my parents and my children to Scotland when the children were very small. We stayed at their house the night before. All the children's clothes were in one suutcase. My father was in charge of packing the car, which meant collecting the suitcases from the bedrooms and putting them in the car. I did remind him about the children's suitcase but he forgot it so we arrived in Scotland with no clothes for the children. We bought one spare set each for them and had to wash their clothes by hand every night!

The wheelchair 🙈

DS has just returned from his first 'independent' holiday and left behind his air pods, sunglasses and his favourite football shirt.

In mitigation, he is 15 and very forgetful.

Luckily he was staying at a friend's place so they can post it back or hang on to it for him.

I've forgotten a few things over the years, toiletries being the most awkward.

Not me, but we were camping a couple of years ago and the family a couple of pitches over were in a panic as they'd driven 4+ hours to discover they'd forgotten the key to the roofbox which contained all their bedding.

I forgot my list! Our 3 page very carefully planned 3 week touring holiday. It had taken me ages, much research and we knew we could not return to see things again if missed. Luckily only just left home so phew. Yes I am that anal.

Camping again, forgot the corkscrew!

I always carry a corkscrew in my toilet bag. Great for hotel picnics!