Week-long trip on my own with 2 year old - help me with a list!

[BertieBotts]

Next week I'll be going to visit my cousin with DS for a week, on my own. We're going on the train and I'll need to travel light - as basically only have his small folding pushchair to pile stuff on. We'll be leaving after lunch and arrive at 5ish, will have to hang around at the station for 40 minutes or so, so thinking McDonalds or similar for tea that first day.

This is my list so far - what would you add/remove? I'm trying to keep it to bare essentials/things which would be impractical to buy there only.

Phone, charger, purse with cards + cash (can do internet on phone)
Clothes - 3-4 changes of clothes each (1 more for DS) - Will have access to washing machine
Toiletry stuff - shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste
Nappies - around 8 - enough for train journey + first night/morning
Wipes, changing mat/cloth (for poos?)
Books for bedtime - 5 or 6? (he usually has 3 stories but often picks the same ones) - or possibly just take 1-2 and see if I can borrow cousin's library card and get some new books for him for the week.
Small magnetic drawing board thing
Thomas (etc) magazine + couple of pens, small pack crayons(?) (For train)
Few small toy cars, other smallish toys (a bit stuck on this one, most of his toys are big or big sets - trains, happyland etc)
Sports bottle of water (can share) snacks for train journey (suggestions?)
Possibly a readybed - just waiting to hear if she has space for one. Otherwise I'll sleep with him in the double
Child sized fork, bowl and cup

Something like a trip to the library would also help break up the days when my cousin is at work.

Oops, forgot to mention he's 2.10 and can walk quite far but will be taking pushchair - and not sure whether to take Patapum soft back carrier thing perhaps for the journey?

Other things which would be handy but seem too bulky -

Non slip bath mat
Step for bathroom etc

Looks like a pretty comprehensive list.

I would not bother with the step or bath mat, unneccessary hassle. He will probably enjoy walking through the carriages on the train, so I wouldn't worry about the carrier.

Trip to the local charity shops to pick up a few matchbox cars to play with on the train? Or a couple of small trains?

Snacks- sandwich/fruit/raisins/bread sticks/bribery treats if needed

Sunhat and sunscreen. swimming costumes?

Get card games like dinosaur cards (my DS has some of these), Chuggington cards of whatever. Very portable. WHSmiths' in hospitals and train stations very often have this kind of thing.

I would take child fork but not bother with bowl or cup. There will be acceptable ones there. Wouldn't bother with step or bath mat either. Think you have covered most things!

I usually pack: blanket/soft toy for sleeping in a new/unfamiliar place, one or two small water toys eg squirters for bath and for any playing on beach/garden etc, small tupperware for snacks and also for days out to use as doggy bags in restaurants to polish off a bit later on, plastic bags for soiled/wet clothes on train or until you can dispose of nappies. One or two new books to give as a treat if well-behaved in restaurant or on train, to keep them from tearing about the place. The pound shop is great for this stuff! I also download a couple of free toddler games on my iphone eg number/letter matching, trains etc.

Ooh fab, thank you. I think I might take one small cup as cousin doesn't have children so may only have heavy mugs/glasses and DS has only just mastered drinking from an open cup without spilling. Bowl I just thought it's easier to gauge portion size with a small one, but if it's a problem I can always use a tupperware type pot. Swimming costume, sun hat, sun cream I had forgotten, thanks. He doesn't have a comforter, but I'm still breastfeeding, so I think he should settle fine with that. Bath squirters good idea, might buy new though as his are a bit gungy anyway. And I have a few games he plays on my phone already! :)

Do you really think he'll be okay without a bath mat? Am I overestimating the effectiveness of them? I suppose if he sits still he can't slip, and of course I still never leave him in the bath.

Also, what about the crayons for the train? I'm reluctant to take felt tips because of the potential mess, but wax crayons or pencil crayons tend to be a bit useless on magazine paper, don't they? Or is that just cheap ones - is it worth shelling out for some crayola or something? Perhaps I should just take crayons and a cheap notebook or something. (Overthinking this? Yes I probably am )

morning bump

I really wouldn't worry about bath mat. You can put a towel in the bath if necessary. I went down to London recently with DS and DD and found that a cheap notebook from Sainsburys (about 50p) and crayons were v useful. Also let them both get a magazine (am usually mean mummy about such things).

My personal list:
Backpack for me to put stuff in - neater than 4 plastic bags hanging off the Maclaren.
One of those backpacks with a handle/leash for ds.
2 sippy cups (one for juice/water, one for milk)
Maybe a plastic bowl/plate, and def a couple teaspoons
Blankies
Nappies, 3x as many wipes as usual, baggies for putting icky nappies and wipes in
3 dummies
2 hats
4 outfits and 2 tops for colder weather - assume friend has washing machine
Grobag
Snacks in snap-lid boxes, and some individual packets of biscuits.
A bunch of new toys, a comic, some stickers, couple books, notepad and pens or crayons that actually make marks (a biro and pencil will do!)

A copy of Metro or any paper keeps ds entertained for quite a while - lots of pictures of animals and cars!