Please share your top tips for family holiday - flying to AI resort

[mamabluestar]

It will be our first holiday where we have flown abroad as a family of 4 (DD is 7 and DS will be 4), we are going to Lanzarote in May. The last time we did fly our DD was only 18 months and I feel like a complete novice.

I've trawled old posts which has helped me put together a list of things we need to take. What I am hoping you kind MNers will do is share any top tips that you bear in mind when taking this type of holiday, whether it be what you pack, how to keep kids entertained or anything else holiday related.

I'm getting a little anxious about packing and planning and while I know that we will have a fantastic holiday I just want to make sure that I have everything covered (perfectionist me no ).

Thank you.

I have a DD of 7 and a DS of 3 and they are very experienced flyers and do between 5-6 return flights a year.

DD settles herself with a portable DVD player and DS uses my ipad onto which I download loads of his favourites from iplayer. Plenty of snacks and perhaps a sticker book and you should be sorted. We went to Egypt in Feb and are going again next month and they were fine of the 5.5 hr flight.

It will be fine.

As to what we pack, we always take some of the mini packs of oreo biscuits and a couple of tubes of pringles so the kids can munch on them around the pool. We also take one of those Robinsons shotz super concentrate squash as sometimes all the juices affect their tummies.

Arm bands if needed and sunsuit and hats.

I pack a set of clothes for DS (t-shirt, shorts, pants, socks) in a ziplock freezer bag and squash the air out so that it is almost 'vacuum packed'. Keep it in hand luggage on the plane and in the bottom of my bag if we're out and about - you never know when you might need it.

Have something new tucked away for part-way through the holiday or the journey home - a comic, small game, cars etc.

Depending on your flight times think about putting DC in their jammies for the flight home - it makes it easy to transfer straight into bed/car seat if they are sleepy.

Make a packing list for everyone in the family - how many days are you away? How many t-shirts, shorts, pants, swim stuff will you (really) need? Remember first aid kit, calpol, baby monitor if you might sit out on the balcony when DC are in bed?

Finally, I have been known to take bin bags and Sellotape for the windows just in case the curtains let in the early morning sun!

We used to take a travel blackout blind when ours were small, it has suckers to stick in the window and stop the sun waking kids up at 5am.
Mosquito repellent
My kids are good travellers but I do put a change of clothes for myself into my bag for the flight as dd has been known to throw up on me!
Take DVD player, iPad etc to entertain them on flight if there is not much in the way of inflight entertainment which tends to be less good short haul.
Relax and enjoy!

Thanks for all your replies and great advice.

Hersetta427 I've been buying activity book as I've seen them and was going to take tablets as a back up - I know that you need to be able to turn turn them on as you board the plane is it the same for departing? Will def take them (and DH haha) some snacks and I keep eyeing up those Robinson juices as all the pictures I've seen of the bar areas are fizzy drinks.

beanandspud we are aware for 7 nights with an overnight stop in the uk before travelling back home. I have 2 outfits per day for the DC, but they can be messy and I don't want to worry about washing out clothes while we are away, and 3 sets of swim clothes for them. I love your freezer bag vacuum pack idea :) I always take spare clothes for the kids on days out and it can be so bulky. We have a late flight home and hadn't thought about putting them into PJ's but that will be so much easier than trying to handle two sleepy, and no doubt grumpy, children. Thanks for the blackbag/sellotape tip ;)

Heels99 ha yes I remember not that long ago when DS was sick on DH so I best make sure we have a change of clothes for everyone while flying. Can I ask about mosquito repellent I'm going to get some DEET spray, I've seen various wrist bands/wipes/plug in's are any of them worth buying?

Thanks again

Books - take a couple new ones from the library, maybe a level lower than your older can read so it is not a chore.

Activity books, sticker books, pens and colouring in pages. We also treat DD to a new magazine at the airport/buy the day before we leave.

Ipad or DVD player and headphones

Clothes - we just returned from 10 days sunshine and had one set per day and another one for dinner. DD recycled her dresses so we managed with 4 for 10 nights. But she is a tidy eater. We manage with two large suitcases and one large travel bag for shoes/wash bags, shopping bags with shower gel/shampoo etc.

Don't forget charger and check if the plug works.

We take her favourite non-chocolate snacks for the holiday plus some muffins for the flight as she is not a big fan (neither am I) from in-flight meals. Take an empty water bottle to refill at the resort at I found it easier than having open cups from the bar around.

Small first aid kid with pain killers, plaster and antibacterial cream so you don't have to rush around. Mosquito repellent and antihistamine cream if you get bitten. Lots of suncream, we went through 3 bottles in 10 days.

Mama, it depends on your returning destination. We did flying back from Egypt but never have from Spain (my parents live there).

DD loves the sticker dolly dressing books - keeps her occupied for hours. DS likes the usbourne my first sticker books. The holiday ones are good as they have lots of scenes about what goes on at an airport.

We always take a couple of new summer beach toys (usually purchased from the £1 shop) which they can play with and we leave behind.

One thing we always take with us now is a 4 plug extender. That way we only need one plug adapter and we can then charge phones, ipads and kindles at the same time. You never have many plugs in a hotel room anyway.

FYI amazon are doing kids sticker and activity books on offer of 4 for £10. I have just stocked up as we have 4 trips coming up in the next 4 months.

Get some in-flight children's earplugs and a bag of boiled sweets to take on the plane - my DS is rubbish at clearing his ears and they really help (your children may be fine but it's better to be prepared). Take a small first aid kit - calpol sachets, plasters, antiseptic.

Are your EHIC cards up to date?

I've just come back from an AI place and we barely spent a penny when we were there but I wish I'd taken some biscuits/other familiar foods with me for DS - I'd do that next time.

www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=amb_link_187121227_1?ie=UTF8&emi=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&node=5136020031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=qpe-title-tag&pf_rd_r=0JB2GWF1EZ533N48H5T0&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=595632207&pf_rd_i=1409523136

here is link - really good offer as lots of the books are £5 or more. They have the dolly dressings books and Usborne sticker books.

thanks for your advice everyone - lots of food for though

*off to look at amazon

We went to lanzarote last August and the Mosquitos weren't bad. "smidge the midge" is a good insect repellant if you don't want something with deet.

Take a short extension lead so you can plug in multiple appliances at once, sometimes you only get 1plug socket so it gets tricky when trying to plug in a mosquito repellant, an iPad, phone, hair straightener, camera battery recharger.....

In my experience no mozzies in Lanzarote so don't take loads of anti mozzie stuff with you. You can always get stuff there. The sun is VERY strong in August - remember it is very close to Africa. Plenty to eat at the airport if you want to feed them before the flight - which for a late night(4 hour) flight might be best.

Take marmite or any other familiar spread. DD would eat any sort of bread/bun/biscuit if it tasted 'right'. Keep not only a spare set of clothes for kids in your inflight bag, but also spare tshirts for parents, and a big plastic bag for stashing vomitted on clothes, plus nice smelling clean up wipes - And dont expect any in-flight staff to help you with anything to do with the kids - they are universally useless.