What to pack for almost 2 year old for holiday?

[colourPink]

We’re going on our first abroad holiday in a couple of weeks. My LO will be about 6 weeks off 2. What are your must haves? I’m not talking clothes etc but things for the pool/ entertainment for him/ must not forgets!

TIA from a first time mum.

Pool toys? Bucket and spade?

Obviously your standard long sleeved UV tops, hat with neck protection etc.

Favourite bottle/cup/straw cup to encourage drinking.

Favourite cuddly toy for in a new bed.

Bib, own small cutlery etc if accommodation doesn't provide.

Few new bits for the plane and beach.

Poncho style towel?

Books for bedtime.

Calpol or suppositories or whatever you usually use in case of fever. Thermometer.

Mine always gets constipated when abroad so I take pouches with peaches/kiwi/pear inside and give him them fairly often.

Few snacks from home. Also many snacks for the journey.

Take a few small Tupperware snack pots - the kind of thing you can fill with little pieces of fruit when you’re going out and about for the day.

Full change of clothes and nappies in the carry-on bag

If you think they might struggle to drink enough water then the Robinson's mini squeezey bottles are good to give a hint of squash to water encourage them to drink.

Stickers, pens, colouring pad.

Load a tablet or phone with their favourite shows, it's holiday normal rules don't apply! And toddler sized headphones!

More swim nappies than you think you will need.

Some kind of pool float or swim vest. Some pool toys that sink/float - my ds spent hours in a shallow pool 'collecting' these into his bucket and repeat!

Take quiet toys! If they wake up at 6am, they’ll need to do something in the hotel room until you want to get up & go for a walk or until breakfast starts or you’re allowed to use the play areas. You might also want to be in the room for a bit after lunch when it’s really hot. And again when you’re getting ready for dinner.
The genius idea I got from another family was buying a little paddling pool (literally, about 2ft in diameter) and blowing that it and having it by your sunloungers by the pool or on the beach with you and then your toddler can play in that without you having to be in the pool with them or in the sea. You can still go in the pool & in the sea but have an alternative as well.

Get bigger stuff like inflatable and bucket and spade there if you can. Then donate them to someone else when you leave. You can buy collapsible beach buckets though and they’re a good thing to take and not take up too much room.

I bought some little rubber dinosaurs that floated and they were a hit, my son just liked lobbing them in the water and scooping them out into a bucket 🤷🏻‍♀️

a swim hat with long flaps.

a fold up doodle mat that you use water on to make the colours come out.

second little pots to store snacks/fruit. Mine wasn’t too bothered about eating much at breakfast but at 10am appreciated the little bits of cheese or fruit or crackers I’d saved for him.

Haha I just came to say the small paddling pool idea! Honestly it may feel like effort to fill up initially but once it’s done and near your sunloungers you can actually semi relax for a while, it’s one of the best tips I’ve ever seen. They obviously fold down so small as well.

Sticker books and tonnes of snacks for the flight!

Another one saying little pots for snacks and then all the snacks for travelling.

At that age, I still brought stacking cups – pool toy, beach toy, bath toy, building toy, toy tea set, etc. in one, and obviously it's compact. Little plastic animals (solid, not hollow, so they can't get water inside) were also a hit, and work on the plane, in the hotel/apartment/villa, and in the water.

For books, I liked bringing ones where the illustrations add detail to the story so that we could talk about what was in the picture, play 'where's the X?', etc. if we needed to fill time.

Plastic tea set for the pool
bucket and spade
one or two hot wheels cars that can “explore” around where you are sitting

These are amazing! Didn’t even think of a float vest (which seems SO obvious now!!). Heading onto Amazon to buy him some new toys.

Thanks!!

long sleeved uv swimwear
longsleeved cotton tops
hat
non spill bottle
waterproof bedsheet
swim nappies
bed time story book & sleep comforters
calpol sachets, plasters, bug spray

I try to always bring the same sleep stuffy and bedtime story on vacation. Now I don’t bring the regular stuffy, just the sleep one because they know it’s the vacation stuffy.

If taking favourite cuddly from home, just make sure it is packed in hand luggage so no chance of getting lost! Would be nothing worse! I rate the boots sultan 8 hr protect sun cream. Can get in boots once through security (if one at the airport).