10 Things...Holiday Edition

10 Things We Took On Holiday That We Really Didn't Need!

1. Teddy Bear &
2. Story Books - I actually thought that we would continue our normal bedtime routine...Fool!
3. Socks for me when I'd only packed shoes that I don't wear socks with...
4. Vests for Casper- I think even I can agree that 26 degrees is warm enough to go without!
5. Towels- they are heavy and the hotel provided them, which I would have known if I had actually read the info instead of skim reading it. My aunt brought micro fibre towels for going to the beach- they are lightweight and fold up very small, I shall be investing in some before the next holiday.
6. A really uncomfortable bra which creaks when I move - definitely should have tried it on before taking it away. 
7. Three shirts for The Man who hates wearing shirts and only wore one of them for approx 20 minutes as it was too hot and uncomfortable. We were only away for 5 days and knew we wouldn't be doing anything too formal. 
8. A book for me to read- I absolutely did not have time to sit and read!
9. A handbag, everything we took out with us went in The Man's pockets or on the buggy. My hand luggage bag would have been just fine without a handbag as well.
10. An empty tube of deodorant..the full one was on the kitchen table at home...don't pack with a rampaging toddler assisting!

10 Things We Didn't Take That We Really Should Have...

1. Sun Hats for all three of us - I also left these on the table at home because I am a dick!
2. Sun Glasses - see above.
3. The Athens guidebook - see above!!!
4. A variety of sun cream - I only took factor 50, mainly for Casper, but I have olive skin and 50 is a little overkill for me. 
5. Toddler Milk in ready mixed cartons - we don't use this anymore but it would have been very handy for a pre-bed drink as Casper usually has a beaker of cow's milk at home. I thought it would have been easy to source while away but it wasn't really so he just had water instead. I wasn't too worried as we weren't away for very long but the cartons would still have been handy!
6. A light baby blanket - it would have been very useful for naps in the push chair and on the plane. 
7. A book for The Man to read- he doesn't like afternoon naps or sleeping on anything that isn't a bed so he would have had time to read. I would pick a nap over almost all activities - I fully blame nursing for this, before I started my training I never napped now it's whenever I can squeeze one into my day!
8. A really bright luggage tag - I hate the baggage carousel anxiety; a disgustingly loud tag would have made it much easier to spot our bag. It's another thing to add to the list for the next holiday (we are off to Oman in September).
9.  Nipple Cream - not for nipples but for almost everything else! I use the Lasinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream as lip balm; barrier cream when Casper has a sore bum and on all of us if we get sore/dry skin. It is a life saver and would have been lush on my sun burnt shins and on Casper's legs where his swim nappy rubbed.
10. More snack food for Casper - I pack lots for the plane journeys but didn't think about the days that we were there. We were in a pricey hotel so we avoided eating there at all costs! But this did mean we sometimes had quite big gaps between meals, so Casper ended up picking on foods that I would not normally give him so often (packets of crisps and biscuits) which were easy to get and throw in a bag. But if I had been more prepared I could have brought dried fruit or baby snack foods with us to tide him over. 

This was our first abroad holiday so I don't think we did too badly but there is definitely things to remember and change for the next trip!