Category Archives: packing tip

Long Distance Travel Must-Haves!

Its less than 10 days now until I leave for my trip to China, and being the uber-organised person that I am, I’m practically packed already!

Yes, I know it sounds a bit crazy, but getting stuff together early highlights any issues – clothes that need washing, discovering something has a hole in it etc – so you don’t have to rush around the night before your flight!

I’m also a bit of a packing pro; having been lucky enough for travelling to always be a big part of my life, I’ve learnt from many mistakes and gained a lot of wisdom over the years, and I’ve found especially for long distance holidays, there’s always a few key things that make the cut for every trip.

Long Distance Travel Must Haves

A super comfy romper

If I know I’ll be boarding a long haul flight, this is an absolute must. I can be a real fidget on flight, especially when I’m trying to sleep, so not having to worry about pulling things up, down and round while I move is ideal, and wearing something a bit baggy means I don’t overheat or freeze. Also, whether its a playsuit or a jumpsuit, you’ll generally find it pretty easy to adapt to difference climates depending on where you’re jetting off to!

This year, I’m wearing this Stitch & Pieces beauty!

Sunglasses

Would you believe that until 2014, I never ever wore sunglasses.. Four-eyes problems right? I finally decided to spring for a pair of nice prescription Ray-Bans for a trip to Florida, and its probably the best decision I ever made; I mean, its easy to pick up a pair of sunglasses anywhere, but not so easy if you’re blind as a bat like I am! Even if you’re unsure on the weather where you’re headed, it can’t hurt to be prepared!

Basic First Aid and Personal Products

We’ve all got our preferences when it comes to this sort of thing, so I’m not gonna give you a full run down on what I bring, but its always worth bringing your essentials, should you need them for any reason – painkillers, antihistamines, creams etc – and although they’re not hard to find in local pharmacies, I always bring plasters and blister plasters.

Girls, also don’t forget to do your period maths before your trip; I know we don’t like to think about it, but what’s worse: having to pack a handful of tampons or being caught out abroad?

Socks

This is something that I’ve learnt from my dad: you can never have too many pairs of socks. My sister and I used to resist this, but as we’ve got older and wiser, we’ve realised he really does know best! Yes, I know sometimes sandals and flip flops seem like the best footwear, but comfortable shoes and socks will always win out – I’m a Converse All-Star kinda gal!

Hairbands

Waist-length hair does not always travel well! Generally I’ll always have a hairband on my wrist, with about a million more in my suitcase, including scrunchies and headbands, so that I can get my hair out of my face for travelling, and also keep it under control should the climate be against it!

Is there anything you can’t travel without?

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My European Roadtrip – What I’m Packing

Guys, I LEAVE FOR EUROPE TOMORROW!!!

Yeah, I’m just a tad excited, and when I’m excited for a holiday, I start packing stupidly early. I’m not even kidding, my clothes have been packed for a week already! So today I’m going to share with you what I’ll be bringing with me – not the entire contents of my suitcase or anything, but the main bits, and my ‘car kit’ etc!

Suitcase essentials

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Obviously, my case is primarily full of clothes, and I’ve been planning my outfits for ages (cos I can’t just wing it!), as well as undies and socks and tights etc. I’m also bringing my own towel and a full washbag, because I can’t rely on half the hotels I’ll be staying at to provide some of these bits.

Disneyland Paris

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I’m so excited for my birthday weekend in DLP, and therefore necessary Mickey ears have been packed, as well as my lovely new tote bag, and I’m looking forward to revealing my beautiful birthday dress, which I’ll be wearing in the parks on Saturday!

The Tech

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I can’t go anywhere without my camera, of course, and I’ll be bringing my laptop so I can regularly back up photos, as well as blogging my adventures. Of course my phone will be coming, and I’ve got a European data sim so that I can keep connected in low wifi areas, and obviously I’ll be bringing all the relevant chargers and travel adaptors!

Car Kit

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As its a road trip, I’ve got to make sure I’m stocked up with the necessary items for driving in Europe: breathalyzers, a safety triangle, headlamp diffusers and a high-vis jacket are legal requirements in most countries. I’ve also got a full European atlas – as well as my new satnav – a blanket, first aid kit, torch, and all my necessary paperwork: European breakdown cover documents and car registration. As you can see, I’ve organised it all in this handy car-boot organiser!

Food

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I’m not going to be stuffing the car full of food, but in order to save myself a bit of money (I am on a budget after all!), I’ll be bringing a selection of breakfast options – cereals, biscuit bars etc – to save the cost of breakfast each day, or lunch if my hotel provides breakfast, as well as a few snacks and possibly a couple of ‘instant’ meal options, should the facilities be available for me to heat my own meals. I’m also bringing some bottled water for long journeys, as well as those handy little squash bottles!

So tomorrow I’ll be packing all this into my little car, and we’ll hit the road! Do you have any road trip essentials?

xoxo

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Family means nobody gets left behind..

This post is going out at Disney so as not to ruin the surprise for the members of the group who follow this blog!

So if you’ve read my blog, you know I put together goodie bags for the girls. This was well known by everyone (except the girls, obviously!), but what they didn’t know was that magic leaves out no-one..

So I put together goodie bags for everyone! And for these ones, I enlisted the help of the girls, they loved being part of the secret (we called it our ‘secret Disney mission’) 🙂

For the ladies, I found cute red and white spotty totes and filled them with treats like lip balm, nail files, cute Minnie phone socks etc, and park essentials: plasters, glow sticks etc.

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The daddies got socks, headphones and Star Wars glow sticks wands packed up in handy reusable themed bag

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On top of these, we had the most fun picking out phone cases for everyone!

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Keeping it in the families, my parents and sister all had Toy Story ones, and my aunt and uncle had Winnie the Pooh 🙂

The difficulty with keeping all the goodie bags secret, however, was packing them up (which I managed to do by hiding the adult ones inside the kiddy ones), and getting rid of everyone for enough time to sneak them into the hotel rooms for the big reveal..

And herein lies the beauty of the secrets! While the adults know I need the girls out of the rooms, they don’t know that I also need them gone, so by creating a large distraction eg: let’s go look for the pool, and filling the girls in on the plan, both parties believe they are the ones keeping the secret, giving me the time to sneak into all the rooms to put out the presents, with a note from The Disney Fairy, and leaving everyone else none the wiser!

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Disney Packing Must-Have #5

A mini first aid kit, or at least a few supplies

Its unfortunate but true that holidays rarely go without some little medical mishap; sunburn, blisters, headaches, the list goes on.. And while Disney World has medical stations, and there’s drugstores in the area, its still better to be prepared with a few basics:

1. Plasters and blister plasters

2. Painkillers, including kid friendly ones

3. Allergy medication and anti-histamines

4. After-sun lotion or aloe vera

5. Travel sickness aids

And anything else you think you may need, better safe than sorry!

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Disney Packing Must-Have #4

Spare memory cards

You’re about to make some magical memories, the last thing you need is the dreaded ‘MEMORY FULL’ flashing across your screen as you’re about to capture them.

And although memory cards these days have incredible capacities (my dad just bought an 128GB card for his high-quality camera that will hold 19,000 hi-def images), you can never be too prepared. It may seem a little excessive, but I would recommend bringing 3: one in the camera, one spare in your bag (in a ziploc/waterproof bag) and one in your hotel to trade in if any get too full.

Say cheese..!

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Disney Packing Must-Have #3

drinks page

Flavouring for water

If you’re prepared, you never need pay for a drink in Disney World. Why?

Water is available everywhere, free of charge, from drinking fountains to counter service restaurants throughout the parks,all you need is a bottle to store it and you’re set for the day. During the summer months it’s so important to keep hydrated during the day, the last thing you need on your trip is to feel rubbish because you didn’t drink enough.

So if, like me, you prefer something with a bit of flavour to it, flavourings like Kool Aid or concentrates like Squash’d or Drops (a bit less messy than Kool Aid) are ideal; they’re small enough to pop in a pocket if you don’t carry a bag, and are super concentrated, so one little bottle can last ages. Plus, you’ll find it easier to get the kids to drink up!

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Disney Packing Must-Have #2

Little Mermaid

A swimsuit

While you might be thinking ‘duh, of course I’ll need a swimsuit!’, but its important that you bring an all-in-one style suit as well as a two piece bikini, and the reason for that is science..

Picture the scene: Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, scorching Florida day, nice big slide opening out into a pool full of people, and while gravity might be pulling your body down, your top is going to want to stay put and fly back up. Its happened to everyone, embarrassing or what?

So save the bikini for the hotel pool or lying out in the sun, and save your dignity by packing a one-piece for the waterparks! 🙂

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Disney Packing Must-Have #1

The first of many posts, I’ll be posting a different packing must-have every day! 🙂

Mini Sharpies

As well as taking up less space, mini Sharpies come with handy little loop you can use to attach them to bags or zips, so you’ve always got one to hand; you’ll need them!

Sharpies make the perfect pen for autographs – nice and fat for characters to hold, don’t dry out easily, available in every colour imaginable and, of course, permanent, so perfect if you want autographs on tshirts or other unique items.

On top of autographs, having a permanent marker to hand means you can label your resort mugs, bags, strollers, valuables, children..

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