Orchard Toys Mini Games - Build a Beetle

This weekend the girls went for a sleepover withe Grandma and Grandpa - they were incredibly excited about it and spent much of the afternoon packing and prepping for their adventure.  The girls each packed an overnight bag with one cuddly toy but they also wanted to take a book to read and a game to play; mini games from Orchard Toys are the perfect type of game to pack when travelling away from home because they are so compact and are suitable for family members of all ages.

Build a Beetle is a mini game from Orchard Toys in which you take it in turns to spin a number - for each unique number you spin, you get to choose another body part for your beetle.  Once you've collected all six body parts your beetle is complete.  It is a fun game for Holly who is proud when she recognises her numbers correctly but is is also fun for all of us because of the element of chance - your beetle's completeness is governed by the spinner.

Each beetle has a fun friendly face and a totally different costume.  The parts are identified by colour.

The box for Build a Beetle is so small that it could fit into the front pocket of Holly's rucksack which she took as an overnight bag. For a week's holiday you could take a few mini games with you and not have to worry about filling up your suitcases.  In the mini games range you'll also find dominoes, snap, lotto, snakes and ladders and matching pairs all suitable for upto 4 players; they each cost £4.99.

Mellow Mummy's Travel Sleep Tips for Kids

Lara and Holly are very lucky to have had plenty of opportunities in their short lives to travel with us both in the UK and abroad.  As a family, we very much enjoy spending weekends away from home to visit family, visit a special children's attraction or simply to explore the country.  I will admit though that, as fun as our travels are, sometimes it can be very hard work to get the girls to settle to sleep when we are staying in a hotel - the excitement of a night in a new place often means that the girls are unsettled or over-exhausted.

Premier Inn understands that getting your child into a regular sleep routine can be one of the biggest challenges as a parent and, if you’re staying in an unfamiliar environment such as a hotel, they may become unsettled. This autumn half-term, Premier Inn are working with the founder of The Children’s Sleep Charity to find solutions and advice for parents who may be travelling with kids.  As we are a family who travel quite a bit, they've asked me to share my Mellow Mummy tips for helping your children settle to sleep while travelling away from home.

When we stay in a hotel together as a family, we always try and book a family room which has enough space for all of us.  Even though the girls sleep in the same room us as, we like to try and make sure that they go to bed as close as possible to the same time as they normally do at home.  We have found that the best way for us to get the girls to sleep is to make sure that there is a total blackout at bedtime.  When the girls were younger we used to try and simply dim the lights so that Mr. B. and I could read, or we used to try and watch the TV very quietly but we found that the girls wouldn't settle, or if they did, they would wake up and desperately try and stay awake with Mummy and Daddy.

Unfortunately, enforcing bedtime at the normal time of night means that Mummy and Daddy end up having to settle down at the same time of night!  Switching the lights off is by far the most effective way of getting the girls to fall asleep...but it almost always sends us to sleep too.  Thankfully, when we are travelling, we've usually had a really exciting day out, or else we have a very early start the next morning so an early night does us good too so these days we tend to settle down to sleep at the same time as the girls.

Before blackout we calm the girls down with a bit of quiet time, either chilling in front of the TV or else we dim the lights and read them a bedtime story.  Teddy bears and story books come with us on EVERY trip.

We have found, over the years, that settling the girls to sleep in a hotel room is easier if we haven't spent very long in the room during the day.  We try and get out to explore (and wear them out) during the day.  On rainy days when you're tempted to spend more time in your room, it can often result in the kids feeling that the hotel room is a playground...which spells trouble at bedtime.

Unless we are travelling for a specific evening event, we always like to eat dinner either in the hotel, or within walking distance of the hotel.  This makes sure that the girls haven't got the opportunity to fall asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel.  The transition from car to hotel room can often result in everyone feeling wide awake again.

Finally, after the ULTIMATE stressful night in Cambridge last year, we have a strict rule of no sugary drinks before bedtime.  We learned that lesson the hard way.

Holiday Fun with Peppa Pig and Friends

Half term feels like a distant memory.  We took the girls away to France for fun and frolics on the beach.  It was a blimming brilliant way to spend the half-term holidays but now we're back and on the downhill slope towards the long school summer holiday.

This spring there are lots of holiday inspired activities to be found on the Peppa Pig grown-ups website.  There are downloadable counting worksheets, i-spy travel kits, a recipe for homemade lemonade (perfect for sipping in the garden) as well as instructions for how to make your own paper kite.

Not only are there plenty of Peppa Pig activities for your family to take part in, but this summer sees the launch of some special holiday essentials from Peppa Pig.

First up is a new range of Peppa Pig toys with a holiday theme from theme parks to beaches, Peppa and George will be busy this summer.  This Peppa Pig Jumbo jet really struck a chord with Holly having arrived just after we had returned from our own holidays on an aeroplane.  Holly has enjoyed packing Peppa's suitcases into the hold of the plan and then letting Peppa take turns acting as a passenger, or as the pilot in the plane.  There are three seats in the plane so you can pair this Peppa Pig Jumbo jet with one of the two-packs of holiday themed collectible Peppa Pig figurines featuring your child's favourite stars in their swimming cossies!

Also new in the Peppa Pig holiday range are these great travel accessories.  This clever Peppa Pig travel pillow is reversible and turns into a soft cuddly toy.  You can use the pillow to support your little one's head when on a plane or a long car journey.  It is available in Peppa colours or George colours.  Holly is just at the age now when she wakes from a sleep when travelling with an awfully sore neck so this will be perfect for our long drive up from Berkshire to Cumbria during the summer holidays.  It has the added bonus that it can be used at bedtimes as a cuddly toy once you reach your destination!

Also in the travel range is a handy car seat organiser.  I've wanted a car seat organiser for some time because I know (having taken a fair few epic road trips over the last few summers) that my car normally fills up with food and drink debris, crayons, leapfrog games and i-spy cards.  This Peppa Pig brightly coloured car seat organiser straps over one of the front seats of the car and straps in place.  It has one large pocket with a transparent lining which could house a DVD player or a magazine or larger items such as tablets or games.  Lower down there are pockets of several different sizes which can house pencils, paper, drinks and snacks to help you make it through your journey!

And finally, to provide a little bit of in-flight entertainment, or an evening distraction when you are on your travels, these Peppa Pig travel colouring and re-usable stickers sets are a simple, light weight solution that you can put in your suitcase or hand baggage and use to keep the peace when you are travelling!

Ring Handheld Vacuum Cleaner Review

I never thought I would become the kind of person who had a messy car but parenthood does strange things to us - quite why I ever thought it would be a good idea to offer my toddler a packet of raisins while she was sat in her car seat, I really don't know.  I have been finding squished raisins on the back seat of our Audi for the past 12 months!

Travelling with kids seems to inevitably result in dirt, debris, food and bits of sparkly stuff strewn all over the car.  The trouble is, I really don't have the time or the inclination to be dragging out the vacuum to the car every weekend to put it back to rights and I definitely can't afford to get the seats and carpet cleaned professionally more than once in a blue moon. I've been contemplating getting a handheld vacuum for some time and so the new Ring Rechargeable Vacuum Cleaner was perfectly timed for the challenge.

A small, handheld vacuum, the Ring Rechargeable Vacuum Cleaner is cordless so you can charge it up on the handy charging unit inside the house and then take the vacuum out to clean the car.  It is very compact and light, so if you know you are going on a family journey that could get messy, you can take the Ring cleaner with you.

For me, a handheld vacuum in the car is perfect for keeping on top of the mess.  After a journey to the park, or a trip to the grandparents I can quickly whizz the vacuum cleaner around the back seat of the car to put it back to rights.  It is powerful enough to pick up the main pieces of dirt and debris but I'll probably need a professional clean every few months to really get the car clean.  This is the perfect solution to reduce the frequency of "big" cleans in that back seat.

The Ring Rechargeable Vacuum Cleaner has a couple of nifty features that make it ideal for use in a car.  Firstly there is a set of LEDs which you can switch on to light up dark nooks and crannies.  Perfect for that void down the edge of Holly's ISOFIX car seat where the raisins collect!  Next, it comes with a set of attachments which make it stand apart from many handheld vacuums; these can allow you to really get into the pile of a carpet (either inside or outside the car), into tight corners or hard to reach places.

The charging unit itself is also sleek and compact; you simply slide the vacuum onto it so that it sits upright while it charges.  I was a bit surprised to find out that the Ring vacuum cleaner only held 16 minutes of continuous charge but then I stopped to wonder when I would ever think of spending more than 16 minutes cleaning the back seat of my car!!!  The cleaner is easy to empty (you simply click off the end piece) and you can see into it to know when it needs emptying.

Ring also make a 12V version of their handheld vacuum cleaner which has a 4m cable and you can run it directly from the car power supply.  Both are perfect for cleaning up the children's crumbs and sparkly bits in the back of the car!

Keeping the Girls Entertained When Travelling Abroad

Last week, we took the girls to France for what was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing family holidays we have had to date - it was brilliant.  Before we traveled, I had been apprehensive about flying with Holly; she can be a handful even when sitting in the living room for five minutes so I wasn't relishing the though of even a 2 hour flight with her!  Thankfully, both of my girls were angelic for the flights both to and from the South of France.  Phew.

Holidays are meant to be relaxing but research commissioned by Airport Parking and Hotels has shown that flying can be a fairly stressful experience from check-in, through the queues at security all the way to waiting for your bags at the carousel on the other end.  So here are my top tips for how to reduce the stress of flying with children.

1.  Pack Light

Travelling with children is hard work.  Don't make it harder by packing everything you can ever think of.  Have you ever tried carrying three suitcases, two car seats, three handbags, a camera AND herding two children onto an airport carpark bus at 2 o'clock in the morning?

This holiday we consciously packed light.  We are lucky that we no longer need to pack baby food, nappies and wipes but even so, we made a decision to pack only enough clothing for half the week and bank of there being washing facilities.  This meant at least one less suitcase to take.

2. Know the plan!

Travelling with the girls is always so much easier when we know exactly where we are going, and how we will get from A to B. This is partly because it offers the promise of the next exciting thing to come - first the car, then the bus, then the plane, then the hire car and then the hotel.  The girls thought it was great fun to tick off each of the different forms of transport on their travels... for us, it was about being organised and prepped for the journey ahead.

3. Take Snacks.  Lots of them.

Flights are only survivable with small children through the medium of food. We took muesli bars and bought crisps and treats at the airport to last the journey.  Our flight did offer a small snack but the girls didn't enjoy it so I was glad that I had backup.

4. Buy a Magazine or Book at the Airport

A kids magazine with colouring or puzzles and stories is a great way of passing the time on a flight - the magazine also provides entertainment during the stay.    We enjoy taking the girls to the bookshop in the airport to chose a picture or story book to take with us that we can read in the evenings of our holiday, or on the plane for a bit of quiet time.

5. Tech Trumps Everything

I never thought I would be the sort of Mum that relies on kids tech to keep the kids entertained but I'll admit that on this holiday we let the girls take their Leappads on the plane with them.  This meant they each had to carry a bag, which gave them a sense of responsibility.  They played on their tablets for a short while on each flight, each wearing the headphones.  Peace and quiet!

The Shrunks Toddler Travel Bed Review

Holly is at a funny age for travelling. Too big for a travel cot, too small really to be trusted in a full sized single bed, especially a bed away from home where the likelihood of falling out is much greater. The Shrunks make an innovative inflatable travel bed for toddlers (and one for older kids) which inflates in minutes and is sturdy enough to spend the night on.

I will admit that we have tried toddler travel beds in the past and, while they've seemed fine for a fun sleepover event at home, when we've had to actually use them in anger when travelling abroad, or in the UK, we've slowly stopped using them because of the stress of having to spend 20 minutes manually pumping them up!  The Shrunks Tuckaire toddler bed comes with a really compact electric pump which you can use to inflate and deflate the bed.

It takes about 3 minutes to pump the toddler bed up.  The bed is in two parts, the central part on which your child sleeps, this area is coated with a soft, thick fabric which helps to keep them warm during the night.  The outer part creates the height and the protective sides which prevent your toddler from rolling out during the night.  You inflate both parts separately.  Both myself and my husband have struggled a bit with inflating The Shrunks Tuckaire bed due to the valve which should flip back the second you pull out the pump (to stop the air from rushing out)... there must be a knack to it which we haven't yet discovered.

Despite this, I really like the bed.  When deflated, it is as compact as a child's sleeping bag (including the pump) and when inflated, it offers a really good bed size suitable for even the most fidgety of toddlers.  The bed is suitable from about 2 years to 6 years old. It packs away in its own drawstring bag and can squeeze into small spaces in among your suitcases in the car boot.



The feature we like most about the bed (as opposed to the pump... which rocks) is the ability to tuck in the sheets or blanket around your child into the gap between the two parts of the bed.  This really helps when you have a child like Holly who just needs to be tucked in tightly to help her settle off to sleep, otherwise she is up and about within seconds!

For children over 6 The Shrunks make a similar children's inflatable travel bed.  They also make an inflatable bed rail which tucks in under the sheets but can be deflated and popped away under the bed at other times.

   

Jurys Inn Derby Family-Friendly Hotel Review

During half term we took the girls to visit Alton Towers in Staffordshire.  Because it was a long way from home, we decided to make a weekend of it and stayed overnight at the Jurys Inn hotel in Derby city centre which is about a 35 minute drive from Alton Towers.

The Jurys Inn hotel in Derby made a great getaway for a family.  Our room was large enough to host all four of us (including a cot) comfortably.  Our room was well presented and very comfortable - everything I would expect from a chain of hotels, done well.  The view from our seventh floor room was amazing - the girls couldn't tear themselves away, especially after it had gone dark.

It was getting late by the time we arrived at the hotel so we decided to eat in the hotel and we were pleasantly surprised.  The children's menu was obviously not something that was regularly cooked (judging by the number of times the waiting staff had to take a copy into the kitchen for reference) but the girls both enjoyed their roast dinner and sausage and mash so much that nothing was left over.  We felt the children's menu presented good value but the normal dinner menu was a touch over-priced, even for hotel dining.  Although the dining area was well-furnished with highchairs, we felt the staff weren't well-prepared for dealing with children and a 2 hour turn around for dinner was hard work with two fidgety girls who couldn't sit still.

The Jurys Inn Derby hotel was very smart throughout - the lobby, bar and dining room all still felt like new.  It certainly didn't feel like a budget hotel and yet the room rates at the weekend were very competitive with budget brand hotels.  The hotel has limited on-site parking so we parked in a public multi-storey car park a short walk away (the hotel can provide a discount for this car park if you park within certain times of day).  I was very impressed to find out that this Jurys Inn also had a small onsite gym, but we didn't take advantage of it.

Breakfast was awesome.  There was literally everything you could think of providing for breakfast, including a big vat of porridge.  I think Holly tried some of everything - fruit, toast, cooked breakfast, cereal and pastries.

The most family-friendly part of our stay at Jurys Inn in Derby was bedtime, thanks to a selection of bedtime story books available from reception.  At many Jurys Inn hotels there is a Little Library selection of Egmont reading books and picture books for all ages that you can borrow during your stay.  The girls thought this was awesome because normally, when we are away from home, we don't have much luggage space for story books.

We arranged our Alton Towers trip separately through family but Jurys Inn Derby does offer a UK family break package.  One night’s bed and breakfast, based on 2 adults & 2 children sharing with up to four entry Tickets to Alton Towers starts from £160.

Disclosure: Jurys Inn supplied our overnight accommodation for the purposes of this review.

The Marwell Hotel - A Family-Friendly Review

Last weekend we took a much-needed break away as a family to the Marwell Hotel in Hampshire.  It was a great weekend away that we all enjoyed.

The Marwell Hotel is nestled in its own little patch of woodland.  The hotel comprises a series of wooden 'lodges' which are joined together with covered glass walkways.  The walkways make you feel like you are out among the trees even though you are tucked up in the luxury and warmth of the hotel - with the leaves falling around us, it was really very magical.

 

Describing the hotel as a series of lodges makes it sound incredibly rustic and when we first saw the lodges I was a little worried that they looked and felt a little bit like the kind of place you would visit on a school trip but in fact the Marwell hotel is very far from rustic.  Inside our room we felt very pampered indeed - the room was really smart, beautifully decorated, pretty spacious and packed full of special little touches that made us all smile.  The girls rushed straight to their bunkbed to investigate their free colouring sets while we headed straight for the REAL coffee maker and the complimentary cake!

Our room had a DVD player and all the rooms have one available on request along with a series of family DVDs that can be borrowed from reception.  There are also indoor games on offer as well as an outdoor play area for the children.

We dined in the Marwell Hotel restaurant which was a very smart affair.  The children were welcome during the early hours of the evening restaurant service and they were very well catered for.  The menu for children offered a small selection of smaller family favourite dishes cooked to the same high standards as the full adult menu... Lara was flummoxed when she was served her first ever amuse-bouche, a small mug of beetroot soup.  I got the impression that the staff didn't regularly cater for toddlers and pre-schoolers but that they did really well to try and respond to our needs throughout the evening.

We all enjoyed our dinner - it was great to be able to share such a grown-up meal with our girls and I was really glad that they enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant as much as we did.  Dinner for the four of us, including dessert, wine and drinks came to around £100.  I thought it was good value for a special meal but I think that it makes the package deals at the Marwell Hotel very appealing for families because some of the packages include dinner.

The Marwell Hotel also offer Zoofari package deals from £150 for a family room which includes family tickets to Marwell Wildlife which is a VERY short walk from the hotel.  We visited Marwell Wildlife after a scrumptious breakfast and had a wonderful day spotting snow leopards, rhinos, giraffes (Holly's favourite) and poison dart frogs (Lara's new discovery!).

On Sunday morning we took advantage of the hotel's leisure facilities.  We took the girls to the small swimming pool and had a ball - the girls don't often get to swim together and the pool was the perfect size for a little person like Lara to practice her swimming.  A morning dip is a great way to work up an appetite for a huuuuuuge cooked breakfast.  I thought the buffet breakfast was brilliant and catered for all sorts of different tastes and once again I was impressed by the little details such as mini pastries wrapped in a warm cloth which were served with our toast.

The Marwell Hotel is a short drive from Winchester in Hampshire and is easily accessible from the M3.

Image credit: Pool image courtesy of Marwell Hotel.  Undercover walkway image courtesy of www.lcphotographics.co.uk

Travelodge Cambridge - Our Family Weekend Away

We have done a lot of travelling as a family this year so far and Lara gets really excited every time we go to a hotel - there is something a little magical about staying away from home. When we go away we usually stay in budget hotels but I think we have learned over the past few occasions that budget doesn't have to mean that quality is compromised. Last weekend we were invited to stay at the brand new Travelodge in Cambridge on the Newmarket road which opened last month to see that Travelodge can offer quite a bit for their price!

Travelodge have been in Camrbidge for 25 years and to celebrate, they have built a shiny new hotel just outside the main shopping area in the centre of Cambridge. Their website warned us that parking was limited so when we arrived at about 6.30pm on a Saturday night I was a bit worried we would have to walk with our bags and the buggy from a nearby public car park but thankfully we found the very last space in their underground car park which meant we could take the lift straight into reception.

Our room was great. Functional, clean and tidy and surprisingly spacious. Lara had her own bed which had been made up for her on arrival and we had taken a travel bed for Holly. Lara's bed was a sofa by day and a bed by night - I think she found it a bit too firm. Our bed however was FAB - Travelodge pride themselves on the quality of the beds in their new-style hotels and I understand why; it was enormous!

The bathroom in our hotel room was... compact. As a tall lady, if I had wanted to use the bath, I probably would have had to bend myself double. But for the girls it was fine and anyway, there was a shower to use too. Simplicity was key in the bathroom - no nonsense and no-freebies like shower gel but like everything else in our room and the hotel in general, it was done well.

Having had a long drive to Cambridge, we didn't fancy venturing out into Cambridge to find dinner so we tried out the on-site restaurant in the Travelodge. The menu was full of classic pub basics such as lasagne, burgers and a simple curry. The prices were reasonable, given the level of convenience. I've had better pub food, I've had better value-for-money too but it was easy and convenient and I think that's what counts.

The restaurant was large and bright. The girls both had children's meals which included ice-cream for dessert (or something resembling ice-cream, anyway); we paid extra to add a fruit-shoot to their meals, which was a mistake, because the sugar rush then meant that neither girl wanted to go to sleep when we went back up to our room after dinner! By the time we left the restaurant, the bar was filling up with guests getting ready to go for their big night's out.

Despite the numbers of people clearly going out on the town, the hotel was really quiet and we had a great night's sleep. We paid for breakfast in the morning (the kids ate free) which was functional and efficient (cooked breakfast, cereal, pastries) but the scrambled eggs were terrifying (I don't think they had seen an actual physical egg for some time). We came away with full bellies with lots of energy for a long walk.

We spent Sunday at Wimpole Hall and Home Farm which is a National Trust property just outside Cambridge. The girls had great fun walking through the vast grounds and exploring the walled gardens while looking out for cows and sheep.

All too quickly, our weekend away was over. I had a great visit to the new Travelodge in Cambridge and would be more than happy to go back in the future.

You can see my full set of photos on the Mellow Mummy G+ page (see the big G+ follow button in the sidebar on the right!)

BabyZen Yoyo Review - The Ultimate Lightweight Buggy

As you probably know, this June we took another epic family road trip down to the sunny south of France and back again.  A 12 day, 2000 mile round trip.  Car boot space was at a premium, and since my old lightweight umbrella pushchair had gone to buggy heaven, I was panicking about what to do... there was simply no way I could fit our travel system into the boot as well as the luggage for a family of 4.  And then I discovered the Yoyo by Babyzen...

... We borrowed the Yoyo for the duration of our trip to really put it through its paces.  Could a lightweight, one-handed fold buggy this compact actually meet the day to day demands of a toddler on our travels?

This little sister looks proud of the Yoyo!

Babyzen is a French brand so we really looked the part on our holiday.  The Yoyo is a VERY smart pushchair that I felt proud to be pushing among the classy locals on the Cote d'Azur (in fact I did see another one pushed by a local!)

If you've watched the short video above then you will know how mind-blowingly easy the Yoyo is to put up and to fold away; it is designed to be able to use it with one hand while you hold your child in the other.  I'd say that I struggle to do it one handed but Mr. B. seems to have the knack.  Nevertheless, it is astonishingly quick and easy and I can't recommend it enough.  I LOVE it.

Chilling with the Yoyo in Port Grimaud

For a buggy so clearly designed with travel in mind, I was surprised at the other features it had to offer - no corners seem to have been cut in order to achieve this level of convenience.  It is extremely steerable, easy to recline when Holly fancies a nap, has a nice big sun shade (in a choice of colours) and a reasonably sized carry area underneath the seat.  The seat cover and sun shade come as a separate colour pack - I found them easy to fit and the seat pad seemed very thick and comfy.

Spot the Yoyo

I still can't get over how compact the Yoyo buggy is when folded - it was small enough to fit in our car footwell in front of Holly and it is small enough to be taken as hand-baggage on a plane!  The Babyzen Yoyo comes with a shoulder strap and a carry bag for when you are in transit.  I can picture a trip into central London being a lot less hassle with this buggy than normal as you could fold it up when on the train or tube or bus and sling it over your shoulder if you need to quickly carry it (and baby) up a flight of stairs.

The BabyZen Yoyo is not cheap (at a RRP of £309 - find stockists at Babyzen.com) but I still genuinely believe that it is great value for this price.  The buggy is suitable from 6 months upto 15kg.

Content and Calm Traykit Review

This is the TrayKit by Content & Calm.  It is a great travel item for children which is suitable for taking on aeroplanes or in cars.  On one hand the Traykit is a handy carry-on bag for your child to take with them all the little nick nacks that are vital when you're on the move.  And on the other, it folds out as a really useful tray that dangles from the chair in front.

Lara took her TrayKit with her on our latest 2000 mile road trip down to the South of France last month.  Lara packed into it her colouring book and pencils, a reading book, a writing book, a small cuddly toy (the poor old bear had to be squeezed in at times!) and a few DVDs for watching while we were driving long journeys.  I think Lara really enjoyed carrying her Traykit with her and she loved the sense of purpose and ownership of something she could keep with her in the car.

I think the TrayKit is primarily designed for use on an aeroplane and the tray, when fully folded out has quite a good stretch from the seat in front.  The tray has a raised edge all the way around so that pencils and toys won't roll off it - genius!  I found it to be a little unstable when strapped to the headrest of the car seat but it was stable enough for Lara to place her books on... I probably wouldn't have trusted her to balance a drink on it.  The surface is wipe-clean so it wouldn't matter so much if there were spillages!

On the whole, I think the TrayKit was a success while we were on our travels but I think there are a couple of areas where I would like to see it improved as it evolves - slightly more useful pockets and a more stable way of attaching to a car seat are high on my list.  I think Lara would have liked to see some bigger pockets, or fold out pockets inside... she also struggled a bit with the zip on the rounded corners of the satchel.

Lara is really looking forward to using her TrayKit again later in the summer.  The Content & Calm TrayKit costs around £25 and is available in a range of different pink or blue patterns.

10 Exciting Products for Travelling With Kids This Summer

This week we are off on our travels again. I feel like I'm becoming a bit of a pro when it comes to travelling with kids! Here are a few of my favourite summer travel products for toddlers and preschoolers.

1. Totseat
   The Totseat is an all time favourite in our household. It is a washable, squashable highchair that fits in your changing bag and is ideal for when you are going to be eating out at restaurants or staying in accommodation where there may not be a fixed highchair available.

   

   Lara in the Totseat

   
   
2. Content & Calm Traykit
   The Traykit from Content and Calm is part backpack, part tray. It is perfect for use on long plane, train or car journeys as it folds out further than a traditional tray to create a place for your child to play or eat from.

   

   Traykit in the car

3. Trunki
   We've tried other kids suitcases but nothing quite comes close to the Trunki. Both of our girls will be taking their Trunki suitcases with them this summer. It gives them a sense of ownership and they are great for sitting on while Mum and Dad drag them through hotel lobbies and airport lounges!

   

   Lara on the Trunki

4. Contigo Kids Drinks Bottle
   When you're travelling, the last thing you want is a leaky drinks bottle in your bag but during summer holidays it is important to keep the kids hydrated. While we are travelling by car this summer we are going to take Lara's Contigo Kids drinks bottles because they are leak-proof so won't spill everywhere over the back seat!

   

   Lara drinking from a leak-proof cup

5. Snoozeshade Plus
   My favourite buggy shade, the Snoozeshade Plus - I won't go on holiday without it! This lightweight buggy and pushchair cover keeps baby out of the sun with high UPF protection and also helps to provide a shady place for them to fall asleep when you're on the move. Very easy to fit and to remove when you want to reach into the buggy.

   

   Lara posing with the Snoozeshade Plus on the buggy

6. Lindam Flexiguard
   Our Lindam Flexiguard was originally bought as a spare for the Grandparents house but it folds up so compact that it is ideal for us to put in the car and take with us on holiday. As a travel stair gate it works well to block off access to undesirable parts of a hotel room or holiday let.

   

   Lindam Flexiguard

7. Baby Banz
   I will admit that the Baby Banz sunglasses weren't a great hit with Lara who used to always pull them off instantly. But Holly seems to tolerate them for a lot longer and it is comforting to know that her eyes are protected from the sun when on holiday.

   

   Looking cool in the Baby Banz

8. Splash About UV Sun Protection Suits
   We bought our girls matching Splash About UV sun protection suits for our winter holiday to provide high UV protection across their bodies in the sun when they were splashing by the pool or the beach. Splash About sell suits suitable for babies and children and they are stretchy and easy to put on.

   

   Matching Splash About UV Protection Suits

9. Content & Calm Cot Canopy Breeze
   The Cot Canopy Breeze is a versatile shade which covers an entire cot, cotbed or travel cot. For us it is ideal for taking on a sunny holiday because it can provide shade and darkness for our baby girl at a time in the evening when our holiday bedroom would otherwise be bright. It is tall enough that Holly can still stand up in it (with a very cool teepee type hanging mechanism) and has quick access if we need to attend to her during the night.

   

   Cot Canopy Breeze

10. Dream Tubes
    The Dream Tubes bed guard are so compact that I don't mind fitting them into the luggage just in case we need them. They comprise a fitted bed sheet with two inflatable tubes which act as a natural bed rail on both sides. This is great for children who may still roll out of bed when they are in an unfamiliar location.

    

    Dream Tubes

Other things we are planning on taking with us include the Flexibath folding baby bath, a Kiddicare travel cot and a set of mOmma plastic spoons and forks.

What are your top travel items for holidays with young children?