UK holiday essentials!

When holidaycottages.co.uk asked me what items I wouldn’t leave at home when holidaying in the UK, it wasn’t too difficult to think of a few must have essentials.  UK holidays means we can forget about luggage restrictions and subject to items fitting in the car then they can come with us.

For me, my number one item that I struggle to leave behind is my laptop.  I know, I know, you must be thinking I’m a complete internet addict!!  Well if the truth me told I do miss the internet although if I was to go abroad I would go cold turkey for a week.

With wifi being potentially available on a UK holiday I always like to keep in the loop with what’s going on.  I know I can check my phone for this but I use my laptop for more than just being online.  I always take a mountain of photos when I’m away with the kids on the beach, the kids in the park, what I’m eating, drinking, the sunsets in the sky, the scenery around us, you name it, I snap it!  So there is nothing worse than coming home to hundreds of photos that need sorting, deleting, editing etc.  If it’s just our little family away on holiday, I take half an hour or so each evening when the kids are in bed to add all the photos of the day to my laptop and sort them out ready for my return home.  I then pour a rather large glass of wine to unwind for the day and spend the rest of the evening with the husband.

holiday 1

One thing I like to pack if staying in the UK is my own beach towel.  I know generally abroad these are provided but in the UK I like to have something that feels and smells like my own, you can relax and sink into them so much better.  Also I’d never leave the house without my sunglasses, yes I may be a tad obsessed but there’s nothing worse than going on the school run and whilst standing in the playground a glint of sunshine peeks behind a cloud and I’m stood squinting at other mothers.  The same goes for UK holidays, they may not be predicted sunny weather but you can be sure it will poke through the clouds at some point and I can’t bear the the thought of any deeper wrinkles around my eyes than have already begun!  Along with that goes the regulatory suncream and aftersun, if you have the room, pack it – nothing worse than seeking strange, expensive brands from local shops once you reach your destination!

holiday 2

Reading material is essential, ok, most of my time is spent on a UK holiday playing with the kids on the beach, taking them to a local attraction, showering the sand off them, feeding them and having fun family times, but surely somewhere in there I can sneak a bit of me time to read a few novels.  Being in the UK doesn’t restrict me to kindles, tablets and the like, I can take real paper novels, as many as I want, so why not?

holiday 3

Not forgetting the kids, they adore the beach, they want to play in the sand.  If I was going abroad I’d restrict them to one bucket and spade each that would be tightly packed within a suitcase, the bucket stuffed full of socks!  But no, on a UK break they can take an entire range of beach accessories, packed separately from your clothes – an added bonus!

holiday 4

As you can tell, UK breaks definitely appeal to me these days, particularly with young ones, I love not having restrictions on what I take, I pack what I want, take what I want and we are all happy!!

This is my entry into the holidaycottages.co.uk must-haves competition

World Book Day, Pirates and Holiday Reading

World Book Day is an opportunity for us all to get inspired to read and pick up a book.

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.

The idea is for publishers and bookshops to promote books and reading to everyone in the hope that we get pleasure and enjoyment out of reading.  In the UK World Book Day is keen for children to be encouraged to read and it’s promoted across schools where children are issued with a voucher for a free book or money off a higher value book.

Miss M’s school is no exception and today are celebrating with a Pirate themed day at school.  All the days activities are centred around pirates, all the children seem so excited.  Miss M was dressed before I got out of bed this morning (unheard of!), as she couldn’t wait to get her pirate costume on ready.

World book day 2 At school they will be singing lots of pirate songs as well as reading pirate themed books.  I think it’s great to make a topic fun that children enjoy and encourage them to read at the same time.

world book day 1As important as it is for children to read books, I think it’s a great way for adults to relax too.  There’s nothing better than having a good book to read and enjoy.  I used to be an avid reader but since having children I struggle with time.  I do like to take a book on holiday though and can usually manage a chapter or two while the children play.

Thomas cook have come up with a clever new app to help you pick a book to take with you on holiday.  Just enter your holiday destination and favourite book genre and it will suggest the perfect book to read while you are away.  It even includes books for children and teenagers so a great way for everyone to find book inspiration before a holiday.

Why not try the Holiday Book Selector and see what your perfect holiday book would be?

Thomas book

This is a sponsored post.

My Family Holiday Destination with On The Beach

We love going on holiday, who doesn’t?  We try to get away every year, although since having children we haven’t ventured outside of the uk with them yet.  I do miss my city breaks and trips abroad but decided to wait until the children had moved on from the baby stage, out of nappies and didn’t need a pushchair abroad.  Well, I think that time has finally come, with Mister B turning 3 tomorrow and Miss being 5, we need to take that adventure on an aeroplane and start exploring foreign ground.

My children’s ideal holiday is sitting on a beach, playing in the sand with a pool to mess around in, the sea to explore and lots of sun, so a great place to find all those things is the Balearics.  With guaranteed sunshine mummy can sunbathe with her book, while daddy can help big huge sand castles in the miles of golden beaches.  Then we can all take a dip in the amazing swimming pools for some family afternoon fun to cool down.   The family hotels in the Balearics have so much more to offer with kids clubs to give me a daddy a bit of child free time, lots of new flavours to taste in the all inclusive restaurants and we can even go for a spot of shopping in the local town.  We would love to make this our family holiday next year!

On the Beach, holiday beach balearics familyThis is our entry to win an On the Beach holiday to the Balearics