Lifestyle, food and drink, and our family life and travel adventures.
Over the summer, in particular, we love to get out and explore and visit new places. Especially since we got a dog a few years ago, we love to be out and about with her at the weekends.
I love family days out so much, but I have always fretted a bit before we go out for a full day and worry that I’ll forget something important and our whole day will be ruined! Especially when you have young children, you can’t really just rock up somewhere, not giving any thought to your day beforehand – to have a fun day for all of you requires a bit of planning beforehand!
So now I like to make sure that I am fully prepared and that I always pack particular things for days out so we can all enjoy ourselves as much as possible! Of course, you don’t want to be carrying around tons of heavy stuff you don’t need, but I find that if I have certain things always with us for days out, then I can relax a lot more!
You obviously need a bag to carry everything you need for your day out, and ideally, a backpack is best for this. I’ve done so many days out over the years with a heavy handbag on my shoulder, making me so uncomfortable and making my shoulders ache! So now I always carry a backpack, which is so much more comfortable. I still have one that is more like a stylish handbag than a sports-type one, and it still works really well and fits loads in but without being really heavy, although I do take a bigger one with more compartments and space if it’s going to be a long day out.
A backpack also means you have two free hands to hold onto the kids or dog! Now that Ava is older, I do encourage her to take her own little bag with a few lighter things in so that it’s not always up to me!
Adventures outdoors over the summer require you to always have sun protection with you, even if it looks like it might be a cloudy day! I always buy those little bottles you can get from Nivea or Soltan that are great for days out or one of those little sticks for extra high protection on faces that is easy and clean to use whilst out and about.
Over the warmer months, a hat to protect little heads from the sunshine is really important, too, and they don’t have to take up much space if you get a soft one.
Being outdoors so much over the warmer months does mean that little accidents can and will happen, and it’s never nice for you or for them when they fall over and hurt themselves, but it’s just one of those things. I know I find it hard to let go and let my daughter or my nieces and nephews play freely when we are outdoors without worrying they might get hurt and telling them to be careful!
But childhood is a time to play and have little adventures without any fear or thought for what might happen (within reason!).
So, I like to make sure that I always have a few plasters and an antiseptic spray or wipes with me. Ava can get quite funny about having little cuts and scratches and likes to keep pointing them out and struggles to forget about them. When she was younger, sticking a fun kids plaster over them helped her to just forget about it and get back to playing and having fun.
I also try to always keep wipes in the car and a small pack in my bag – I know we’re all trying to use them less, and we definitely are doing that – but they’re so handy to have when we really need them for sticky hands and faces, spillages or little accidents! Even now Ava is older, I still tend to carry a small pack with us!
Anyone who has children knows that you have to have snacks on you at all times! Whether it’s to prevent a meltdown when they’re tired and grumpy later on in the day or to keep them going until you can stop somewhere for lunch, snacks are imperative for a day out!
Raisins are always a good, travel-friendly option, and they don’t take up much space and I always find mini rice crackers or healthy snack bars like those Nakd bars or similar always go down well. I’ll often also take a banana in the car, but I wouldn’t carry that with me because I’ll end up forgetting it’s there!
And, of course, you always need water (or whatever your kids drink) with you on days out. It can be annoying having to carry water bottles with you, but there’s no point in having to keep buying them when you’re out. Plus, it’s better for the environment too – I hate it if I ever have to buy a plastic bottle of water from a shop now.
I always like to have an antibacterial hand gel with me. I hate feeling like my hands are dirty, but there isn’t always a place to wash them when you need to, or the public toilets have no soap, so having some hand gel with me makes me feel better.
It’s also really good if you’re by the seaside and spend time at the amusements as hands are always disgustingly filthy after that! I really like the ones that come in a spray or a foam to carry with me, as they can’t leak in the same way as a gel and cover everything in your bag!
Clearly, if we’re walking through the countryside, then I am unlikely to lose my child, but at a busy event or at an attraction with loads of people, then, of course, it could happen. Now that Ava is older, I don’t tend to worry as much – she’s very responsible and isn’t going to suddenly run off like a toddler might.
But when she was younger (and didn’t have a phone), I liked her to wear one of these identity wristbands with my details on just in case the worst should happen, and I lost her.
You may be planning on not spending anything on your day out, but it’s always good to have a bit of cash on you just in case you have to pay 20p for the loo or somewhere only takes cash. I hardly ever have cash on me anymore, so I have to make sure I find some to put in my purse before a day out.
Some car parks only accept cash even now, so it’s always handy to keep a few pounds in your car or purse just in case.
I think we all love taking photos of our kiddos, so sometimes I like to take my proper camera with me to get some really nice pictures that I’ll treasure. But more often than not, I can’t be bothered to lug it around with me, so I just take loads of photos on my phone and still tend to get some that I love.
So I always make sure that my phone is fully charged when we leave and also often will plug it into the in-car charger to keep it topped up. I also often take my external battery pack with me because I really, really hate running out of charge and not being able to take photos or use my phone in general.
I also always make sure I put a change of clothes (including underwear!) for Ava in the car, along with a blanket in case we decide to have a spontaneous picnic or fancy a sit on the grass. We also always keep a ball in the car so we can have a play about and burn some energy if we need to.
Sometimes I’ll also take a couple of books or the iPad in the car if we are driving quite far because whingey children on car journeys is rubbish!
There are a few things that are a good idea to do before you even leave for your day out, which will help everything go more smoothly:
Hopefully, by being prepared with what you pack for a family day out, you can all relax, have lots of adventures, and lots of fun!
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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