On Saturday we are going to France for a couple of months. We are flying from Manchester to Bergerac and then it will be about an hour drive to the gite we are renting. The flight back however is longer, we are flying to Exeter then have 4 hours waiting around until our flight to Manchester. Lucas and I have been getting his hand luggage ready over the last couple of days, making sure we have some good toys for travelling and travel games to keep us occupied whilst we are hanging around at the airport
Starting off with the suitcase, Lucas has a Trunki and a Skip Hop suitcase. I thought he would want to take the trunki as he can pull it along or ride on it. It’s also very hard wearing with it being a hard shell rather than soft but he has decided to take the Skip Hop giraffe suitcase instead.
Potwells cosy, ultra-toasty, luxury long hot water bottles are fab if you are going camping this summer for when it gets chilly overnight. They lovingly offer children (big and small) warmth and comfort, every day of the year. The lovable characters, Ursula the unicorn, Dustin the dinosaur and Zavi the zebra, bring a touch of magic and comfort at bedtimes, whether they are home or away on holiday.
Perfect for little explorers, the child-friendly binoculars promote STEM-based scientific observation of nature, animals and more, encouraging children to get outside and explore the world around them. Audio amplification will encourage children to use both sight and sound to explore their world. Take a look at this review for more information on the GeoSafari Jr Kidnoculars Extreme
I’ve also packed some small reading books, colouring books and crayons as well as a learning to write work book and learning to count work book
We got Grabolo about a year ago and love it. It is such a simple game and Lucas has so much fun playing with it. It’s a fab size for taking out with you and we often have it in Lucas’ bag for days out. ‘A roll of the dice determines the combination of colour and shape playing pieces that you have to grab, so react quickly. Once you’ve grabbed a piece, put it behind your back and don’t look at it. If you roll the dice and the piece isn’t there and someone has grabbed it before, be the first one to shout out who has it to either keep it (if you already have it) or steal the piece from another player.’ We don’t actually play it like that, we take turns to get whatever we roll, if the other person has the piece then we take it and the first person that has 10 pieces wins. This makes it easier for 3-4 years olds to play it and encourages them to learn to take turns.
Silly Safari is one of our newest games. The wild and wacky card game for all the family. How exciting to be on safari and trying to find all your favourite animals! ‘Hang on one of them has wandered off’ Be the first to spot the missing animal in this fun and frantic card game of observation and matching. The cards are double sided, one for an easier level and one for a harder level of play
Did you know that children school children aged between 4 and 14 lose, on average, seven weeks’ worth of knowledge retention in maths and English over the summer holidays? UK-wide that’s 70 million learning hours lost each year due to ‘summer learning loss’. If you would like an educational app for their tablets. Doodle has created four educational apps – DoodleMaths, DoodleEnglish, DoodleSpell and DoodleTables – using in-built intelligence and algorithms to construct work programmes unique to each child. Based on a child’s individual level, strengths and weaknesses they target a learner’s Zone of Proximal Development – the narrow band between what a learner can do with and without help – and continually adapt to set work at just the right level for them.
I have a Tesalate quick dry, sand free towel so I was looking to get Lucas one. I found this brand that I hadn’t heard of before and bought a poncho for Lucas in their clearance sale. Dock and Bay towel ponchos compact and lightweight, perfect for around the pool and at the beach. They are meant to dry 3 times faster than normal cotton towels and have mesh bottom pockets so the sand stays on the beach instead of returning with you. They also come in a backpack so the little ones carry carry them themselves when they aren’t wearing them. They even come with a 12 month warranty!
Lucas loves listening to his Amazon music and playing games on his tablet so wireless headphones are great for this and not disturbing anyone else around us. The Sudio headphones are collapsible meaning easy storage for travelling. To get 15% discount on the Sudio website use the code chillingwithlucas
I’ve bought Lucas some pool shoes from Lidl. They have extra grip on the bottom and should protect his feet if we are on a rocky area at the beach and prevent him from slipping around the pool
I’ve got Lucas a few sets of swimwear. I love Splash About and have bought UV sun and sea suits from them since his first holiday abroad. Designed in the UK and manufactured using the highest quality UPF50+ fabrics for that ultimate protection from the sun, the Splash About range of swimwear is fashionable, functional and super comfortable.
If you are planning a road trip, a decent car seat is definitely top priority. The Apramo EROS group 1/2/3 car seat is a multi-stage car seat that grows and adapts with your child. Suitable from 9 months, this forward- facing seat can be installed using the ISOfix points or with a belt. It has a top teether strap when used in the group 1 mode. It comes with a 5-point harness, features four recline positions and an easily adjustable headrest for comfort. There is superior side impact protection by EPS in the head support and the seat shell. It is incredibly plush too on the inside, making Lucas very comfortable.
This stylish, reusable 750ml Stainless Steel Water Bottle, is a sustainably sourced WAKEcup with an airtight, no leak, bamboo screw top to prevent accidental spills. It keeps drinks cold for 8 hours and can be handwashed or popped in the dishwasher. Purchase this WAKEcup and 10% of profits will go directly to our eco-charity partners The Marine Conservation Society, who campaign tirelessly to prevent the devastating effects of single use plastic pollution on our shared oceans and marine wildlife. I will also be taking my WAKEcup bamboo travel coffee mug which keeps drinks hot for an hour and cold for a few hours!
Lucas loves using a tablet cushion, it stops the tablet from falling on him when he’s lying down and not holding properly. It’s also great for when he’s on the plane and can watch something on his knee. The polystyrene beads mould and securely support your device allowing you to find your most natural and comfortable position. Made out of soft to touch velvet, giving a premium feel which also protects the screen. There are a variety of patterns and colours to choose from. If needed it can also double up as a head cushion!
Love them or hate them, tablets are great at keeping children occupied. Lucas got the Amazon Fire for Christmas. He’s got a variety of games on it, educational apps and listens to Amazon music. You can set parental locks on it so you know exactly what you’re child can get onto and is safe from the internet
Enjoy all the excitement of the classic BBC gameshow, Pointless, in a scaled-down, mini version ideal for travel and camping trips. The compact set includes all you need, with question cards, answer sheets, pencils and an answer sleeve, but without any need to find a table to play. Suitable for ages 12+ and for 2 to 5 players, this mini version of Pointless is a great way for family and friends to pass the time in between adventures. If you would like the chance to win the Pointless travel game, enter below x
Pointless travel game
Will be a great boredom buster – thanks
Sounds like a fun game.
A great guide thanks!
Some great ideas in this article and a great prize too
Looks like a fun giveaway.
sounds like a fab game
My children love Pointless… This will be great for our camping holiday
Great game for on the go
This looks perfect for my children to try out, next time we go on a long journey or holiday.
This game would be great on long journeys
We are getting married on a cruise ship with our friends and family and we have been starting to look what little things we can get the children. This would be fantastic for us #FingersCrossed
would be great to win this game 🙂
LOOKS GREAT ANYTHING WOULD HELP ON LONG JOUNEYS
I have a cousin who visits me quite a long distance and one of her boys is quite a handful, so this would make a nice thank you gift
Sounds great for a long journey
I love the sound of Silly Safari…I will have to look into getting that for my daughter.
Should be a good family game
this would be great for our hols
We like playing games as a family so this one would be good
This is great to keep busy on trips
this souudns perfect for long road trips!
Great game to play as a family xx
This would be amazing! have a 4 hour train journey coming up and love travel games to keep the family busy
Ideal for the summer holidays
Great for little ones car trips
I would take this with me when we take our nephews camping for the first time.
Great give away thank you just perfect for place like planes or restaurants
This would be great for the children and when we travel.
Pointless, a game show the family love to watch. Not easy to get a pointless answer, but a thrill when it’s done. Wonderful prize.
Our family love Pointless, this would be fab for camping hols x
so important to take everything for the kids to keep them amused then everyone has a happy holiday! Bonne Vacances!
Perfect for our summer holiday, we enjoy the tv show, so the game will be fun as well
It sounds great for long trips.
This would be great for the kids
Great ideas thanks
I love pointless! im terrible at it though
Looks a great game
This would come in handy as I normally resort to the old favourite I-Spy.
Looks great! Perfect for the family
Looks great! Perfect for the family !
Looks great! Perfect game for the family !
we’d love this for our next holiday
this would be ideal for the wet days when you cannot get out
Great for those ‘I,m bored’ times
Sounds good for those long trips
We love both board games and quizzes. We often take a few travel games away with us.
This looks like fun!
Brilliant ideas, thanks. And travel Pointless game actually seems like one that I would like to play, and that’s rare.
Me and my partner love pointless! This would be grest for car journeys with the kids!
This looks like so much fun
Wow, so glad they have made this into a game, what a lot of fun
this looks great for this summer and our trip to the highlands! it’s a drive, but worth it!
We love Pointless, this would be great.
Sounds like a great family game and lots of fun!
Hopefully stop my grandson being bored and get him off his ipad
This sounds great for keeping kids entertained on the go!
HUGE Pointless fans in our house! This would be ideal for our cottage holiday
We love this show! This could keep my boys quiet on car journeys too x
This would certainly give the kids something to do on those long journeys
brilliant to play thanks
brilliant to play thanks
Nice to get the brain working while travelling
A super little game. Thanks for the ideas and the giveaaay.
My boys love pointless!
This would be great for keeping my grandchildren entertained on car journeys!
This is fantastic. This would be a great way to keep my son entertained.
I do love playing along with Pointless on TV. I’m absolutely rubbish at it but I still have a try!
Sounds ideal for when we have the grandchildren in the car 🙂
My fave quiz show
would love this for my boys they love games
this looks great we have a 5 hour coach trip to gatwick and a 9 hour flight to USA coming up so things like this are fab
I definitely would be using this when we go camping!
sounds like lots of fun
This is such a great selection of packing ideas.
great giveaway
There are some great suggestions here. We love Grabolo too!
we are a family of game players, this would be awesome
This game would be great on long journeys
My boys love Pointless. This would be great for travelling.
Looks great, would love to win!
We have an old MB travel Cluedo and Scrabble, this looks fun too!
Fab and original ideas
this prize would be great for all our family trips
Going to Barcelona in a few weeks, so would be great to play on the plane.
I love pointless best game show eber
Pointless is great fun
Great prize xx
This would be great for journeys and our Summer holiday. Thanks for the competition!
twins rose and teresa would have hours of fun
Would be great to win
What a fun idea thank you 🙂
This would be a great family game to play when we’re travelling.
Thanks for the chance to win x
I love the show.