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Top tips for taking young children on holiday

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Travelling as a family can be a daunting prospect, especially if you don’t want the daily food routine to be disrupted or if mealtimes are full of stress and tantrums. This is one of the many reasons UK self-catering staycations are so popular, you can choose what the kids eat and when. Here are six essential tips to make sure your family holiday is as relaxing as possible.

 

1/  Surviving a long car journey

Anyone who has embarked on a road trip with children is used to being pestered with the phrase ‘are we nearly there yet?’ To combat this, make sure you have a varied supply of entertainment alongside healthy snacks and water to last the journey. Take more than one choice and keep everything in a cool bag to keep fresh. Taking a picnic and making scheduled stops will make the journey seem like an adventure for the young ones and it means you don’t have to be restricted to unhealthy and pricey food served at service stations. Turn the car journey into an exciting part of the holiday instead of just a mode of transport.

2/  Food prep

There’s nothing worse than turning up at your holiday cottage after a long and tiring journey and having nothing in the fridge. Order food ahead of your stay to take the worry out of that first meal. You can order a supermarket shop online to be delivered ahead of your stay or speak to your property manager about local suppliers or farm shops who can provide healthy frozen meals. You want that first meal to be quick and easy, whilst you find your feet in your new environment.

3/  Relax… you’re on holiday

The joy of self-catering is being able to follow a similar routine to your usual one. Staying at an all-inclusive resort can result in having a hungry toddler and not being able to eat breakfast because of the time restrictions. Whether your daily wake-up call is your little one jumping on the bed, or you’re lucky enough to get a lie-in (what’s a lie-in I hear you say), you can start the day your way, without having to stick to someone else’s schedule.

4/  Plan ahead

Checking what’s included in your property before you travel is vital as it will save you time when packing, and give you more room for the fun things. Some properties are geared towards families and thus will provide many of the essential items including sterilisers, blenders and children’s cutlery. At Blue Chip Holidays, you’ll find a whole collection of properties specifically suited to travelling with tots.

5/  Do your research

A wonderful part of UK staycations is being able to visit totally different areas and trying the variety of local produce on offer. Doing research before you stay will give you options so that you’re not walking around for hours trying to find a suitable place to eat. Local tourist information websites are fantastic sources of information and often have insider information so you can find somewhere off the beaten track.

6/  Don’t forget to treat yourself

It can be very easy to forget that your holiday is also about time for you, not just the children. You don’t have to leave the comfort of your holiday home to experience fine dining and fresh, local produce. Many companies now offer private chefs who can come and cook for you at your property, and they’ll even give you demonstrations and tips on how to prepare and cook the food. The Blue Chip Experience holiday planners are able to plan all of this for you, so you can spend more time enjoying your precious time away. 

The lowdown

Blue Chip Holidays offer over 1,100 premium self-catering properties in some of the UK’s most beautiful settings. Their Baby Blue Chip collection has all the essential items you’ll need for a relaxing break with the family.

Find our more about baby friendly holidays with Blue Chip.

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