Packing for family holidays

It’s getting very close now to the time that we’ll be flying off on holiday, and I’m getting rather excited. However, before we can go anywhere we need to pack. And that poses an interesting situation for a family.

Our kids are no longer very young, so we don’t need all the baby paraphernalia, but they’re still young enough that we need to pack on their behalf—and I’m still amazed by the amount of stuff we need to pack for them. Plenty of spare clothes in case they’re sick/spill things on themselves (will there be a washing machine that we can use?); lots of amusements (books, pens and paper, swimming pool toys); high factor sun cream and sun hats; sweets to suck on the plane to prevent sore ears; car seats (if not already hired with the hire car company)... The list seems to go on and on.

We could, I suppose, get them to pack for themselves, but I know that if we did, we’d end up with a pile of inappropriate stuff. Mainly books and toys, and perhaps the odd pair of jeans or long sleeved top. Nothing useful like shorts or t-shirts...