Travelling with toddler...

Hello! *blows dust off the keyboard* I am here, I have been hibernating but today I decided to actually blog... *happy dance* I did one of these mummy travel posts last year so decided it was only fair if I did one this year too.

We are going on holiday to Egypt for 2 weeks and Esra will be 3 at the end of next month (seriously where did the time go?) and I have been in a bit of a panic trying to organise and get things prepared. Last year was a complete success, I had a happy toddler and she was entertained the whole time, but now that she is older it's a whole new ball game. Click HERE to see what I took with me for my almost 2 year old last year.

This year, I have broken it down to 3 categories: Beach, Flight & Evening Activities. Here is what I am taking....

This is everything!!

BEACH

Ok so, obviously the usual bucket, spade and shovels. I am also taking a "cooking" set that I picked up from the pound shop, I figured sand cooking would be entertaining! I am also taking silicone cupcake cases, candles and embellishments to make sand cupcakes which I know she will love as we always make them with play doh! Ice cream cones and scoop to make sand cones, extra bowl and cups for sandcastles, windmills for the sandcastles instead of flags. 'Melissa and Doug' butterfly binoculars, a toy camera which was a freebie from a magazine, a ball, water guns and a 'Pinypon' mermaid set.

I will not be giving all of these to her on the same day, I will try and spread them out and gift her the mermaids for good behaviour probably after a week. The 'Pinypon' set is adorable, the mermaids have interchangeable pieces and you can flip their heads the other way round and change their expression and store things in there head! Sounds crazy but cool for a toddler!! Also the idea for the beach was to keep it cheap and cheerful as stuff ALWAYS goes missing!
We are also taking an inflatable pool with a shade for the beach, a manta ray ride on, pool ring, arm bands, beach ball and a kite! Sounds like a lot of stuff but it's probably just right!

FLIGHT

The Trunki is coming with us once again as it's the best toddler luggage ever! It will be Esra's carry on flight activity bag and I think I have packed it strategically so this system should work well.

I have put another drawstring bag inside filled with activities so that I am not rummaging for things and I can just pull it out once we are in the air. The other side of the Trunki has a blanket, 2 changes of clothes, a couple of pull ups even though she is potty trained, iPad, iPad stand, headphones, her beloved teddy that she drags everywhere and a new toy.

The new toy is a mermaid 'Lalaoopsie' and I know she's going to love it, this will be handed to her once we get to the airport for good behaviour and to celebrate that we are going on holiday!

The 'Peppa pig' drawstring bag houses all of these lovely things that I have spent ages planning! Most of the things you see here are new so it will all be exciting for her. Here's whats inside;

• Book - 1001 Things to spot in the sea
• Book - The Singing Mermaid
• Book - Maisy's Pool
• Book - Goodnight Moon
• Book - There's a Hippopotamus on the roof eating cake.
• Book - Peppa Pig 'Let's Go'
• Usbourne Holiday Sticker Book 
• Peppa Pig Sticker books X2
• Stickers - (Galt sticker book, Frozen stickers & Peppa Pig stickers)
• Colouring pages, notebook & clickable colour changing pen
• Melissa & Doug Princess crayon set
• Lalaloopsy Gel stickers in tin
• Peppa Pig puzzle
• 'Mudpuppy' magnetic mermaid dress up 
• Horse lacing card
• Felt button lacing busy bag
• Gel clings for window
• Small toys

The toys are in this little mermaid zipper bag, they are all small and perfect for role play. All of the babies are new and she has never seen them so she will definitely be excited and enjoy them. The will be wrapped up and I will hand one over to her every so often. The babies are by 'Yogurtini' and they are also scented, I picked them up from Argos on sale for £3.99 from £9.99 for a pack of 3 and I got 3 sets so there is plenty to keep her busy. There are also a couple of her ponies, a table, a swing and a car for some good times on the plane!

EVENING ACTIVITIES

So the evenings are quite difficult and I will rely on the iPad as much as I can as it works, but for some unplugged play we need activities! I have kept them all as compact as can be. Everything apart from the activity books fits neatly inside this zipper bag. The small tin houses lego which will be perfect for late evening chilling, I found this idea on pinterest, and it's definitely a good one.

We have more sticker books, Peppa Pig colouring pages, painting with water, mermaid scene set, Egyptian colouring book & a couple of magazines with loads of freebies. I have also included 3 puzzles, finger puppets, more stickers, balloons, glow sticks, bubbles, gel clings, a caterpillar tin game and a few busy bags.

The glow sticks will be amazing in the evenings!

SNACKS

If you are wondering where the snacks be at.... the snacks are in this bag and daddy will be in charge of them. The bag is by 'dotcomgiftshop' but I got it from Sainsburys for £3.

I have been collecting snacks for a week now, I have a mix of healthy and non healthy because you gotta do what you gotta do! I have however split up gummy bears into small portions with grip seal bags so that at least I have some control. I managed to find some organic lollipops that are gelatine free and vegan by Biona, All the snacks pictured are halal and suitable for vegetarians,

Wow, that seems like a lot doesn't it?! Well, I would rather be the Mary Poppins mama constantly bringing "stuff" out of my bag than dealing with an unhappy toddler on an airplane. If there are other toddlers round us they will get stickers and lollipops too, happy toddler = happy mummy.

So do you think I will get a chance to read my book? :) 

What would you take on a 2 week beach holiday with a toddler? Anything I missed?