Flying with Kids

I'm about to take my 9 year old son with me to New Zealand to visit my grandmother. This is the second time I'm taking one of the kids to visit her, having taken my daughter 2 years ago when she was 5.

I'm becoming a savvy traveller with kids, and this time, instead of buying the cheapest airfare I could afford, I've made sure I've got the cheapest package I could find.

You see last time, I flew with a no-frills, no-food airline. I'd packed plenty of games and books and food to get us through the 3 hour flight, but I hadn't thought about what would happen if the person beside us wasn't so organised. True to Murphy's Law, the person beside us was the mother of a flight attendant, so she received every bit of food and drink complimentary, as well as the use of one of those little DVD things they have on those airlines. My daughter managed to cope with the feelings of jealousy, long enough for us to get out of the airport and into a McDonald's store when we finally arrived in Auckland.

Then on the return trip, I convinced her to have a sleep and I'd buy her a hot breakfast rather than eat in the very expensive airport before our 7am flight. That was all good, except that the airline put us up the back of the plane because of her age, and by the time the food cart got to us they'd sold out of hot breakfasts. Once again, we coped long enough to crawl through immigration and find Daddy and the boys, who were only too happy to take us out to breakfast after our week away.

This time around, I've chosen to fly with Air New Zealand. I'm looking forward to having breakfast on the plane, a nice cup of tea, and watching a movie while my son does the same thing beside me. It won't matter what other people do, because this is true luxury for our family!

Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for, but as that MasterCard ad reminds us, what price do you pay for peace and no stress? It's priceless.

A Bag of Lollies

Yesterday I bought a bag of mixed lollies. I didn't realise that the bag included about 15 bananas, which have no fans in our household. So instead of the holiday stash being full of lollies, the box was only about half full... pretty disappointing really.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that that bag was a good representation of life. Too often we rush into something, like a new job, a holiday, purchasing a new car etc, and then realise that there were lots of things we didn't realise came in that 'packet'.

In our house, the jelly babies, milk bottles and snakes go first from the lolly packet. Then the racing cars, strawberries and cream and the raspberries disappear. The black cats, pineapples and teeth are the last pickings. The poor old bananas are left in the bottom of the barrel until I throw them out or convince a visitor to scoff the lot.

We're heading off for a mini-break at the end of the week, and I know it will be just like that bag of lollies too. Everyone will be excited about going and jump into the task of packing the car. People will grumble and groan as we clean up the house before going, but they'll still pitch in because the holiday is before them. But when we get home... I know I'll get all the bananas - I'll be doing the washing long after they've jumped on the couch and turned the TV on.

I think I'm ok with that, I'll just have to make sure I find plenty of jelly babies and milkbottles to enjoy while we're away.

First-time Family Camping

We've just started talking about what we're going to do during the holidays. We think we'll sneak off for a 'mini-break', family camping style.

If you haven't gone camping as a family, then I'd recommend it as a cheap means of resetting the family compass and reconnecting with one another. There's nothing like working together to set up camp and sharing a meal that you've prepared together.

I think there are 10 things that are essential purchases for any family getting into camping:

1. A good tent - but not one that is too big. Buy a tent that's just big enough to accommodate everyone when they're sleeping and still give you room to get out to the toilet if needed. You also need a bit of space to store clothing and belongings.
2. A large tarpaulin - this goes over the tent, which is essential when camping in Queensland because the weather can change so quickly, the storms can be pretty fierce and the sun is pretty punishing too. A tarp gives your family a living room space outside of the tent, which is a must in our blistering summers. Just make sure you buy enough poles, ropes and pegs to put it up.
3. A decent esky - you don't need an icebox or fridge unless you're planning to camp in really isolated places or lug a generator, but a decent esky will keep your food and drinks cold with the odd bag of ice thrown in.
4. A butane stove - these little cartridge stoves are so portable and you can buy the fuel at K-mart or Big W, as well as camping stores. They're great with kids because they produce just enough heat to boil water, but they're pretty safe around kids.
5. Bedding - We've discovered 4WD mats, which just roll out and self-inflate. They also stack on top of each other during the day when you need more space in the tent. If you've got some old air mattresses, then make sure you replace them with these when the time comes. Your camping experience will never be the same again.
6. Crates - We now use crates for everything. Food, cooking utensils, clothing, games... If you buy lots of crates at the same time, you'll find they stack nicely on top of each other, which makes packing a breeze and helps you keep the tent tidy when moving from day to night and back again.
7. A camping table and chairs - These are a must. The table gives you somewhere to cook and eat, somewhere to play games and somewhere to put things off the ground if you find yourself in a torrential downpour.
8. Light - If you haven't got a dolphin torch or a battery operated lantern, then these can both be handy, but our family have really taken to using headlamps. You can pick them up for around $40 at Anaconda, and it means everyone has enough light to see what they're doing and still has both hands free. They are also much kinder on batteries.
9. Uno, Skipbo, Scrabble or any other games - Games are a must on any family holiday but especially when camping. There are plenty of times when you have to wait and grabbing a pack of cards or game can really add to the camping experience.
10. A packet of marshmallows, chocolate and wine - no camping holiday is complete without roasting marshmallows, even if it is on the butane stove, and I can't recommend highly enough the restorative effects of a block of chocolate and a glass of wine after a long day of camping with the kids.

The only other thing you'll need then is a trailer to fit it all in and your togs!

School Holiday Survival Guide

Well the holidays are getting very close, and won't we all be glad to have a break from packing all those lunches and scrabbling around for clean uniforms. I can almost hear the fighting now.

I have 3 essential elements to my holiday survival guide, so if you're new to school holidays, I hope you find this helpful.

1. Napisan - holiday peace comes with a large bucket of Napisan to soak away the excesses of the school term. My kids are magnets for stains, including that tell-tale grungy grey stain where the shirt hangs over their shorts. Napisan has a way of restoring my motherly pride as a good housekeeper.
2. Fine weather - I know you can't control the weather, but fine weather is definitely a blessing when it comes to the holidays. Good holidays are dependent on exhausted children and the best way I've found to make that happen is to keep the kids moving. Whether it's riding to the park and playing soccer, hiking in the bush, going to the beach (if it's not too cold) or exploring the city sights, being outside is definitely the best way to wear the kids out.
3. Boring movies - most holiday nights in our family are movie nights, where the kids are allowed to watch a movie after bath time. Over the years I've discovered that the more they've watched a movie, the quicker they fall asleep, particularly if part to of the plan has been implemented. Watching Toy Story or High School Musical one more time guarantees an early bedtime for the kids and a few hours of peace for the grown ups. What more could you want?