Diary of a Working Mum

Arriving at Antalya, I was sure I had packed everything we needed for the week. I was quite proud of how I had managed to pack the toiletries, all in 100ml bottles. I had even remembered to pack the case with baby wipes (as any parent of a young child will know, these are essential!).

However within the first few hours I realised I had not packed so well after all. Within an hour, the resort was lashed with heavy rain and blustery winds. The only thing that I had packed with sleeves was my nighty. Everything else barely had straps and did not go past knee level. Standing on our balcony, we could see other holiday makers had much more sense than I had. Some had big puffer jackets on, others had dry robes.

My daughter also only had crocs as footwear. She adores them, and refuses to wear anything else. Although I share her opinion on them, they are full of holes! Therefore walking to the market to buy some warmer clothes was out of the question. We spent the next two hours inside the apartment, wondering around aimlessly. We nipped briefly to the hotel bar, had a drink and then returned to our room.

It probably would have been wise to pack some indoor activities, as it would definitely have reduced the boredom we all had to suffer. The game of eye spy that we were playing got boring very quickly, and so did the game of hide and seek that my daughter was desperate to play.

After a few hours, the weather got warmer. Much warmer. We made our way to the pool, and I quickly learned how useless our beach towels were. They were terribly thin, did not absorb a drop of water and were tiny. The shop I purchased them from had done a grand job of making them look appealing on the shelf. Next year, better quality beach towels will definitely be on my list.

I had also packed enough socks and underwear for the seven days that we were on holiday. Or so I thought. However my naive mind had not contemplated the fact that hot weather may equal more frequent clothing changes. My daughter was so hot at times she was saturated with sweat. It was not uncommon to change her whole outfit three times a day. Then the inevitable happened, we ran out of underwear and socks. This meant that we had to purchase more from the local market, and although these were cheap, it was an expense that could have been spared.

I had also not packed enough nightwear, so we were forced to use the same nightwear three nights in a row. This is something that just feels wrong when sleeping in a hotel bed. They just feel grubby to me, even though they were clean. Again, more nightwear will be on my list next year.

If you take one tip form this article, please take this one. Make sure to pack snacks and drinks prior to arriving at the hotel. Lots of them. It was not something I had even thought about. But the times when we were in the room, they would have come in so handy. My daughter loves her snacks, so we had to purchase them from the shop in the hotel. A small packet of Haribo sweets was £3.50! A packet of 12 capri sun drinks was around £10! Needless to say, stocking up on sweet treats will be on my list next year! This image is an accurate representation of me and my daughter when we saw the prices!

I packed lots of accessories such as fancy bobbles and hair grips. However we did not use even one of them. We were all just so excited to hit the pool each morning, and in the evenings we were just so hungry that we simply got washed, dressed and headed out. Therefore they just took up valuable space, so in future they will be left at home.

Let me know some of your tips!

Cheerio

E x