How to travel with toddlers

We’re off on an end-of-Summer-holiday this week; the four of us are heading to New Zealand for my dad’s wedding, and to catch up with other parts of the family.

I probably should have included a question mark in the heading of this post because, to be honest, I have no idea how to travel with toddlers! The last flight I took was just the Stuntman and I, when he was a pre-walker, and he had a lovely time being smothered in red lipstick kisses by the LAN flight attendants while I sat and had a relaxing cup of tea. 

The Stuntman making friends on our last flight

'Tis the season...

So somehow it’s Christmas in a few days. I really don’t understand where this year has gone, it feels like last Christmas was just a few months ago. But it’s upon us again, and I’m really behind in my menu planning! This year Christmas lunch will be at our place, with our little family of four plus my mum and two sisters. A nice, intimate gathering you would think would be really simple to manage in terms of dietary requirements.

But, as well as the Stuntman and I being dairy and soy free, one sister, Aunty G, is vegetarian, and the other, Aunty A, is Muslim so can only eat Halal-certified meat (and certainly no ham or pork). Aunty A’s OK with seafood, but D is not a fan. He’s from the UK and is something of a traditionalist, so will need a hot-meat-and-roast-veg-with-gravy kind of offering, with a Yorkshire pudding earning extra brownie points. (Actual brownies would earn even more brownie points, but I’m not going that far). Little Miss still only eats white food (and sweets of course). Mum, bless her, eats anything.