Packing lists are important to me; it's due to my list-o-phile ways. I'm not going to bother posting an extensive packing list here though ... there are loads of them for reference online. And I really think that they are the most useful when they are customized to you personally. I, myself, referenced 3 or 4 lists looking for ideas with which to make up a master list. Then each trip gets its own list which are then added to a veritable library of lists. Ahhhhh. We use Google Docs for this so my husband and I can actually edit the lists practically at the same time and, theoretically at least, from anywhere in the world.
For this trip I took our "Weekend Camping List" and did a save as "1 Week Cuba". The only 2 things I missed on the trip, and I always miss something, was a selection of pens to write with [I only had drawing pens] and hand cream. Could be worse.
What follows are a few special items that I either wish I had brought or was particularly glad I did:
1. Versatile Airplane Outfit — At 4 am, in close to freezing temperatures, I dressed the little guy in light but lined zip off pants, socks in his sandals [not something I would normally tolerate], and a long-sleeved, hooded T-shirt over a short sleeved tee. Around the time of our decent, in just one minute, he was wearing a tee, shorts and bare feet in sandals. Add a hat and some sunglasses et voilà!
2. Trunki — I've gushed about this ingenious kid luggage/toy in previous posts but I can't say enough good things about this one. Our little guy loves Trunki. He treats her like a little friend. Her name is Trixie. She kept him busy in long customs and border line ups. She spared his tired little feet when we pulled them through the airports. It was the best 40 bucks we spent when it comes to travelling with our little one. The one possible downside is that it may be too flashy for some types of travel or travel destinations.
3. Cammy, a Cozy, and Music — whenever we spend time away from home I like to bring some familiar bedtime items to make going to sleep in a strange place a little easier. We brought Cammy, his stuffed camel [for comfort], one of his blankets [familiar smell and texture], and some familiar bedtime tunes. We packed portable speakers for this trip because we wanted to have music in our room but a simple mp3 player with head phones could work too.
4. Thermal Stainless Steel Mugs — It's so nice to go to the bar, load up on your bevvy of choice and take it back to your deck chair for a leisurely sippage. Otherwise, you get a small plastic cup not much larger than a shot glass, in which the contents melt quickly in the heat, and you end upleaving a huge plastic-cup-footprint before your holiday is done. Not to mention that you will have difficulty staying hydrated with all the walking back and forth to the bar. Also shown in this shot is an 'ecobag', also known as my stylish beach bag, that I bought at Sears for 99 cents. I bought two.
5. Camp Suds and Dish Towel — it's nice to be able to wash your afore mentioned mugs as well as your wee ones' sippy cups in the room. We also use this dreamy, all-purpose soap for rinsing out our bathing suits. It works in warm or cold water. And here I post about wipes and Cetaphil, two other gotta-brings for me.
6. Plastic Plates — occasionally, rather than bullying the little one to leave the room for a meal, we found it handy for one of us to bring back snacks from the buffet to our room. The hotel staff really don't like this. Perhaps it's because they don't want dirty, breakable plates in your room? If we promised to bring the plate right back, then they reluctantly let us do it. Later, we found a plastic plate at the beach bar which we washed up and used for such purposes. I've added this item to my list for future trips.
7. Snacks