Preparing for Christmas away from home

This year we will be spending almost 2 weeks at my parents house in North Yorkshire over the festive period and I can't wait! I'm looking forward to having some help with Reuben and maybe even getting a lie in or two but most importantly i'm looking forward to spending some precious time with loved ones.

Time away from home obviously means a disturbance to Reuben's usual routine but that's fine, if you cant get a little out of sorts at Christmas when can you?! We will be having days out and trips to see different family members in different places which means Reuben's daytime sleep will be disturbed as he wont sleep in his pushchair and if he does it's 30 minutes max after a huge battle. Thankfully he will sleep in his car seat so that's a little saving grace.

When we travel to my parents we always take a small compact pushchair to save boot space, the travel cot lives at my parents and he usually sleeps quite well in it but this time we will all be in the same room as my Brothers are home so that will be interesting! I always make sure I have a couple of comforters with us so we can have one in the cot and one for out and about as this is a constant for Reuben. I also take his sleep drops with me so the room can smell the same and his little red nightlight that he has at home. These small things are familiar and therefore comforting in different surroundings. I always make sure I have some Nurofen, Calpol, Snuffle babe, a thermometer and nappy rash cream with me as well just in case.

In terms of the car journey...This time, for the first time ever it wont fall over nap time so i will be armed with the below.

A new interactive book, a tablet with a few favourite programmes downloaded on to it, some snacks, a comforter, a few small toys to fiddle with and a self made posting toy.

We always stop half way through the journey to get Reuben out, give him a change and this time we will eat some tea and change him in to his Christmas Eve Pj's so he's comfy and can potentially fall asleep for the last hour of the journey. I also always travel in the back with him as its a long journey and I can help soothe or entertain him if needed and also keep an eye on him!

Once at my parents we will try to stick as closely to Reuben's routine where we can. We will usually eat at the same time and give him a bath, play, story and bed just like at home. I'm a big believer that good routine is key, but I also think you can't always live your life around your little one. They need to learn to be adaptable from time to time and to enjoy certain things routine has to go out of the window. You may be surprised by just how well they cope!

Where will you be spending Christmas this year?