The summer holidays are in full swing, and although the weather has been rather up and down, we have been making the most of the sun when it decides to come out and play.

One thing E loves the most about summer is the number of picnics (or “picmic” as he used to call it) we get to have.

Most of our days out involve one, as after spending money on entry to an attraction, I like to save the rest of my pennies and treat the boys to ice cream and perhaps a small gift from the gift shop if they have been good rather than paying out on overpriced food.

Here is a list of my child-friendly summer essentials.

Picnic blanket
No summer day out is usually complete without one in our family. I always keep one in the boot of our car “just in case”

Snacks (and lots of them)
My boys are always hungry, and even though they may have literally just had breakfast, tell them we are off out for the day and the “snack asking” starts as soon as they are in the car. I tend to pack a huge variety ranging from breadsticks, fruit, crisps, and biscuits (they LOVE a biscuit) to cereal bars, raisins and whatever else I can find. We are not even onto the actual picnic yet!

Ice cold water
Yep – you read it right. My boys love having “cold water” Gone are the days when they would drink whatever water was in their bottle regardless of whether it was warm or cold. These days they turn their noses up to water that isn’t “cold” enough for them (ie: room temperature) So, on days out, I have taken to freezing a couple of bottles of water the night before ready for the day ahead.  I also fill up their water bottles with water from the fridge (for the journey to accompany their many snacks).

During the day when the ice melts and turns to water, I can then pour them into their individual bottles. We have been testing out these fantastic OXO Tot twist top bottles* They are so sturdy with an easy carry handle, and I love that the straws are made with good quality plastic as usually, on cheaper bottles the straws always end up being bent or bitten out of shape. Another great thing about these bottles is the wide neck which makes them so much easier to clean without the use of a bottle brush and eliminates horrible mould growing in them!

Sun cream
A real staple for the summer outdoors, (usually – maybe not so much with this ever-changing weather!) I usually have one on the stairs by the door, so I don’t forget to apply before we leave the house and another stashed away in my bag to top up when we are out and about.

Spare change of clothes
My boys might be 2 and 5, but I learnt my lesson a few weeks ago. We were at Brooklands Community Park so E could have a good ride around on his bike. It’s a huge area where children can go skating, scoot and ride their bikes. There were a few puddles from the torrential rain we’d had the day before so of course, the boys decided to scoot and ride in and out of them. I gave up telling them not to. M got his trousers soaked, but as E was riding his bike he wasn’t actually getting wet. Well, that was until he was knocked off his bike by another child into a huge puddle. I had no spare clothes for him, so he ended up wearing M’s hoody and had to stay in his shorts which luckily dried quite quickly as it was a relatively warm day. So lesson learned- always pack a change of clothes!

Anti-bacterial hand gel
This is a general must-have for me, really as I’m sure it is for a lot of other mums. The number of times we have been out, and there has been no handwash – the trusty hand gel is a saviour!

Ball
This is another item that is always kept in the boot of the car. Boys being boys, they love to have a kick about outside – especially if there is a big open space. I’ve been told I need to buy a new one that is not Peppa Pig, though – what’s wrong with Peppa Pig?

What are your summer essentials? I’d love to know

*The following items were sent to me for review

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