The dreaded packing begins. Every year you try to plan your holiday wardrobe, remembering that you rarely wear everything you take and forget some things you had toyed with taking, but it seems no matter how many times you try it, it just won’t fit and you have to leave something behind, but it’s can’t be that pair of new shoes or the season’s must have hat. Whether you actually think you will wear them or not is irrelevant.

With baggage prices and restrictions increasing every year, it seems we are being forced to get better at packing. We are trying to get out whole holiday wardrobes into just 10kg of hand luggage, to avoid paying the extortionate baggage fees applied by some airlines. So savvy packing is becoming a fine art, hence why there are now websites devoted to it.

So, here are a few short and sweet packing tips that may just make all the difference.

Check the weather a day or two before you fly. Find out the average temperature, whether it’s going to be sunny, windy, rainy or a combination. You can then plan your outfits accordingly.

Plan out each outfit with the key trends of the season that you want to wear whilst on holiday, bearing in mind the previous point about the weather of course. There should be just three or four key looks you want to wear then for the days in between, you need to mix and match items from each trend. The only way to get this right is to try every outfit on in front of the mirror before hand.

Go for three statement pieces, which this summer should be a maxi dress or 1950s style capped sleeve shift dress, a pair of bell-bottom flares and boxy blazer. Luckily for you, this season there is a lot of cross over between styles, and the hippy chick fashions of the late 60s and early 70s seem to infiltrate every trend.

You should use accessories to differentiate these outfits. You can add a cropped denim waistcoat to the maxi for a relaxed daytime look or platformed wedges for the evening. For the flares you can wear a print t-shirt by day or tunic and floppy hat for a smarter city-chic look. The blazer can be worn with the bell-bottoms or with crisp, which denim shorts. If you chose a shift dress you can take this from day to night simply by changing your shoes from flats to platforms.

Don’t bother taking a week’s worth of individual items, mixing and matching is the only way to optimise your luggage allowance. House of Fraser has a huge selection of summer fashions including a huge range of summer dresses.

 

 

 

It would seem that airlines would certainly like us all to travel much lighter; some would prefer us not to check in baggage at all and parents of tots know travelling light is a real challenge.

At Whattowearonholiday.com we are there to help – here are our tips and suggestions for your Baby Packing List:

• Foldaway blanket – useful for everything. You can drape it over someone who needs a nap and make them cosy; you can sit on it for an impromptu picnic;
• Light, natural-fibre clothing, but take plenty of layers, so that you can cope with any extremes of temperature. A hooded top is very useful – these work well at keeping both the cold and the sun out.
• Sunsuit and hat with UV protection. For hot climes, all-in-one bathing suits and legionnaire hats are brilliant – they have high sun factors built-in.
• Trekking towel – easy to pack, lightweight and folds up to nothing.
• Always take sun cream with you – that way you get to decide what to put on your child’s skin – not just make do with what’s available.
• Baby wipes – they’re handy for all spills – not just baby’s
• Calgel and homoeopathic teething granules (or your teething soother of choice)
• 2 days’ supply of nappies – buy the rest there; far too bulky to carry.
• Nappy sacks – useful for the whole family’s rubbish.
• Your chosen brand of wipes. You never know whether you’ll be able to find the same brand in the country you’re visiting and baby skin can be sensitive to change. Plus, they’re handy for all spills – not just baby’s
• 2 days’ supply milk formula – take them ready prepared in a bottle, as you will be asked to taste a little of the milk, to make sure it’s what you say it is.
• The same applies to food – you’ll need to open and taste whatever you’re carrying, so be prepared.
• Any brand you use routinely and really wouldn’t want to be without – a small amount of whatever the product is, to tide you over until you can either buy more stocks at your destination or find an alternative.
• Glove puppet to entertain on the plane, unless they’ve already moved up to PSP, Nintendo DS, etc – if so, plenty of games.
• Pushchair/pram in most airports you can wheel this right up to the plane before it gets stowed.
• The ‘can’t live without’ toy . . .

 

 

 

We had the great honour of being invited to the wedding of a gorgeous Cape Verdean couple; Samy & Pina. The setting was perfect, right by the beach in Santa Maria, Sal one of the 10 islands that make up Cape Verde. With guaranteed sunshine all year round the bride and groom had no worries about the weather for their big day.

August is sunny and hot but also tends to be humid in Sal so most of the women guests opted for lightweight dresses and flat sandals. Cape Verdean women though love their heels and there were plenty of those in evidence – how they walked on the sand or on the floorboards at the venue with the big gaps between the planks I don’t know .. just practice I guess.

The groom’s party looked very handsome in their jackets and ties but they must have been roasting and as soon as the formal part of the ceremony was over the jackets and ties were soon disposed of in favour of a more casual look. The bride looked beautiful in a long white dress with crystals on the front and lacing at the back and she managed to smile her way through the entire day.

The formal part of the ceremony was very short, a blessing in the heat and then it was on to the celebrations. First a champagne toast and then photgraphs on the beach. This was followed by a traditional Cape Verdean buffet wedding breakfast including cachupa, salads, fish in delicious sauces, fresh fruits, rice ………the three tier wedding cake in pink and white took pride of place and with each layer being a different flavour it was mouth wateringly appealing.

A wedding wouldn’t be the same without speaches but this was more unusual as the speaches had to be in English and Creole so that everyone could understand. The guests came from friends and family of all nationalities … one of the very special things about Cape Verde is the mix of nationalities and how well they get on.

After the speaches came the cutting of the very gorgeous cake and dancing and of course more champagne.

If you are every lucky enough to be invited to a wedding in Cape Verde be sure to pack your wedding card and paper before you arrive, wedding cards are really not easy to find here and we were left scouting around for one. We finally found a couple of friends who had one or two.

Weddings always make me feel joyful, if not a little tearful and what can be more perfect than a beach wedding in a gorgeous location watching a young couple embark on their lives together … we wish them every happiness possible.

To me there is nothing that sums up an English summer better than music festivals and on the 2/3 July my favourite one at Cornbury near Charlbury set in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside was bathed in sunshine. Cornbury is a family friendly, boutique event; a very English open air party and I love it. From baby to grandma there is something for everyone and everyone is made to feel welcome. If you’re a festival newbie this is the place for you.

The music on both stages was fantastic and a real mix and in the mid afternoon sunshine Buddy Guy’s blues was just fabulous. The Noisettes were full of fun and energy and got everyone up and dancing… all the musicians were brilliant.

There were stalls full of the unusual and the wacky and a wide variety of food choices and drinks on offer. My particular favourites: a mid afternoon visit to the massage tent, Bay Breeze cocktails at the Waitrose chill out lounge, quesadillas from the mexican food stall and hot chocolate and brandy when the sun went down. But my very favourite thing of all is just to sit and watch the people and their amazing outfits; bright pink wigs, tutus, angel wings … British eccentricity at its very best.

For the first time ever we weren’t camping (next year work will not get in the way of me enjoying the camping or perhaps the glamping) so this year deciding what to wear was far easier. I was able to leave my decision until Saturday morning and dress to the weather, which anyone who camps out knows is not the case…. then you have to take clothes for pretty much every eventuality, even in summer we can get four seasons in one day.

We planned to stay all day and through to the last act, David Gray so we knew we would be there until late in to the evening when it would chill off and the damp would start to come up through the ground. But getting ready to go in the morning it was glorious sunshine and hot. The key to coping with the change in temperature is to layer up. So I wore jeans (if I’d have been staying I would have probably worn a dress and changed later but it was more to carry), a lime green spagetti strapped top, over that a short sleeved t shirt and packed a fleece, parka & sun hat. I wore canvas pumps and packed flip flops to change into when we arrived. Finally I popped a bright pashmina in the bag … just in case. Don’t be tempted to leave your hat out because you’ll be in full sun all day and even if you’re a sun worshiper like me it gets too much. But if you do forget your hat there are plenty of funky styles on offer at the festival.

Remember too your suncream, camera and blanket (make sure it has a waterproof side because the damp comes through as the sun goes down). If you’re feeling particulalry energetic take fold up camping chairs for that added bit of comfort.

Cornbury truly is a one of a kind music festival and it makes me smile whenever I think of it, will I be back next year …. you bet.

OK  it’s true that Egypt is hot and Cairo is busy and dusty too so you might be tempted to pack sleeveless tops ….. but think again. Light coloured long sleeved tops will reflect the heat and keep the harsh rays of the sun off you during the hours you’ll be spending sight seeing. If like me you have any plans to take a camel ride be sure to wear long trousers too – they protect you from the sun and the dust and from any of the nasties that camels are known to carry.

Egypt is a Muslim country and it’s respectful to dress modestly, if you don’t you will be stared at, ridiculed and if you want to look inside the beautiful mosques you’ll be made to wear a hideous green/blue sheet and trust me you really don’t want that  …. not a great look and who know’s who wore it before you or when it was last washed.

It’s true middle age Japanese men really don’t wear jeans. I said this to my other half before we went to Tokyo “save the space” I said “pack something else”. But no in the case they went only to stay there for the next 11 days. What a waste I could have packed that extra pair of shoes I really wanted to take.

Japanese people dress well, their clothes are immaculate and they really don’t do the scruffy look that my teenage son favours. When we were in Tokyo he went out a bought a pair of Armani jeans so that he felt he fitted in. Black is the top colour – just look at the photos we took, it’s everywhere. They say Japanese women love their Louis Vuitton accessorises and they are right. Pack lovely stylish shoes but make sure they are comfortable, we walked miles in the metro as well as all the sightseeing.

We took warm layers and umbrellas because April can be wet and cold and we used everything we took. Layers are really key because whilst it’s cold outside the heating is full on and inside temperatures can be stifling. We packed dark trousers, T shirts, and smarter tops for the evening but you don’t need that much as you can always get things cleaned ( we took 2 small suitcases and we had plenty of clothes for 3 adults). Many hotels have washing machines that you can use your self to keep laundry costs down.