My Hand Luggage Essentials

I like to travel light.   I’m also pretty lazy on holiday, so I’ve never been one for carting around hairdryers and straighteners.  I barely use them at home, so there’s little chance of me busting them out when I’m supposed to be relaxing.      

The lack of these electrical items generally means that my hand luggage can be difficult to fill.   That and the fact that I can’t obviously fill it with toiletries these days, like I used to. 

Despite my trusty hand luggage not being crammed to the brim, these are the things I can’t live without on any flight:

The Travel Bug:

Obviously.  That little bug is the first thing to be packed ANYWHERE I go, and I’m including Asda and B&Q in that statement.   I feel odd if I leave the house without him now and he’d be a rubbish Travel Bug if he stayed at home in North Wales all the time, wouldn’t he?

TTB sits at the top of my hand luggage and often earns me odd looks from security when they rifle through my stuff looking for liquids, tweezers and Semtex.   

I often worry that some over-alert guard will think my little stuffed amigo has a kilo of heroin stuffed up his bum and will rip him to shreds in front of my eyes, rendering me speechless and heartbroken.    It hasn’t happened yet.    The mere thought of that is the reason I always look so nervous at security.    Honestly…

This little champ is my constant travel companion. The wine in the background is mine.  He prefers red.  

iPhone:

On a flight back from Paris a few weeks ago, I spent the journey home blogging on my phone.  I use the Blogger app, so it means I can just turn on aeroplane mode and furiously type away.    It makes the time pass a bit quicker and makes me feel like I’m being all productive and stuff.  I only start once I’ve read the inflight magazine; obviously…I don’t want to miss out on news about the latest destination.   Or, indeed, any duty free offers on makeup.  

iPad:

I need this to catch up with The Walking Dead/House of Cards and all the other shows that I never get a chance to watch during a regular week.  Holidays are the only time I really get to properly sit back and do nothing without feeling guilty that I’m sitting back doing nothing.

I also use my iPad for the Audible app every night to help me sleep, so I never leave for a night away without it.   I'm also finding it increasingly difficult to be away from Doug the Pug, Mr Bentley the Bulldog, and an assortment of other social media doggies that make me smile on a daily basis.  

I need this with me constantly for blogging, Twitter, Insta and reading news.

Baby Wipes:

I rarely go far without baby wipes as they’re perfect for waking yourself up at the end of a flight, keeping you from feeling disgusting on a long haul, or just to take your makeup off on a night flight before you catch some shut eye.   They’re cheap and cheerful and can be used for pretty much anything. 

Also: whipping wipes out on a flight totally makes you look you’ve got your shit together when, in fact,  just because you’ve packed your wet ones doesn’t mean you didn’t leave home without your toothbrush*

Two Purses:

I hate mixing Euros or Dollars in with my Sterling, so I take a little purse which I use to pay for all the overpriced stuff at the airport and then put all my holiday money in my every day purse. 

This means I don’t spend ages looking through coins going ‘ooh, this coin was from my week in Valencia, and this was from…hmmm…might have been Krakow… or maybe Prague…’ *cue memories montage*… while people get all antsy behind me in the queue at the local Carrefour.  I hate that.    

I can't deal with mixed currencies.  Gotta keep them separate.  

Flip Flops:

It doesn’t matter where on the planet I go, I will find a use for these bad boys; even if it’s just for a few hours on the flight.    I wander around my office with no shoes on most of the time, so the chances of me getting through any kind of travel without taking my shoes off is virtually nil.   

Flip flops practically scream ‘HOLIDAAAAAAAAY!’.   Even picking them up to pack them makes me smile, so actually putting them ON  my feet is my idea of heaven.   Never underestimate the positive, mood enhancing power of flip flops;  they are the Bank Holiday weekend of shoes.  

What are your hand luggage essentials??

*Yes, I have.  

Suzanne x