This isn’t a blog post I ever envisioned writing. My family is currently “displaced,” and has spent some time in a hotel as our temporary home! Long story short, freezing cold temperatures caused a pipe in our condo building to burst and the whole line of units that we were in got flooded. Yes, water, flood, NO BUENO.
Luckily, we were home when it happened and we immediately called for help and were able to protect our personal belongings…but half of our home is now affected by water damage and with 2 toddlers, there is definitely no way we can stay there. So while that’s all getting sorted out, we’ve been staying at a hotel.
Living in a hotel isn’t an ideal situation. First, with toddlers or any child I’d assume, being in a new environment brings with it lots of curiosity, they tend to be thrown off routine and schedule, plus you simply don’t have the comforts of home. It’s one thing to be on vacation, another to live out of a hotel when you still have work, a babysitter coming in and you’re not on leisure time. I think of it as a forced “staycation.”
Thankfully we’ve had lots of support and despite how stressful it has been for us, the kids are happy as long as we’re around. At any rate, I came up with this short list of the emergency essentials for toddlers when you unintentionally end up in a hotel.
- Swim Attire – If the hotel has a pool, the kids will love it..and it will wear them out
- Security Blankets/Pillows – Makes them feel right at home
- Books, balls and toys – Avoid those that are too noisy for close quarters, but a little variety of each to occupy them while you deal with the situation will help
- Coloring Books/Crayons – Who doesn’t love to color? Creativity cures…
- Snacks – Hopefully you have some type of refrigerator in your hotel room, but either way with goldfish, fruit snacks, veggie straws and crackers on hand, it has certainly helped us out
You know, it’s been hectic and crazy since we don’t have our usual conveniences of being at home…but the one thing my better half reminded me of, is that no matter where we are and what we are doing, as long as we are having fun…the kids will be okay!