What to Pack for a One Night Hotel Stay with Kids

Many of us know how to enjoy a week long vacation with our family in a hotel. We are prepared for just about anything and pack anything and everything we could possibly need for the unexpected happening. But when it comes to just one night in a hotel on the way to a final destination, you may find yourself unprepared.

Recently we took a road trip out east to visit family. Our driving time one way was about 12 hours and on the way there, we decided to stop in a hotel for an overnight stay to break up the trip. We only booked one room to save money and I realized that I was not prepared for this overnight hotel stay even though we had a minivan full of everything you could imagine.

I made note of several items that would have made our stay better for us and the kids. So, pack an overnight bag so you don't need to unload the car and make sure you've included these items.

Swimsuit. If the hotel has a pool, bring your swimsuits. Your kids will enjoy a swim before bed or before heading out in the morning. Check the hotel's pool hours before arriving as it would be a shame to promise swimming only to arrive and find the pool closed. Don't worry about towels since there is usually a large supply by the pool.

Night Light. This sure would have been a good thing to have on our trip. When all of the lights were out it was very dark in the room and leaving the bathroom light on was almost too bright. An inexpensive, low wattage, night light would have done the trick!

Small fan. My son was hot and couldn't fall asleep so we turned on the air conditioner. Some hotels control the thermostat and don't even allow you to adjust. It was below freezing outside and we had the air on - freeze out! It sure would have been good to have a small fan that we could have aimed at my son.

Sound machine or music. Oh I wish we had the sound machine to drown out the hallway noise and the squeaky pipes. It also would have helped my little one fall asleep and not hear our whispering in the dark. My husband did find a way to "rig" the ipod to the TV with some cable - not recommended though unless you are married to a tech guy who knows what he's doing. So, we did have music although then I had trouble falling asleep.

Reading Light. I didn't want to go to sleep at 10 pm, but really had nothing else to do since we had to turn off the lights so the kids could go to sleep. I lay there thinking about my book light in the nightstand next to my bed at home and wished I had thought to pack it. Then I could have read for a little while. Book lights are inexpensive and quite frankly worth having.

Slippers. Next time I will pack all of us slippers; mostly for the comfort of slippers and the convenience of not having to walk on the hotel room floor. Who knows how many countless shoes have tread there and I don't even want to think about what they trailed in!