Going to New York with teen, and leaving the rest of the family at home was a big decision for me.  No matter how excited I was about the trip, leaving the girls for what would be 5 days including the travelling, made me feel sad.  Little Pudding is too young to understand and is very much a Daddy’s girl at the moment.  Princess, who is nearly 4, needed to know what was going on as she can get quite anxious when I’m not around.

Talking Travel With Trunki + Giveaway

When Trunki found out I was going to be going to New York they had a brilliant idea.  They very kindly offered to send Princess their brand new ride on suitcase, Tony The Taxi. They thought it would be a fantastic way of involving her in planning for the trip and make her feel apart of what was going on.  I had to agree, it was a brilliant idea and I couldn’t wait for the New York taxi to arrive!

child playing with trunki suitcase

Tony The Taxi immediately fuelled Princess’s imagination.  We have an hour a day when her little sister takes a nap and we can do an activity together.  She really enjoys this focused attention from me so I like to make the most of it in our daily schedule.

We talked about where her Mummy and her big brother were going.  We explored the idea of going to another country and how we would get there.  We decided going on Tony The Taxi wasn’t a very good option and that perhaps a plane would get us there quicker.

Tony The Taxi comes with some really cool stickers, and this helped us talk about the places Mummy and teen were going to be visiting.  There was a picture of the Statue Of Liberty and the Empire State Building, which were both on our travel itinerary.

child packing suitcase

The really fun part for Princess was packing her Trunki ride on suitcase with all the things she would take for a trip to New York.  She searched for all her favourite things to see if they would fit in her suitcase and she came up with this definitive list of what a preschooler needs in New York City.

What A Preschooler Would Pack For New York City

  • A duck for the bath
  • Swimming costume even in February
  • A Torch – because they are useful
  • Lots of toys
  • A ball
  • Some shoes
  • More toys
  • A story  – I’ll Only Need One
  • My favourite pyjamas

As no clothes for the daytime have entered the suitcase yet, I offer a little promoting at this point.

  • Oh Yes, Some Clothes!
  • Socks are handy too
  • I might want to wear a cardigan as well
  • Don’t forget some pants
  • A dress is essential, maybe I’ll need 2
  • Leggings because they are comfy

I asked Princess to have a quick think about what she did in the morning…

  • I’ll need a Toothbrush

This didn’t last long before more interesting things were being packed again…

  • Another ball
  • Magnetic animals
  • I won’t need any money, as there is some stuck to my taxi already!
  • A brick
  • A magnifying glass
  • A mirror because I like looking at myself
  • Peppa pig
  • Noo noo from Teletubbies
  • A shoe lace – just in case
  • Another mirror – I like to look at myself a lot
  • Some keys
  • Toy airplane – because we are flying obviously
  • A tea cup
  • A purse
  • A stop-go sign for crossing the road
  • More bricks

child closing trunki suitcase

This activity was really fun for the both of us.  It gave me the opportunity to talk to Princess about going away using a fun imaginative game.  This made her feel a lot happier about me being away for a few days.  She had a lot of fun packing her taxi, and she can’t wait to take it on her next holiday to Fuengirola with Mummy in March.  I might have to take over the packing though!

We were gifted the Trunki Ride On Suitcase in exchange for this post and this post also contains affiliate links.  Should you wish to purchase a Trunki product I may receive a small commission. 

Discover more from Zena's Suitcase

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Previous articleOur New York Adventure Day 2
Next articleIs Drayton Manor Park The Best UK Family Theme Park? (REVIEW)

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

222 COMMENTS

  7. A teddy which she has had from a baby its called “wee bit teddy” she liked to rub his label when needing comfort which is the wee bit, he is a bit ragged after 1000 washes in the washing machine but well loved.

  21. My youngest loves taking Her Dolly and her blue blanket 🙂 My middle child loves taking his imaginext figures everywhere with him…. and my eldest is obsessed with her phone and wot go anywhere without it! :/

  24. My boy is grown up now but my niece, who us 5, has to take her “snuffy”. She has a few and they are squares of soft fabric.

  27. A Peppa Pig fleece and Peppa soft toy, oh and also the tablet computer with Peppa Pig cartoons to watch on an evening x

  62. My son has a rucksack that he can fill with his favourite things. Usually cuddly toys, books, drawing books and pencils.

  65. Spencer the bear and Rebecca rabbit, courtesty of Bear Workshop. They even have a Pawsport! Been signed by the captain and crew on way to Lanzarote. BIG thank you to Thomas Cook and Thompsons, you made a little girl VERY happpy!

  67. My little one loves to pack her own hand luggage which she fills with a new magazine, crayons, a small you and some snacks.

  84. Favourite soft toys — all three of them! (I dread to think what would happen if we found ourselves on holiday without them….)

  95. My son has a bag which hold his toys, and folds out flat and becomes a play mat with train-lines and roads on. It’s great.

  96. My 3 year old daughter has moin bunny hes a beany ty bunny he was mine as a child now shes adopted and renamed him, we cant go anywhere without him xxx

  102. He has to take his penguin cuddly toy and some toy cars but this year the dummy stays at home never to be seen again 😉

  105. if we go on a long journey they bring along their neck pillows so they can sleep comfy , but always take books pens juice and treats , and recently a tablet to play games on and watch videos

  116. Something musical for bedtime. She’s never had a comforter but loves to fall asleep and singalong to music 🙂

  120. My son would have to take his trains. We have to take his trains everywhere and I can’t imagine he would possibly allow us to go on holiday without them

  129. We’ve only ever been on holidayin the UK with little miss but if I we’re to ask her I know she’d say ‘a snack’ and ‘a treat’. Apple. Far. Tree. Bless her xx

  135. His learning crawl ball, he plays with it everyday for ages. He’s not learnt to crawl with it yet though but loves it.

  143. My kids have to always take their favourite teddy bears. We make pretty labels with glitter and stickers on and write our address and phone number on them and tie them round their necks with ribbon incase they get lost so we can get them back in the post !

  154. He has a towel which he cuddles to sleep at night. We can leave anything else but not his special towel.

  155. Some Lego so his imagination can run wild and he can have a go at building what we see or do that day

  158. Three items each are allowed and, actually, their choice changes quite often. However, at least one item is a gadget!

  178. I laughed out loud at her packing list as it sounds very similar to what I imagine my daughter’s will be when we go on holiday in the summer. She has already started a list consisting of her toy story toys, toy plastic food and a small wooden see-saw from her dolls house. She has got one item of clothing on it though – a swimming suit 🙂

  195. my son has to take his buzz lightyear everywhere with him and its a piglet for my daughter 🙂

  199. The twins have to take their dummies. One to suck and one to rub on their faces! They were very premature so were given dummies to teach them to suck. I think they’ll still want them when the are at school!

  214. An orange muslin cloth she’s had since she was born, It’s a bit tatty now but she couldn’t sleep without it.

Comments are closed.