Christmas and birthdays.. The absolute best time of year if you are a kid.
The absolute most expensive time of year if you are a parent.
The absolute most hard to manage time of year if you live in a motorhome/caravan/backpack.

When deciding what to buy Gypsy for Christmas, we had to really think about size, practicality, and how many uses it had. We encouraged our family to do the same. 

We decided for Christmas to buy Gypsy a toy kitchen and after much shopping around, found one that fitted in perfectly at the end of her bed, wedged between the mattress and the roof! She also got a variety of foods etc to go with it that can be stored either inside the oven, or in her normal toy box beside it. 
We took the opportunity to explain to Gypsy that because she would be getting lots of presents, she also had to give lots as well. We made a big effort to include her in the present buying for her cousins. 
Then, after Christmas, we pulled all of her old and new toys out and did a cull. Favourites stayed, non-favourites (including some new ones) went. 

Tips:
* Speak to your child about giving and receiving and allow them to be part of the process.
* Lay all of the toys out in categories. Then minimise each group of toys. Gypsy had 8 rubber ducks! Now she has 2. 
* But gifts that have multiple purposes, or can be used in different ways so they don't get bored with them.
* Buy a box that fits where you intend to store it and allow your child to only have as many toys can fit into the box. 
* Buy things that can be later incorporated into craft activities. 

OUR MEDICAL KIT

Because we plan to travel for so long, we do not take anti-Malarial medications - they simply are not practical for the long-term traveller who comes and goes from malaria zone to non-malaria zone. Instead we travel with Malarone (a Malarial treatment or prevention - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atovaquone/proguanil), and Malarone Junior (as prescribed by our travel medicine doctor) which we can take if needed to while we get to a hospital.


The medicines for Gypsy are medicines we were prescribed by our travel medicine doctor to cover all general bases whilst on the road. 
If you run out, Malaysia, Thailand the Philippines and Sri Lanka, are amazing for buying replacement supplies - they are of good quality, are cheap and you can buy pretty much anything over the counter (6 rupees (4cents per valium anybody?)


And yes, we know our medical kit is HUGE - it weighs close to 2 kg, but we have been travelling for a long time and have used almost everything in it (except for Malarone thankfully!!) And it NEVER hurts to be over-prepared, especially when travelling with a baby.

In response to some questions I have received, here is a list of what we travel with.

Previously we traveled with a backpack and day pack each.
This trip we have managed to compress everything into ONE big backpack and 2 small day packs. Pretty good seeing as we gained an extra person!

That being said there are several items we simply cannot live without (in no order of importance):

*  Silk sleep sheet - we simply could not live without these. They are amazing when you are sleeping in a dodgy guesthouse (silk is virtually impenetrable to bedbugs), perfect to throw over you if the fan is a bit too cool, great for those guesthouses that you need to provide your own sheets for etc etc.. the uses are limitless! As we have Gypsy with us now, we have upgraded to 1 double sheet, and 1 single sheet. So it can either be her vs us, or mum and bub vs dad. Either way, we are all safe and clean!

* Sleeping bag - Ours are Denali Pod 200 - a tiny tiny 800 gram sleeping bag and it has been amazing. I know, a sleeping bag in Asia?!?! But seriously, you NEED it!! Asia can be really hot, but it can also be really really cold. Not to mention those bus trips where the AC is turned up to arctic!!

* Camera - We used to have an Olympus waterproof camera but have now upgraded to a Canon G12. Having a good camera that suits your needs goes without explanation. We also travel with an underwater housing for it and a spare battery.

* Thongs - The ultimate travel foot wear. AKA Jandles, Sandles, slippers, flip-flops...

* A computer - Cliche as it is, we know "flash-packer" and all, having a computer has been AMAZING! We started out without one and bought a cheap little ASUS in Malaysia and have not looked back. For space, as well as weight, we have a Macbook Air. Most places in the world these days have wi-fi, including Asia. The computer has been amazing to: book flights, research next destinations, write emails, blog, keep track of your money, internet bank securely, make bookings, backup photos, watch movies, listen to music, skype family and friends for free, and a million other reasons. Even in places with no wi-fi it certainly has not been dead-weight. If you are only going for a short time, an ipad or tablet, and some spare sd cards for your camera could also work well. 

* Refillable water bottle - There are water refill "stations" all over Asia and having your own bottle is a great way to reduce costs (refills are practically free) as well as to reduce your plastic footprint. It has many other practical purposes such as to make instant soup in, drink tea, use as a hot water bottle, use as weights after a few months of excessive eating etc etc..

* A sarong - Another cliche but extremely practical. Throw it over you on a cold bus, hang it up on a dorm bed for privacy, use it as a towel, use it as a dress/skirt, bathe in it when bathing in public rivers etc with locals, use it as a scarf, wrap it around your head to protect you from the sun, use as a mosquito screen, use it as a baby change mat, use it to cover up when breastfeeding in public etc etc

* A notebook - Essential to keep track of your money, write notes, get new friends' contact details, let bub draw, take note of bub's new milestones etc etc..

* Medical kit - Obviously it's pretty important to have a medical kit but if you travel like we do, make sure it has atleast a basic anti-biotic, malarone(anti-malarial), bandaids, panadol and emergency supplies enough to suffice you for a couple days in case you are that far away from a hospital. There isn't much in our medical kit we haven't used at least once. 

* Laundry powder (in a 500 ml water bottle) and scrubbing brush - Washing machines are really hard to come by and getting people to do your laundry for you can cost you a small fortune. And sometimes things go missing or get damaged. Handwashing yourself is pretty easy and quick, not to mention cheap! We also have an elastic clothes line which has been pretty handy.

* Wash nets - Wash nets are the perfect way to keep your backpack organised. We have 1 each. 1 for Roh's clothes, 1 for Rob's clothes, 1 for Gypsy's clothes, and 1 for our underwear and misc objects. It makes packing SO much easier, makes finding things SO much easier, the nets can double up as pillows or cushions, can be used as a barrier to stop bubs from rolling off the bed during naps, and the net also allows the clothes to breathe so your bag doesn't end up stinking. 

* Toiletries - You can buy everything you need on the road. We only travel with the bare essentials - soap, tooth brushes etc, moisturiser, sunscreen, insect repellant, razor, nail clippers etc. 

Other miscellaneous items and baby specific items we have: