How often have you discovered that the takeout place forgot to add silverware or you want to stop at the grocery store instead of eating fast food yet again?

For those of us without a special pocket on the side of our backpack to hold water this little clip helps keep the bottle handy.

Beach toys cost a fortune at beach resorts, but if you buy them at home they take too much room in your luggage, so use this and cups from the hotel to form your castles.

You are probably going to have to do laundry at some point. These haven't broken open on us and in a pinch can be used in the sink.

Packing a few of these drink singles helps us reduce the amount of soda we drink, because honestly, my son is averse to drinking plain water. We don't tend to pack water or water bottles because we can't get the water past security and we do buy bottled water because tap water in different locales tastes funny to us. The singles do help cover the taste if we end up refilling a bottle, though.

Add an unlined notebook for drawing or doodling or writing observations. Get one without wire rings because those get smashed in travel. The lack of lines tends to increase creativity.

Don't forget to add a little pen. You might need it to fill out the customs forms, so stick one in Mom and Dad's backpack too.

This is really a must have. If you have two kids, get the games they can play with each other. I'd like to say that books are enough to amuse them, and definitely pack books, too, but once in a while they just need to be quiet and smuse themselves!

These are for Dad when he doesn't want to hear another word. He usually brings his laptop which gives him the choice of watching a DVD or listening to music.

My pink freak daughter likes these. Don't forget to pack a set of earphones for everybody so they can watch the movie. These are a good value for the kids because they get good sound but aren't so expensive that you will freak out when they lose them. We like earbuds because they are harder to break and don't take up much room.