The Internet is full of great checklists of items to pack for your upcoming family vacation. In addition to these, here are a few items I would add to make your next vacation as pleasant as possible.

Fanny Pack

Is your shorts short on pockets? A good fanny pack can provide plenty of space for your wallet, car keys, and even a small camcorder. I’ve even been known to cram a small ebook reader in mine to pass the time while waiting in line.

Disposable plates, cups…and permanent marker

Many of my family’s vacations include renting lodging that includes a kitchen where we cook many of our meals. Often, the kitchens will include dining ware, but disposable plates, et al serve as a nice backup. Using a permanent marker to write our names on our plastic cups allows us to reuse them without mixing them up.

Zip lock bags

Many of our vacations revolve around beaches. Being able to seal cell phones, cameras and other items away from the sand is an important precaution.

While we’re talking about the beach…

  • Umbrella or tent: years ago, we bought a nice beach umbrella that we like to bring out on return trips. Bringing along your own shade in the form of an umbrella or tent can make your visit to the beach more enjoyable.
  • Something to anchor down that umbrella or tent: we have a couple of metal corkscrew contraptions that we can, by hand, “screw” into the sand to hold our umbrella allowing it to withstand some of the gustier winds. With tents, I’ve seen beach goers anchor them down with stakes or do-it-yourself sandbags.
  • Chairs: toting along a few folding chairs will make your day even more relaxing.
  • Kite or flag for flair: on a few visits, I saw a few vacationers tie either a kite or a flag–for example, the flag of their home State–to a tent pole. I especially thought the kite was a neat touch. I suppose such adornments can help your family find their way back to your setup, but it seemed more about just having some fun. Simply flying a kite on the beach might be a fun way to pass the time, too.
  • Long sleeved sun shirts: obviously bring along all the proper sunscreen ointments, aloes, et al, but I’ve also adopted the long sleeved sun shirts–the lightweight, quick drying, SPF-rated kind. Heck, I’ve even started mowing my lawn in them. Sure, next to mowing in knee high black socks it might be the mark of an “old man,” but if it saves me from having to coat half my body in sunscreen, I’ll take it.

Power strips, adapters, and cables, oh my

When you have lots of people having to share a handful of charging cables and ports to charge lots of devices, things can get tense. Make sure to bring along lots of your charging gear to keep everyone calm.

Night time entertainment

After a long day in the sun, my family tends to enjoy a “family movie night” and maybe a cool bowl of ice cream. Wherever you lodge, look into what sorts of televisions and wifi is available. Will you be able to log into your favorite subscription service? Should you bring along a laptop full of movies and run an HDMI cable to the living room TV? If you are able to log into your favorite subscription service, make sure you log out of it before you leave.

While my family often enjoys quiet nights at home, we do occasionally enjoy going out on the town, too. So, think about bringing along at least one pair of “nice” clothes for some fancy dining.

Navigation needs

I tell my kids to not be entirely dependent on GPS…you never know when it might fail you. We often take advantage of triptiks from AAA and other material to help us reach our destination and explore local attractions.

Make memories

Need a family picture for your Christmas letter? The family vacation is a perfect opportunity for that. You can go one step further by buying coordinating outfits beforehand and bringing them along with you.

So, after you’ve made it through a few of the travel checklists out there, come back here for a few more ideas to make your family vacation great!