I forgot my tinted moisturizer makeup --disaster! Bought a local product and it was marvelous - #7 in London.
On another trip I forgot my polish remover pads. Luckily I was in Paris, and found the most wonderful polish remover.
Moral is - whatever you've forgotten it can always be replaced and usually with a much better product.

If I had kids -- I'd probably make sure they have the address to the hotel and/or my cell phone number on them so if by chance they got separated from me, I'd have a better chance of them being returned pronto. I'd probably make sure to give them good instructions on what to do if they got lost. Everything else can be replaced in Europe. ;)

Jules

A foldable umbrella! I always forget that, and always end up buy a prohibitively expensive one.

we are travelling in early september - what will the weather be like

Quizno: I'm starting to think that you're my dad, because that's exactly what happened to me as well. I was 7 at the time and am now 26 :-)
In case the lost stuffed animal was a white cat she got at birth and you replaced it with a German baby seal which your daughter still has, then I think you definitely are my dad ;-)

And another useful hint concerning pasports, ID's, credit cards, whatever. Scan them in and e-mail yourself all this as an attachment (to a mailbox which can be accessed from whatever computer of course). You can also put all your useful phone numbers and everything in it. This way in case you lose everything, you still have a copy in your mailbox which you can access wherever.

thanks for all the useful tips

This was such a good help for us too. Thanks! Another thing I didn't think about but a good help no matter where you are is to have an up to date picture of your children. Just in case they were to get lost(not that this will happen) you would have a recent "normal" picture of them so that everyone would know what they look like right away. Most of all the authorities. Also if there is a a language barrier a picture says a thousand words and even a minute could make all the difference in the world. Just a thought...

TWO ATM cards; my credit union would not increase my daily withdrawal limit, so I opened another checking account elsewhere and got an ATM card for that one, too. This was especially handy when I was getting a discount for paying cash at hotels.

I will contact our bank

I try to follow "packing tips" closely, so, in order to distribute my belongings better in the case, I do not usually pack the two shoes from a pair in the same plastic bag. It usually works well, but I once found myself in a hotel room, accross the oceans, getting dressed for a Conference in which I was one of the main speakers, having to do with two brown shoes, from different pairs each, to match my beautiful brown suit... I had to wear my "sensible" black walking shoes instead!

<we are travelling in early september - what will the weather be like>

Well... it will most likely be fall ;-)

Seriously, expect weather similar to cities along the same latitudes in the U.S.

Guidebook. And after a learning experience, my contact lens Rx! Plus spare lenses, of course...

<we are travelling in early september - what will the weather be like>

I had lived in London for a few years, and what they said about rain is true! It can drizzle all day long, for days, and as far as I remember, this can happen any time of the year.

I found it best to always keep a foldable umbrella in my bag, rather than get stuck in a tube station because it is raining.

enjoy your holiday!

these tips are great thanks

I had a flawless record until last year, forgot the underwear!

Greatest find:
A mini clamp on book light instead of a flashlight. They are LCD, very bright, extremely compact, 360 swivel and clip onto anything. Great for hands free light.

DH got a big laugh when I threw it in my bag and made many jokes. Of course, when the power went out in our cottage rental (actually the whole neighborhood for about 15 minutes) I was fine in the living room with my handy-dandy light as he crept out of the WC in utter darkness! Poetic justice!

I will definitely pack the mini light!!