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My kids are jazzed! We are headed to Boston to visit my in-laws. My kids, age 2 and 4, love nothing more than a trip to Gigi and Papa’s house. While I deeply enjoy visiting them and the childcare help, packing for 2 little kids plus me used to be a nightmare. No more I say! Recently, I decided to put my former theatrical stage manager cap on and make a system. Even better, the system includes a packing list and a play by play of what to pack when so you aren’t running around frantically at the last minute! This is how I packed us this time to travel with young children.
Make a Checklist for Travel with Young Children
If you are anything like basically anyone I know, travel with young children always includes forgetting something! Minimize this by making an extensive travel checklist. Put EVERYTHING on the checklist. The more detailed you can make this checklist the less likely you are to forget something. I include the name of the item, number of stated items, and I separate the items by person. If you have older children, they can help pack themselves. Have them lay all the items out on a flat surface separated by type. You can go through and double check items off together before bagging them up. With younger children, it (for better or worse) is all on the adults, but there is a way to make it a little easier.
Plan In Advance
Planning in advance, if possible, is the best way to make traveling with young children less of a nightmare. How far in advance should you start? A week. I know that seems like a long time, but you want to make sure there is time not only to wash and gather things, but also to go get anything you might need. Start by trying to get to the bottom of all your laundry baskets.
About a week in advance wash all your dirty laundry. I can’t tell you how many times I have started packing only to realize at least 3 things I really needed were at the bottom of a hamper. This will also prevent you from having to go out and buy things you already have. Doing laundry can be a great reminder that no, you don’t need more socks for the kids. All their socks were just at the bottom of your baskets.
A Purchase for Travel That Will Save You Time
In addition to laundry, purchasing a few travel specific items has made my life much easier. The number one travel purchase I recommend it packing cubes. Buy a set of packing cubes for each family member. Each family member should have a different color or print. This will make packing for your young children much more organized and save your time and sanity while living out of a suitcase. Packing cubes also allow you to pack everyone’s stuff in the same suitcase while keep everything organized by person. I have a set of Eagle Creek packing cubes like the one’s linked below that are great and have gone with me everywhere from hospital trips to vacations!
Pre-game Your Packing
No, I don’t mean drink before you pack. I mean stage before you pack. To stage your packing you will need a large flat surface. This can be the couch or a bed. Ideally, this will be in place that your children won’t mess with it. I stage all our travel items in an office, behind a closed door. On this flat surface you will lay out all of the items separated by person and type of item. For example, if the list says you need 3 shirts for child 1, you will pick out the 3 shirt and put them all together in the staging area.
I start staging about 3 -4 days before we are set to leave. Start at the top of your checklist and work your way down. If you do not have a separate place to stage, you can use your bed and put all of the items after you have check them off into your packing cubes. I like to lay all my items out like this so that I can see all of each person’s clothing at once. I aim to have all our clothes packed 2 days before we are set to leave. This gives me a little wiggle room if things come up.
Pro tip: I will pick a base color (for us black, grey, or blue) and a few accent colors for each person so that everything goes together. This makes for much easier travel dressing as you are never stuck trying to find pants that go with a specific shirt. Everything works together.
Packing Toiletries for Travel with Young Children
I don’t know about you, but my toiletry bag is always overpacked with my stuff! It is a great idea to pack a separate toiletry bag for your children. Children often have their own special toothpaste, medications, and soaps. Packing their own toiletry kit ensures that at kid bedtime you aren’t digging through all of your stuff trying to find kid toothpaste. I really like hanging toiletry bags like the one listed below. The clear windows and divided sections make it very easy to keep everything organized. There is also enough room to put in a thermometer (my favorite is linked below) and some child fever reducer which are travel essentials for any one traveling with young children.
Toiletries can be a bit of a scramble at the last minute because these items are often needed until the last minute. You should consider purchasing an extra set of tooth brushes and a travel toothpaste to stay in your kids toiletry bag. It will save you from having to run out at your destination and grab one later. Another item that can be great to keep in you kids toiletry bag is a travel first aid kit. The one linked below is one I have had my eye on for a long time. It includes regular bandages, specialty finger, and elbow/knee bandages, thermometer strips, ointments, and more! You will be super prepared for any boo boos that happen while you are away from home.
The Night Before
The night before you leave will be relatively uneventful if you have followed the timeline set out here. I like to double check that we have all our medications and any other absolute must haves. Moving all our packed by to right by the door helps streamline things if we are leaving early, if not I put things all together in a safe, not child accessible location. Then, I put my checklist in a noticeable place to make sure I pack any morning of items. Finally, I make a nice cup of tea, take a deep breath of gratitude for planning ahead, and try to get some rest!
I hope these travel tips help you on your adventures with your little ones. Please let me know if these tips helped! I love hearing from you.
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