We do our fair share of traveling, and over the years we’ve developed some systems that work really well for our family. One of these is a travel kit for children. No matter where we are, whether it’s a on road trip to California or on a train across Europe, we pack a little Zip-Lock bag filled with the essentials.
Travel Kit for Children:
- gum
- chap-stick
- wet wipes
- band-aids
- hand sanitizer
We pack it all up in a Zip-Lock bag for the inevitable explosion, and pop it into a backpack. When we were in Warsaw we never left the apartment without a backpack + this little handy travel kit. You never know about bathrooms, pinching shoes, or bad breath.
And someone’s always complaining about chapped lips. Without fail.
In Europe we replenished the kit every time we ran out of something so we weren’t caught unawares in some hilarious bathroom situations. Plus, you always need hand sanitizer when you’re riding in cable-cars and underground trains. Nasty.
As long as we carry this with us, along with a bottle of water and a snack or two, we’re set for miles and miles.
I took your advice on what to pack for Europe. For the most part anyway, you know I had to rebel a little and wear comfortable shoes for all the walking. But the number one tip I took from all of you was to pack light.
We did.
Each child had a carry on and a backpack, {the awesome luggage we bought at Costco} and that was it. The backpack was full of things for the 25 hours of travel each way: a Nintendo DSi for each kid, bubble gum, a coloring book and sketch pad, colored pencils, Skullcandy headphones, fruit leather and almonds, granola bars, and in Charming’s case a handful of Hot Wheels cars.
I was counting on the fact that each kid would have a T.V. with Nick Jr. at their disposal, and I was right. Hallelujah.
Anyway, the only way I was able to pack a month’s worth of clothing into a carry-on for each kid was to roll their clothes as I packed them.
I can’t even tell you what a difference it made.
So: roll your clothes as you pack them, hope for mini T.V.’s across the Atlantic, give your children each a Benadryl, and you’re set.
{you didn’t hear about the Benadryl from me. also, I’m not your mother or your doctor, so take my advice for what it is: free}
Before I left on vacation I asked you guys a bunch of questions about what to pack for Europe. What would I absolutely need, what could I skip, what did you recommend? You guys were totally on the money. Outlet adapters, peanut butter, comfortable clothes for the plane, all the way down. The one thing I didn’t take your advice on?
Not wearing tennis shoes.
I really debated it. I thought long and hard about how I would look like such an American with my white tennis shoes. Right before I went to Europe I went to a conference called Mom 2.0 where New Balance was a sponsor who gave me a fabulous pair of walking shoes. And in the end I decided I’d rather enjoy walking around Europe, miles and miles and miles a day, than worry about what my feet looked like. I wore really cute outfits, and just put the shoes on bottom, fashion be damned. {see below: complete outfit with a skirt and deep intake of breath, TENNIS SHOES on bottom}
College girls in Warsaw totally laughed at me. People in Prague may have stared a little. Would you like to know how I feel about that?
I don’t care one single bit.
I didn’t have to use a single band-aid, my feet didn’t ache, and I spent time really looking at the cathedrals and castles instead of thinking about how much my feet hurt.
Best decision ever.
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