5 Expert Packing Tricks For Traveling With Kids
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There’s traveling, and then there’s traveling with kids. As a parent, you undoubtedly know that a vacation with kids immediately means more: more luggage, more snacks, and more stress. But we’re here to help with all that.
Whether you’re heading out on a road trip, roughing it out on a camping trip, or getting ready to jump on a flight, we’ve got all the packing tricks and tips for traveling with kids this summer.
Here are 5 Packing Tips For Family Travel:
1. Compression Packing Cubes
When it comes to family travel tips, compression packing cubes top our list. Similar to the OG packing cube design, compression cubes take your packing to the next level! Each pack comes with sizes to accommodate large items like pants, outerwear, and tops, down to cubes designed for socks and underwear. But the best part? They zip down to a compressed state so you can fit more stuff in your bag!
We love these Bag Smart Compression Cubes because they come in a variety of bundle sizes and in tons of colors, so you can keep your kids’ clothes separate and organized. While you may not be able to master how to pack light with kids while traveling, compression cubes at least give you a fighting chance for fitting it all into one suitcase!
2. Use a Packing Checklist
When you were young and childfree, you could get by tossing in a bunch of swimsuits and dresses for your vacay. But alas, children are not so easy. They need…stuff. That’s why a packing checklist is key to making your packing a breeze, but also to make sure you actually bring everything you need.
We love this free packing template by Rilee Smith, which works with your Apple Notes app. Use it to map out each day of your trip, the weather, activities, and what each person will wear so you don’t find yourself buying an overpriced tourist sweatshirt at the last minute.
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3. Pack a Wet Bag
Even if you no longer have babies or toddlers, you can’t go wrong packing a wet bag for any kind of vacation. They are of course great for reusable swim diapers and swimsuits, but they are also perfect for quarantining clothing that has suffered a bathroom accident (potty or blowout!), fallout from car sickness, and are great for containing sweaty clothes if you are a fitness fanatic on vacay (props to your dedication!)
These wet bags from AlvaBaby come in a two-pack, over 20 color options, are double-zippered, and washable. When you’re not using them for a trip, they double nicely as a makeup bag, first aid kit holder, makeup bag, and even a snack holder for day trips.
4. Bring a Laundry Bag
Kids and laundry go hand in hand, and a vacation is not about to stop all that. Even if you don’t directly plan on doing a load, sometimes accidents happen that make a stop by a local laundromat a must (thank you, car sickness).
We love the STNKY Washable laundry bag because the bag itself locks in odor and moisture, keeping your other clothes clean. The best part is you can wash your dirty laundry in the bag itself, which means not only are you ditching the stinkies on the bag itself, but you’re also keeping clear of those public washing machine germs.
5. Pack a Snacklebox
Not heading to the airport for your trip? Road trip essentials are just as important when it comes to packing up the car and hitting the road, especially when it involves snacks. If you don’t want to be tweaking your back from constantly turning around to hand back a handful of goldfish or open a bag of fruit snacks, you need a snackle box.
This option from Amazon is great because it comes with 8 removable trays and an ice pack to put underneath and keep all your snacks nice and chilly. Not only can you pack a variety to appease each and every picky kiddo in the backseat, but you can also just pull out the trays and hand them out individually so nobody steals all the snacks.
Check out our seasonal snacklebox snack ideas here!
MORE INFO: We have an entire roundup of our Amazon travel favorites to check out here!
Do you have a go-to packing hack? We’d love to hear about it! Head to Instagram and tag us @thecitymoms!
