The first trip back to Virginia (Chesapeake Bay) since the pandemic. Kids are 3 years older. My youngest is now the age of my oldest the last time we made the journey from the mountain west to our nations capital. I can say traveling is a bit easier at 4 and 6 then at 1 and 3 but only a bit!
Despite being away from traveling as a family since Nov of 2019 we have had a couple lead up practice rounds of both traveling by car and by plane prior to this trip and I can say I have learned a lot from the standpoint of Mama AKA “packer, planner, and parent to all!”
During our quarantine/social distancing days we made our way to some nationals parks via pulling an RV camper so packing light and making sure we had clothes that would dry on a clothes line were key. But I think the best thing learned was packing light!
Yea kids need a lot but do they? Diapers, wipes and car seats are really the things that take up the most room. And the good news? The diapers and most of the wipes don’t come back with you! What kids DO NOT need are multiple changes in clothing.
My kids dress themselves. So when I pack for them they need clothing that somewhat matches (or doesn’t) but I find they will often times put on the same thing day after day. At first this mortified me and frustrated me since I spent so much time planning “outfits.” Now? I pack in generalizations. Tops, bottoms, underwear and jammies. I look at the weather try hard to plan accordingly and go from there! It’s not always perfect but it’s been working for us. And it definitely helps if we are headed to a location where we have the option of washing clothes… which is our trip this go around.
Next up? Toys and stuffies! What have I done? I make them carry their own backpacks and whatever they bring or put in it is what they get! We’ve even managed to get suitcases for each of them and they carry all their own luggage. This started with a recent Spring Break trip where we arrived so late we didn’t want to check bags so my 4 and 5yo (at the time) carried their own luggage. And this was a game changer! We will now always travel this way if possible. It makes arrival much smoother. Yes we get the complaining about how heavy things are and navigating the escalators have been somewhat treacherous but we are getting there!
Finally, the “extras.” Toiletries for kids are easy. Mine share and they don’t obviously need much. The only other extra we bring are night lights and a travel sound machine and BAM. DONE! We are ready to go!
Seems easy right? Well if you talk to my husband it is quite the affair that starts a week before travel I. My head and if I don’t start packing prior to the night before it can turn into a mountain of stress but it gets done and we are off!!!
