7 Packing Tricks for Traveling With Toddlers

Recently my family went on a mini vacation. While it was nice to get away, it took hours of packing, checking lists, and making sure that we had absolutely everything we needed to get by for 5 days and 4 nights. Let’s just say packing for my family was a nightmare and took nearly an entire day!

The Luggage

I packed a van full of bags. Here are some of the bags that we took as well as a few other items…

  • Bag for mama
  • Bag for daddy
  • Bag for little lady
  • Bag for baby boy
  • Bathroom bag
  • Swim bag #1
  • Swim bag #2
  • Cooler bag with snacks
  • Electronics bag
  • Diaper bag
  • Miscellaneous bag
  • Little cooler bag
  • My purse
  • Toy bag
  • Ergo Carrier
  • Pack and Play
  • Single stroller
  • Double stroller
  • Jackets for everyone
  • Travel Highchair

Did you count those bags? I’ll do it for you…16! That’s right. I packed 16 bags for my family of 4. Four nights and five days! You say, that is a bit excessive right? I agree but the planner in me can’t help but over pack!

So, I want to lay it out for you. What did we use and what stayed in the bag the whole entire trip? What did I pack too much of and what was I missing? Here we go…

Packing for Mama and Daddy

We will start with mama and daddy. There probably isn’t much I would change for us. Except I brought a pair of nice sandals that aren’t very comfortable so they stayed in my bag the whole time. Waste of space. I had some extra clothes left over but I tend to over pack for myself. I’m pretty messy and my little guy likes to use me as a tissue. It’s better to be safe than sorry!!

Packing for the Toddlers

Clothes

Now let’s talk about the kiddos. I packed each kiddo about 10 outfits plus swimsuits and PJ’s. Needless to say, we had a lot left over, but, you never know with kiddos. If I were going to do it again I’d probably bring more one-piece outfits for the little guy (less 2 piece outfits) and a few less outfits for my daughter who tends to be less messy. She also had a pair of sandals in her bag that she never wore. I also packed my daughter about 5 pairs of sunglasses and 5 big bows. Next time I’d probably just make sure she had a few pairs of glasses in the car and leave it at that. I also brought an entire pack of diapers and an extra pack of wipes. We only went through half of the diapers but almost all of the extra wipes.

Diaper Bag

With an almost 1 year old and 3 year old, you have to have a diaper bag. In it we had extra clothes, diapers, wipes, snack foods, sunscreen, and other typical diaper bag items. Obviously this is an essential bag so this is something we couldn’t have done without!

Toy bag

This was probably the most used bag of the entire trip except for the diaper bag. I let my daughter pick most of the items for this one. She chose duplos (which we put in a drawstring backpack), a small backpack with items for her baby doll, another small backpack with stickers and coloring books, a doctor kit, and tons of small baby toys. Next time, we aren’t packing baby toys. My son played with the legos and a few small balls that were in our bag. NOTHING ELSE! But, he got into everything! Next time I think I’ll throw a bunch of random stuff in a bag- especially things he’s not supposed to have and call it a day! If you plan on packing toys for a baby on your next trip, don’t! Just open a drawer in your kitchen, pull out a few things and viola! And maybe a few cords…babies love cords! (Kidding…kinda…)

Packing for the Bathroom

Now for the bathroom bag. I put everyone’s things into the same bag. The kids were easy because they required very little. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, brush, body wash/shampoo, and a few hair ties. The hubs and I had quite a bit more. My stuff obviously took up the most space. Next time, I’ll leave my straightener at home. I used it once and very early in the day I put my hair up in a ponytail. Waste of time AND space!

Packing to Swim

On to the swim bag(s). I’ll start by saying that some of our trip was at an indoor waterpark. The suggested bringing beach towels so I did. Big mistake! They took up a whole large tote and we didn’t even touch them! We used what the hotel had. The other swim bag had swimming diapers, extra suits, and life jackets. My son didn’t use his life jacket once. Next time I’ll keep his at home. My daughter used hers for every swim time though so we will be sure to bring that again.

Packing Food

Then there is food. I ran out of fruit/veggie pouches. We like to give these to our kids on the road so that they are still getting their veggies. I don’t know what happened but we didn’t have any pouches left for our last day and a half. I also packed fruit snacks, granola bars and misc. snacks for mama and daddy, oreo snack packs, goldfish, and cheerios. I also packed ziplock baggies, empty water bottles, empty plastic grocery bags, and icepacks. My kids consumed thousands of cheerios and goldfish. My daughter ate quite a few packs of gummies. My husband and I ate very little of the granola bars and oreo snacks. On our next trip I plan on bringing bottled water and less snacks for my husband and I. If needed, we can always buy some while we are out. I’ll also bring some cans of pop for us because as our biggest vice, we ended up overpaying quite a few times.

Odds and Ends

In this day and age you can’t go without an electronics bag! I wouldn’t change a thing about that! We had a laptop, 2 iPads, DVD’s for the car, lots of chargers and even a night light which was super helpful in our hotel room!

Our miscellaneous bag had lots of random stuff. A pack and play sheet, blankies for each kiddo, a box of tissues (that never got opened), a few empty bags (just in case), and a travel potty seat. The blankets were a must have obviously!! Same with the pack and play sheet.

I packed a little cooler bag for our day trips. This was something we used every day. In it I packed empty sippy cups, refillable snack cups, a travel size bottle of dish soap and a bottle brush. We used this so we didn’t have to pack our entire cupboard of cups!

My purse- next time it will stay at home! My wallet stayed in the diaper bag the entire trip!!

So my big takeaways from this trip for packing…

  • Don’t take your purse if you have a diaper bag
  • Make sure you have an electronics bag
  • Take the toys your kids play with all the time (legos) or dump a random kitchen drawer into a bag for your baby
  • Bring tons of snacks for kids and less for mom and dad! Bring more drinks for mom and dad!
  • Skip the fancy shoes and bring a pair of flipflops and comfy shoes
  • Leave the hair straightener at home (especially if it is hot!)
  • Bring a stain stick!!

There you have it! What are your must haves? What can you live without for a short trip?

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Stephanie-Buckeye Teacher Mama