Travel Tip | Packing Clothes for Kids

Traveling around Europe for six months was going to be a super adventure! We didn’t want to be overwhelmed with luggage, so we knew we had to figure out how to travel lightly. We also had to be ready for cold winter days and hot days in the summer since we were traveling January through June.

Below is a list of what clothing we packed for our four, nine, and ten year olds, general tips, and how I would pack differently.

General Tips for Packing for Kids

• Take what they like to wear and what they will be comfortable in. You don’t want to fight the clothing battle everyday, so make sure they are happy with what they have to wear. My kids like leggings and T-shirts, so that is what they’ve worn every day on our trip.

• Use mix and match colors and styles. Your laundry cycle might not be what you’re used to while you travel, so make sure they can wear any shirt with any pants (for the most part). I also made sure that our clothes and pjs can be used for either need. You might have a few days when clean laundry gets tight and wearing pjs for the day is needed.

• Choose clothes that are durable and easy to care for. We brought cotton or cotton blend clothing. They are durable, comfy, and easy to care for. The cotton dries a lot faster than I thought it would too, taking into consideration that we’ve only had a clothes dryer for about six days of the trip.

• Plan to wear layers. We’ve needed to dress for days in the 30s to days in the 80s (Fahrenheit). If it’s freezing outside, it still might be really warm inside. You want to be able to put on or take off layers as needed. We have spent a lot of time walking to destinations too, so that adds a lot of time that you need to dress appropriately for the weather.

• Pack for 6-8 days or less. If you will be in one place for long periods with a washer, I would probably pack for 4-5 days since you can keep up with laundry easily. If you are moving around a lot and may not have a washer or time to let laundry dry completely, 6-8 days of clothes come in handy.

• Remember you can shop along the way. If you need something you didn’t bring, you can easily purchase what you need while traveling. If you like to shop, you’ll enjoy the opportunity to find what you need. It also allows the opportunity to interact with locals which is a fun way to experience the culture. We recently donated a few winter items and purchased a few warm weather items.

Clothing Packing List (per child)

• 3 long sleeved T-shirts

• 2 thicker long sleeved shirts

• 4 short sleeved T-shirts

• 6 pairs leggings for daily wear

• 3 pairs leggings for pjs

• 2 pairs thick leggings

• 10-14 pairs underwear

• 7-10 pairs socks

• 1 pair tennis shoes (originally, we packed 2 pairs each, but decided they took up too much space and sent them home about ten days into our trip)

• 1 pair flip flops for showers/house shoes (not pictured)

• 1 fleece

• 1 lightweight packable coat

• 1 winter hat

• gloves

• 2-3 extra outfits for my four year old

How I Would Pack Differently

• I would bring a thinner fleece. We love the fleeces that we brought. They are lightweight and warm but they are very bulky and take up a lot of packing space. A thinner fleece would be just as useful and take up less valuable space.

• I would leave the thicker long sleeved shirts at home, or only bring one. They were nice during our first month when it was really cold, but we could have been fine with the other layers we had. We haven’t used them enough to make it worth taking up the space.

• I would use different bags. Below I show you the bags we used for the girls’ clothing and explain why we would use something different again.

Bags We Used

These are the two bags that hold the clothing for all three girls. They are high quality, versatile, and have done a great job. However, if we were making this trip again, we would purchase bags that slip onto the handle of a rolling suitcase. I’ll give more details on bags we’ve used in a later post. If you want more info on this bag you can see it here. We also shopped around for a lower price.

I recently packed all of the girls’ cold weather clothes in one of the bags, including their packable coats, winter hats, and gloves.

The other bag holds lighter weight clothes that are used for warmer weather.

There are a lot of packing tips out there to learn from. This is what has and has not worked for us. What you pack and how much you take can make a big difference in your travel experience. There is a balance of having what you need and want, but not overpacking. I hope this helps you!