Packing for Kids (Backpack only) + Snacks and Activities

You’re heading out on a trip with your kids and want to pack as minimally as possible…well, I have all you need here!

Use this list for packing for your kids for a trip anywhere from 1-2 weeks or beyond.

 

I’ll be breaking it down into 5 main categories:

1. What they need
2. What brings them comfort while away from home
3. What will keep them busy and connected…aka activities
4. What snacks to bring
5. Special Considerations

What they need:

Clothes 

• 4 bottoms and 5-6 tops to mix and match
• 1 warm, not bulky sweater
• 1 rain jacket
• 10 days of underwear and socks
• Extra shoes like sandals or water shoes

Swimwear 

• Bathing suit
• Swim gear like goggles
• Sunscreen…but we pack that in the adults bags usually.
• You shouldn’t need a towel as hotels and airbnb’s usually come with them, but it’s a consideration.

Safety/Medical: 

• Booster/car seat (strapped to carry on adult luggage)
• Medications (prescription and non-prescription medication)…also carried in adults bags
• Wipes for cleaning up messes and dirty hands before eating

Toiletries

• Toothbrush and paste
• Hair brush
• Hair care product…if needed
• Deodorant (if you have a teen)

Miscellaneous:

• Empty water bottle to fill after security
• Sunglasses
• Hat
• School supplies, if needed

We have our children wear their bulkier items on the plane, like sweaters or jackets, bulkier shoes, pants rather than shorts, hats, etc.

 

Comfort Needs: 

These are the things that help your child feel less worried about leaving home. It could be things like:

• Blankies
• Stuffies, our son has a big squishy stuffy that serves as a great pillow and comfort item
• Sleep aids (special pillows, noise machine, dream catcher or pyramid like my son, etc).
• You may also want to bring pictures of family members and other ways to connect them with family/friends (especially if traveling for longer periods of time).

 

Activities:

Connection to family and friends can come in the form of video calls and playing games online. My kids are close with their cousins, so playing games together online is a great way to keep them connected. 

Speaking of devices, we make sure to have:

• Shows downloaded on Disney or Netflix
• Have a few games they can play offline while on the airplane…both educational and fun (for example, my son loves playing chess…something he can do offline and online with friends at a later time)
• Download audiobooks or podcasts
• List at the bottom of this post
• Download books to read
• Our tablets come with pencils for digital drawing as well
• And we, of course, pack headphones or earbuds for our kids to use.

We also pack non-electronic activities, which can and should be based on your own kids interest. Here are some examples from our kids:

• Drawing and colouring items (because my kids love drawing so much that they also enjoy drawing this way…it also serves as an easier way to play games together.)
• Lego with Lego figures. Great because it’s like mini action figures and building fun, while also being compact.
• Special interests, like my son’s Warhammer obsession… he fell in love with this tabletop game while we were traveling and now working with Warhammer is his life goal. So, any special interests that can also be used for playing with others.
• Travel sized games and card games that the whole family can play.
• There are of course lots of other great things you can choose from like
• Water Wow Books 
• Activity books
• Physical books to read
• Scratch books or other crafty books

 

But remember, the plan is to keep things simple and minimally packed, so don’t go too crazy! They will likely sleep for some of the time too. So, you need enough to keep them busy without overdoing it.

Snacks:

If your kids are like mine, they love snacking. Nothing is worse than a kid who is hungry and then having to spend $20 on some basic snacks and food that you can get on the airplane. You can bring just about any food you want onto the airplane. I know people who even pack ramen cups and ask the post-security coffee shop for hot water to cook the noodles. 

Just don’t bring liquids through security. Be careful because many apple sauces and things are just over the limit (100 ml), so keep an eye on it, if you choose to bring them.

Something I started doing was to grab a few bags of various sweet and salty snacks to blend together in a baggy and bring with us. That way they can choose at the time what they feel like eating. 

Here’s what I have to show you: 

• Salty:
• Sweet potato crackers
• Trail mix
• Peanut mix
• Seed pucks
• Chocolate granola bites
• Sweet:
• Coconut bites
• Caramel popcorn
• Mini cookies
• Dried fruit

 

These snacks are good for about 3-5 hour flights, but we do often pack for longer flights and/or to eat at the airport some simple sandwiches or wraps and fruit. You can easily just pack a [hold up each item] PB&J sandwich, apple, and granola bars…much like you would pack for their lunches at school. 

I like to pack my food in baggies because they don’t take up room or weight after the food is eaten. Containers can be bulky and heavy for kids’ backpacks. The sandwich may squish a little, but usually it’s fine. 

Special Considerations

Keep special considerations in mind. For example, are you planning a Disney trip? Maybe pack some Disney-themed clothes and accessories that your children will want for the trip. 

That’s how you pack only a backpack for your kids to last 1-2 weeks or even full time like we did.

 

If you need a packing list for the adults for an upcoming trip, then check this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsAPFX-v4ng&t=113s

Thank you for joining me Every Further Mile!

Podcast List for Kids:

We have not tried all of these podcasts, but going on the recommendation of many worldschooling families.

General:

• Greeking Out
• Smash Boom Best
• Past and the Curious
• Stories Podcast
• Story Pirates
• Tumble
• Brains On!
• What If World
• The Past and the Curious
• Our Fake History
• Wow in the World
• The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd
• Stuff you missed in History
• Sparkle Stories
• StoryNory
• Purple Rocket
• But Why
• Part-time Genius
• Brainpop Jr. and Brainpop
• Brains on

Spanish Lessons:

• Simple Stories in Spanish
• Eat your Spanish
• Bilingual stories for kids
• Mama lingua
• Hola Nature

French Lessons:

• Les Odyssées

• Des Histoires en Musique

• Mythes et Légendes