Packing for Kids

25 Sep 2021

Car Trip Contents

Having an almost-5-year-old and almost-1-year-old means their schedules are different. We planned to travel the most while the 1-year-old napped and both slept for the night in their car seats. While the 1-year-old napped, I figured I should have some activities for our four-year-old. I took a Pampers diaper box and packed the following for his “activity box” in the truck:

- Bag of snacks

- Water bottle

- Coloring print outs from the library

- Dry erase board, markers and eraser I purchased at Daiso as a surprise for the trip

- I attached a binder clip on the dry erase board that he could use it as a “clip board” for drawing or coloring

- I found a disposable plastic coffee cup with a handle I had used at an event years ago that was in my parents’ cabinet. I used that to be the writing utensil holder so that he would have easy access to it when he wanted to use it

- Tennis racquets because that was the best place for them

Backpack

For activities at the hotels, we purchased a backpack for him that would fit all the toys we’d take with us on the trip. We packed:

- Wooden animals and play silk

- Plarail train tracks, one train, one “tunnel” along with a screwdriver set my parents had gotten him, rechargeable batteries and its charger.

- Foldable waterproof picnic mat

- Car mat and cars

- Shapes puzzle

- Plastic container of Legos

- A pair of garden gloves (for when I know there isn’t a convenient place to wash hands and want to keep his hands clean), a pair of clean socks (just in case) and a container of cut-up tampons for bloody noses (see post here for details).

In order to make the most of the space, I packed the tracks in a particular way. (See below for detailed photos.)

So that the backpack straps wouldn’t be dragging, my dad purchased things called dominator clips. He’s put them on bags he’s gifted to me for my birthday as well (update 9/30/22: Read a post on how I use it as a diaper bag.)

We knew once we settled on the West Coast, those would be the toys we’d have for some time before we were able to get our stuff from storage, so we wanted to make sure he got to choose them and there was a variety of toys available.

For our one-year-old, we packed stuffed animals and some animal toys in a small backpack for him so he would have some toys to play with as well.

Packing for Kids

25 Sep 2021

Car Trip Contents

Having an almost-5-year-old and almost-1-year-old means their schedules are different. We planned to travel the most while the 1-year-old napped and both slept for the night in their car seats. While the 1-year-old napped, I figured I should have some activities for our four-year-old. I took a Pampers diaper box and packed the following for his “activity box” in the truck:

- Bag of snacks

- Water bottle

- Coloring print outs from the library

- Dry erase board, markers and eraser I purchased at Daiso as a surprise for the trip

- I attached a binder clip on the dry erase board that he could use it as a “clip board” for drawing or coloring

- I found a disposable plastic coffee cup with a handle I had used at an event years ago that was in my parents’ cabinet. I used that to be the writing utensil holder so that he would have easy access to it when he wanted to use it

- Tennis racquets because that was the best place for them

Backpack

For activities at the hotels, we purchased a backpack for him that would fit all the toys we’d take with us on the trip. We packed:

- Wooden animals and play silk

- Plarail train tracks, one train, one “tunnel” along with a screwdriver set my parents had gotten him, rechargeable batteries and its charger.

- Foldable waterproof picnic mat

- Car mat and cars

- Shapes puzzle

- Plastic container of Legos

- A pair of garden gloves (for when I know there isn’t a convenient place to wash hands and want to keep his hands clean), a pair of clean socks (just in case) and a container of cut-up tampons for bloody noses (see post here for details).

In order to make the most of the space, I packed the tracks in a particular way. (See below for detailed photos.)

So that the backpack straps wouldn’t be dragging, my dad purchased things called dominator clips. He’s put them on bags he’s gifted to me for my birthday as well (update 9/30/22: Read a post on how I use it as a diaper bag.)

We knew once we settled on the West Coast, those would be the toys we’d have for some time before we were able to get our stuff from storage, so we wanted to make sure he got to choose them and there was a variety of toys available.

For our one-year-old, we packed stuffed animals and some animal toys in a small backpack for him so he would have some toys to play with as well.