5 Packing Tips for Travel with Kids + What to Bring Along

Traveling with kids (and packing for the trip!) can be overwhelming to say the least. I used to feel like we were bringing half our house with us when we went anywhere. Now I've got our packing down to a science and a list of must-haves that makes my planning a million times easier. I've partnered with Skip Hop to share 5 packing tips for travel with kids and what to bring along on family trips!

5 Packing Tips for Travel with Kids

Since my husband works full-time the responsibility of packing for family trips usually falls solely on me. This is probably best anyway because I like to pick out the kids' outfits and know exactly what I want to have with us. That being said, packing even for a few days for a family of four can be overwhelming. When it comes to packing for longer trips, things get even more interesting. Here are some packing tips that have made travel easier for us since we had kids four years ago!

Pack Ahead of Time. I always used to wait until the day before a trip to pack. At the last minute I'd be running around, scrambling to make sure we had everything we'd need. I'd be crabby and stressed, and would inevitably forget something. Now I pack all of our clothes the week before we head out of town. We all have enough clothes to do this feasibly, and it makes my life SO much easier when I just have to grab the last minute things (toothbrushes, make-up, etc.) before we leave. I also pack diapers and carry-on bags with snacks/toys ahead of time if we're flying.
Make a List. This is an absolute must. I make a hand-written list every time we take a trip and check things off as I add them to bags. I make this list at least a week in advance and hang it on my fridge so if I think of things to add I can do that any time.
Roll Your Clothes. I learned about this trick a few years ago and it's saved me so much in baggage fees and vehicle space on trips. Instead of folding our clothes, I roll them up as tightly as I can in our bags. I also stuff socks and underwear into extra pairs of shoes, and bring tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner as opposed to their full-sized counterparts.
Pack Separate Bags for Each Family Member. This is just a pure convenience item. It's so easy to keep track of each person's needs and clothing when everyone has a separate bag. When flying this might be more of an issue, but we have adorable small bags from Skip Hop for our kids, so we still pack them individual bags. This way they each know where their clothes are when we're on a trip.
Try Not to Over-pack. The key word here is try-HA! I am a serial over-packer but I've tried to be better now that we have kids. I usually pack each child one or two extra outfits (depending on how long we'll be gone) but stop at that point. If you're going somewhere with a washing machine you can pack even less! I also have cut back on how much I pack for myself because I've found if I don't have it with me, I don't miss it!

What to Bring Along When Traveling with Kids

Clothes. Obviously, right? A few more details here. I pack an outfit for each day plus one to two extra outfits. Consider the weather and if you'll be at hotels, make sure to bring swim suits. Try to limit shoes to two pairs (one on feet and one in bag), and pack socks and underwear in the shoes. Each of our kids has Rolling Luggage from Skip Hop and that's where we pack their clothes. Check out how the rolling technique gives room to fit more clothes! I have a week's outfits and there's still room for diapers, wipes, and other small items.

Activity Bag. Each of our kids have a backpack from the Skip Hop Zoo Collection and it's the perfect size for road trips or on a flight! Our daughter has the Eureka Unicorn backpack and just loves it.

Not only does it match her rolling luggage, it's the perfect size for a few books, the Kindle, and some snacks. We could easily fit a few toys or flash cards in along with the previous items. There's even an insulated pouch for snacks on the front and a mesh pocket for her water bottle.

Our son has the equally adorable Jules Giraffe backpack! It's so easy to keep track of each kids' bag and the details on them are just perfection, down to the zipper tags.

Our son is 19 months old and the adjustable straps make it possible for him to wear the backpack. You should see him strut around with pride carrying his activity bag-it's too cute!

Along with their backpacks, we also LOVE our Style Driven Backseat Organizer from Skip Hop. If we'll be in the vehicle a lot (or even when we're not going far!) we love to store a few things to keep the kids occupied.

We can easily fit quite a few things for the kids to do in this organizer. It's unobtrusive and secures right onto the driver or passenger seat. I usually try to keep a few snacks and activities in it on a regular basis. Once our kids are forward facing, we can also put the iPad into the clear pocket so they can watch a movie on long road trips!

Snacks and Water Bottle. My kids are notorious for getting hangry if they can't snack between meals. We always make sure to grab some apple sauce pouches and veggie straws before we head anywhere. The kids love eating out of their new Zoo Snack Cups! Harper (of course) picked Eureka Unicorn again!

These snack cups are perfect for little hands. They have a handle and the cover latches shut but can be opened even by our little guy.

He's got the Darby Dog Snack Cup from Skip Hop's Zoo Collection. The no-spill flexible opening makes it easy for him to grab food out without dumping it all over his seat, which is his typical go-to move.

I also like to bring our Clix Bento Mealtime 14-Piece Set with us on trips. It's a cooler bag that comes with a gel freezer pack to keep foods cool on-the-go. Our kids LOVE fruit but it's not always feasible to bring it on a trip if it can't stay cool.

With the Clix Bento Mealtime Set we can pack enough fruits and veggies for a day and they'll be cool when we want to snack on them. The Clix containers connect together and three fit into the cooler bag at once, but the set comes with six containers and six lids. We like to freeze our gel pack at hotels each evening.

Everything fits compactly into the black cooler which has an elastic handle that doubles as a water bottle holder!

Along with snacks, the kids each have a Stainless Steel Straw Water Bottle that they travel with. Again, it's so easy to keep track of which cup belongs to which kid because they have different designs from the Zoo Collection.

Harper's is Eureka Unicorn and Lincoln has Jules Giraffe. I love these bottles for so many reasons. They have a flexible straw that's easy to remove for washing and they're dishwasher safe. The flip-top is easy enough for our kids to open but also keeps the straw clean and prevents spilling.

Water stays cool but the kids hands don't have to get chilly because there's a no-slip grip. They fit perfectly into the side pockets of the backpacks or rolling luggage, too!

If we're on the road, we like to stop every few hours to stretch our legs. We LOVE our Central Park Outdoor Blanket and Cooler Bag for these frequent stops. No matter where we are, we can just open it up and have a picnic.

This blanket folds up into a small bag that can easily be carried over the shoulder or as a backpack. It's 5' x 5' so all four of us can easily fit on it to have a little picnic. It's got a water-resistant canvas backing and is machine washable so I don't worry about it getting dirty at all.

Plus, it comes with a cooler bag that we can bring more snacks in! It would also be a great place to store breast milk or bottles while you're traveling. The cooler zips off if you don't want to use it, too.

We LOVE to travel as a family and it's so much easier now that I have these packing tips and Skip Hop items to bring along with us. We're heading up to a friends' cabin this weekend, in fact, and I've already got most of our stuff packed. Travel with kids can be fun and doesn't have to be stressful!

What else do you bring on your family trips?
Let me know in the comments!

Disclosure: I received Skip Hop items at no cost to write this post about packing tips and facilitate an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.