Our Kid’s Packing List
I’m still amazed that our 5 and 8 year old children have been traveling the world for 5 months! They’re so adaptable. Sleeping in different beds. Traveling for over 24 hours to other continents. But possibly most impressive was their positive attitudes when they packed up only their favorite items into a backpack and leave the rest of their beloved toys behind. It wasn’t easy and they have missed their stuff, but they have learned that you don’t need much to be happy.
In addition to their favorite stuffed animals, we have become pros at packing up the right items for our family trips. Below are some of our favorite items that our children carry in their backpacks around the world, as well as some past favorites or future purchases that we have our eyes on!
BACKPACKS
Harry Potter Backpack - this backpack is a conversation starter at airports and has held up so well after 5 months of travel.
Fjallraven Kanken - Liv’s first backpack fell apart immediately, but this new one is great. No wonder it’s so popular all around the world!
ELECTRONICS
Headphones - Both kids have these headphones. They’re great, but I loved this cute, bear pair that Liv used to have.
COLORING & SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Travel Journal - We love this travel journal. It has blank pages on the left and lined on the right, which allows the kids to draw a picture and write about what they’ve seen.
Lonely Planet’s Adventures Around the Globe activity book - A great book for our 8 year old as he set off to see the world.
Lonely Planet Coloring Book - This one looks great! The pictures are more detailed which helps because our kids tend to tear through more simple books.
Melissa & Doug Water Wow Book - A favorite when the kids were younger. They can use and reuse the book which makes it better than the magic pen books.
Mad Libs on the Road - Our kids love playing MASH and are ready for some Mad Libs.
Pencil Pouch - We bought the kids their own pouches for our trip to Italy a couple of years ago. The work so well to hold not only their pens and pencils, but all of the little things that they tend to pick up along the way.
Twistable Crayons - Broken crayons and their papers were always found all over our house. I didn’t want to have that along the road as well. Twistable crayons were the answer and they are holding strong. At least the ones that we haven’t lost.
Scissors - Both kids are a bit old for these toddler style scissors, but they’re great to have on the road and can get through airport security. I use them often!
GAMES
Playing Cards - We go through big spurts were we play a lot of cards. The kids favorite game is Trash, but they also love Crazy Eights and, ugh, War. They really want to add Uno to the rotation.
Exploding Kittens - After meeting up with a Danish family who is also traveling the world, T got introduced to Exploding Kittens and he loves it!
BOOKS
The Cities Book - We read this on a loan from the library through the Libby app. It was great to introduce them to new cities and get ideas of what they could do there. We also love the City Trails - Tokyo book as well! There’s an endless list of City Trail destinations for kids to enjoy.
Magic Treehouse - T’s favorite reading books which also serves as great history lessons for our destinations. “Hours of the Olympics” for Greece was his favorite and he was able to teach about Ancient Greece during our visit to the Parthenon.
TOYS
Legos - About a fourth of T’s backpack is full of Legos and they have been his most used and beloved item. I honestly think that his legos have eased his homesickness the most.
Magnetics - This is technically Liv’s toy but both kids use them often. They’re heavy and take up a lot of space but they’re good for endless hours of play. They have come with us on trips for over 4 years.
