Practical children's travel bag as a must-have for your trip

If you start early to prepare and set aside clothing, toys, documents and the like for the trip, packing is a breeze! And of course the right travel bag also plays a crucial role in relaxed packing. Our children's wardrobe trolley has accompanied numerous families on their adventures over the past two decades and delights young and old as a real space-saving wonder on wheels. Because the trolley can be packed like a wardrobe for your family vacation, where nothing gets lost – with various compartments, practical mesh pockets, trolley bag and children's toiletry bag.

Packing list for a vacation with children:Travel planning & travel documents

Shortly before the trip the excitement builds - the suitcases are packed, the children can hardly wait, and in your minds the journey may already be beginning. To keep this special moment as light and carefree as possible, it's worth doing a quick check: take a look at our checklist on the topic 'Which documents should you bring on vacation with children?' - so you'll be well prepared and your trip will be enjoyable from the very start.

• Payment methods: debit & credit cards, cash

• Valid passports for adults & children

• Vaccination records & health insurance cards

• Driver's licenses for all drivers

• Booking confirmation for hotel, holiday home, rental car, etc.

• Flight or train tickets for all travelers

• Emergency numbers

• recommended: international health insurance & trip cancellation insurance

• If applicable: adapters, depending on which country you're traveling to

• Travel guide

Packing list for a car holiday with children

When family car trip you are especially flexible with regard to luggage and route planning. Keep these considerations in mind for long car trips with children about these special considerations:

• Vignette or toll payment (in certain countries, e.g. Austria, Switzerland, Hungary)

• First aid kit, reflective vests & warning triangle (if applicable also tow rope and jumper cables)

• Vehicle documents and insurance card

• Cooler with drinks & snacks

• Travel cutlery, cups & plates (e.g. our children's tableware)

• Thermos flask for coffee/tea

• Kitchen roll/napkins, wet wipes, trash bags & sanitizing wipes/disinfectant spray

• Car charging cable/power bank

• Child seat

• Blankets, pillows or neck pillows

• Sun protection (e.g. with sun shades)

• Audiobooks/games or tablet (don't forget headphones!)

• Change of clothes (always keep within easy reach!)

• Umbrella or rain jackets

• for entertainment: travel games, children's books, drawing supplies (e.g. on-the-go creative bag), dolls or stuffed animals

Packing list for a holiday with children on the plane

For many young and old holidaymakers, flying is a big adventure, which requires special preparation to ensure everything goes smoothly. In addition to travel documents, payment methods, health insurance & co., we give you the following holiday checklist for flying with children to help you:

With enough lead time:

• Check departure date & time

• Plan how to get to the airport

• Research children's entertainment at the airport (play area, if applicable, visitor terrace to watch planes)

• Book parking if necessary

• Book seats if necessary

The evening before departure:

• Check passports, flight tickets/boarding passes, and other travel documents (hotel, rental car, etc.) and set them aside

• Check suitcase weight

• Pack carry-on (snacks, small toys, essential medications/hygiene items in travel size, a change of clothes, empty refillable water bottle, if necessary sugar-free chewing gum or earplugs to help equalize pressure on the plane)

• Pack compact pillows (neck pillows), and small blankets if needed

• Audiobooks/games or tablet (don't forget headphones!)

• Compact travel games & Books, art supplies that favorite doll or small magnetic toy

Travel detergent, because stains happen even on vacation

On your travel checklist with kids of course you should also pack the travel bag for, or depending on age, with your little ones.The following items you can neatly store in our kids' wardrobe trolley

• and tick off directly on the checklist:

• Clothing, such as T-shirts/long-sleeve shirts, long/short pants, sweaters, jacket(s)

• Underwear, two to three more items than vacation days

• Socks, two to three more items than vacation days

• Pajamas,

• T-shirts/sweaters/jackets

• Pants/skirts/dresses

• Swimwear

• Headwear (cap/sun hat/beanie)Outdoor clothing: lightweight jacket, rain jacket,

• mud pants

• Shoes: sneakers, water shoes, sandals, rubber boots, slippers

Packing list for a holiday with children: hygiene items

When traveling you sometimes forget important items that are taken for granted in the bathroom. Remember to pack these as wellHygiene and health items:

• Travel first-aid kit for children

• Sunscreen/After-sun lotion

• Mosquito repellent

• Shampoo and shower gel

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss

• Hand cream, body lotion

• If applicable, don't forget the braces!

• Towels/washcloths

• Tissues

• Disinfectant

• If applicable, a face mask for illness

• If applicable, diapers/swim diapers and wet wipes

Checklist for vacation with baby & toddler

What must I absolutely not forget when on vacation with a baby? Anyone traveling with a baby naturally wants the baby that the very little ones are completely well on vacation and that every situation is taken care of is. Check this checklist off before your trip with your baby, and you'll be on the safe side:

• Bodysuits, rompers, baby pants, tops, pajamas

• Diaper bag, changing mat

• Diapers, muslin cloths, wet wipes

• Small bags for used diapers

• If necessary, potty/toilet seat reducer

• Diaper rash cream

• Baby food, bottles, milk powder

• Bibs, burp cloths

• Baby sunscreen, hat, arm floaties

• Favorite cuddly toy, toys such as Baby books or Soft toys

• If necessary, travel crib/baby sleeping bag

• Travel first-aid kit for baby with all necessary medications

Summer holidays by the sea: packing list for the summer vacation

Once you've arrived at your destination, the excitement is great – because there is so much to experience and discover! So that you have everything you need for your adventures it's worth taking a look at our checklist. In it you'll find answers to the question: "What should I pack for a vacation with a toddler at the sea?" A tip: This overview can be used flexibly as Checklist for a beach holiday with children, the Short break with a child in a holiday cottage or at other great sunny destinations:

• Pull wagon/backpack carrier/buggy/baby sling

• Charging cables for all electronic (play) devices

• Travel cot/sleeping bag/cozy blanket/pillow

• Music box/night light/flashlight

• Swimming aids

• umbrella, rain pants, rubber boots

• sunglasses

• sunscreen, if applicable UV-protective clothing

• swim trunks/swimsuit, water shoes, children's beach towels

• water toys/sand toys like buckets, shovels & molds

• active play toys, such as frisbees, balls & co.

• travel games for bad weather

• beach mat/beach shelter

• if applicable, bikes & bicycle helmets

• camera (incl. memory card & charging cable)

• child seat for the rental car

• if applicable, baby monitor

• if applicable, water bottle & lunchbox

• if applicable, children's dishes

Packing list for winter vacation with children

You want to travel in winter with children? For that too, we have the suitable checklist with specifics for the colder season ready, which complement the items from our general checklist for vacation with children:

• Winter clothing (snowsuit, hat, scarf, gloves, thick sweaters/sweatshirts, long pants, if applicable tights/long thermal underwear, thick socks/leg warmers)

• sturdy winter boots (possibly with lining)

• warm slippers

• rain jacket, mud pants, umbrella, if applicable rain poncho

• sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm & after-sun lotion

• cold medicines, fever thermometer

• if applicable sled/snow racer/child's snow shovel

• if applicable hand warmers/hot water bottle

• travel games for the long dark evenings

• if applicable water bottle & lunch box

• if applicable children's tableware

Family vacation planning made easy

You may be wondering: What should you consider when planning a trip with children? And: How early should you start packing for the family vacation? So that you can pack your suitcases for the vacation in a relaxed and well-organized way we recommend that you start some time before departure with the preparations. Refer to the following 7 questions:

1. Where should you go? What you pack depends heavily on how and where you travel. In a car you have much more space than on a flight, and in a vacation rental you need different equipment than for a hotel stay.

2. What's available at the destination? Before packing you can research the destination online and plan accordingly. If there's a supermarket nearby, you may not have to transport as many groceries. Many hotels also offer childcare with lots of activities. Accordingly, when packing, you can focus on compact travel games and children's books to focus on for entertainment in between.

3. Which items can you already set aside?

   The vacation is about to start, you're standing in front of the wardrobe and don't know how many pairs of pants or which toiletries your child might need? You can already around two weeks before the vacation starts, begin noting the everyday items on the kids' packing list, so that when packing you can see at a glance what is needed. Items that you don't necessarily use every day but need for the vacation (like sand toys or the indispensable neck pillow for the flight), you can already collect in a special place.

4. Is everything washed? Does the favorite pair of pants, the cozy jacket or the colorful socks absolutely have to go on vacation? Then schedule all these must-haves early for the next wash! Because drying must also be taken into account so that your children don't have to do without their favorite items on vacation.

5. Which luggage can come along? Flying also includes checking the baggage policies of the airline you are flying with. If you are traveling by car, you should check whether everything you want to take will fit in the car. While hard-shell suitcases are practical for air travel as they protect your luggage well, soft travel bags are often the better choice for the car trip, as you can stow them more flexibly in the car.

6. How can I involve my children in packing for the vacation?

   If you have older kids, you can involve them in packing with small tasks – for example, tell them how many T-shirts, pants, socks and underwear they should pick out and have them prepare everything. This promotes their independence and increases the anticipation for the family vacation together! You can use our following checklists and note responsibilities next to the individual items, to clearly distribute the tasks – to all family members!

5 pro tips for packing suitcases with kids

Are you wondering how to pack in a space-saving way for your family vacation? Our checklists help you gather all the important items. and the following 5 tips from the HABA team and product designer Dunja Bauer are the best foundation to to stow everything space-efficiently, neatly and in an organised way in your travel bags

1. :

   Let your kids help with packing! Depending on their age, they can choose their clothes themselves or even pack the suitcase on their own. To ensure nothing important gets left at home, you should check everything again afterwards using your respective vacation packing list.

2. Take the opportunity and show them smart tricks about packing! Our top 3 tips: Place heavy items at the very bottom, Fill gaps in luggage with rolled-up socks or underwear and roll clothing to avoid wrinkles and save space.

3. Dunja Bauer recommends for luggage: "The best choice for a vacation with kids are

   travel bags that give you a good overview of all clothes, accessories & shoes. That way you'll quickly find everything you're looking for on vacation and don't have to empty the whole bag to find it. A bag like our Kids Wardrobe Trolley with different shelf compartments allows you, for example, to store trousers, T-shirts & co. separately in different compartments within the bag."

4. It is also recommended, to store toiletries and items needed during the trip separately. For toothbrush, shampoo & co. we recommend our spacious kids toiletry bag, which perfectly fits the wardrobe trolley. For all items needed during the trip, we recommend a compact carry-on bag like our small trolley bag with a volume of 13 liters – perfect for safely stowing toys, drawing supplies, headphones and more! Tip: Secure the trolley bag conveniently to the telescopic handle of your travel bag.

5. Finally, make sure that the travel bag does not become too heavy. Our Kids Wardrobe Trolley holds 40 liters, which corresponds to 15 kilograms. There's quite a lot that fits in the bag! Our expert Dunja Bauer recommends: "Check with your packing lists at the end whether everything is in, the compartments are not overstuffed and the bag is not too heavy for your kids if, for example, they carry it on their own from time to time."

After the vacation, it's already time for the next one!

You all know it – the wonderful family vacation is over and everyday life is already starting again. How about taking a moment beforehand to reflect on how the vacation went and what you learned from it?

Our pro tip: Write down what was good and what you want to do better next time. What did you pack but didn't need at all? Which important things did you forget? And which tips would you give yourselves for the next family vacation? Write everything down and set your notes aside for the next trip. Your future self will thank you!

Image credits

Boy and girl using a tablet in the car © Yakobchuk Olena - stock.adobe.com

Mother walking with child © EVERST - stock.adobe.com

Happy family in the car on a road trip © New Africa - stock.adobe.com

Tourist family with luggage cart at the airport © Jacob Lund - stock.adobe.com

Smiling boy with family on the beach © Westend61 - stock.adobe.com

A woman takes notes © nataliaderiabina - stock.adobe.com