Singapore’s weather has been scorching hot. An escape to a winter holiday with our kids sounds like a dream come true! Are you overwhelmed by the challenging feat of having to pack your child’s luggage for a winter vacay?
If you’re planning to bring the mini-me’s along, do ensure preparations are done to minimise any unwanted surprises, especially with the new weather conditions far far away. There’s no fool-proof, sure-win plan, but the least we could do is to be prepared, right?
For a list of what and how to pack for a typical holiday, you’d find a handy packing checklist here. Air flight tips included too, parents!
During our recent trip to London, low temperatures were around 10 degrees, not including wind speeds (which is uber chilling!) and rain. It’s important to keep the bubba warm with the right gear. So, how do we start packing??
Tips to Pack Your Child’s Luggage for a Winter Holiday: Packing List
{CHILDREN WINTER CLOTHES}
Winter wear is essential for keeping warm, and if your child is unable to express himself that he is feeling cold, it’s wiser to dress up in layers than to have him shivering and catching a chill. Winter wear can be pricey, and how often do we really visit such countries? Pick a couple of staples and borrow from friends! Here’s how we can winterproof the kids.
Cover up these areas as they lose heat more rapidly than others: head, feet, hands, neck, ears.
Some #babyootd of how we dressed Vera for both outdoors and indoors. Naming those that can be seen, as I obviously can’t remember what she wore from the first layer throughout those 2 weeks, eh? LOL! Photos ahead!
Little Vera wears: Zara Baby fleece down jacket/H&M dress/Carter’s leggings
Vera is wearing: Oshkosh b’Gosh long sleeve top with borrowed cardigan from Aunty J/Zara Baby fleeced-lined leggings
Toddling Vera wears: Borrowed reversible windbreaker from Aunty J/Zara Baby fleeced-lined leggings
Vera is wearing: Borrowed jacket from Aunty J/Baby Gap reversible winter leggings
Vera’s #ootd: Baby Gap cardigan/Zara Baby fleeced-lined leggings
Cheeky Vera is wearing: Oshkosh b’gosh long sleeved top/H&M Baby knitted dress/Zara Baby knitted stockings
Vera wears: Borrowed reversible windbreaker from Aunty J/Baby Gap reversible winter leggings
Tips for dressing your child during a winter vacation:
- Dressing in layers makes it easy to remove or add on when moving indoors/outdoors, or when the temperature changes.
- Choose damp down snowsuit or cotton jacket to protect his body for the outdoors (depending on the temperature, as it can vary from snow to just chilly). Once your child starts playing outdoors, go with water- and wind-resistant materials. Outerwear need not necessarily be bulky to keep warm. Thin materials, such as Quallofil or Thinsulate, protect against cold.
- Choose an appropriate size for your child – avoid buying a size too large. The overall fit of the suit or jacket, including closures at wrists and ankles, should be snug to protect from wind and snow.
Things to pack for your child’s luggage for a winter holiday
- Fleece down jacket/outer coat
- Hooded jacket with zip or buttons for convenience
- Windbreaker to fend off the cold winds
- Thermal wear or fleece lined tops or pants or thicker than usual bottoms for winter
- Long sleeved tops, knitted sweaters, cardigans and comfy bottoms
- Socks/thermal socks
- Covered shoes/boots with good grip, especially if going to a snowing country
Winter clothing tips for active bubs over 1 year old: Avoid cotton, as the material gets dampened with perspiration. The moisture causes the clothing to stick to the skin, and results in the child to feeling cold when it evaporates. Choose polyester-rayon blends or silk, as they keep their bodies dry by wicking moisture away.
Mum’s winter holiday hacks: Periodically check if your baby is dressed warmly enough – feel her toes and belly as soon as you come indoors. Toes should feel slightly cool, though not chilly and not sweaty, and the belly should feel warm. If the stomach is also cool, your baby is struggling to warm herself. If belly and toes are equally warm, she could be overdressed. Sweating, damp hair, flushed cheeks, and rapid breathing are all signs of overheating – remove layer(s) of clothing if this occurs.
Especially in extreme temperatures, do watch for signs of hypothermia, such as blue lips, shivering, hyperventilation, cold or pale skin etc.
{WINTER ACCESSORIES TO BRING}
These help to keep the bubbas warm – woollen gloves, thermal socks, woollen stockings, insulated bottoms, beanie, warm boots and heat packs. You can get compact heat packs from winter travel stores or Daiso.
Of course, these depends on the area and temperature of your destination, so do amp up on them as the temperature dips.
Cutie Vera wears: Borrowed beanie from Aunty J/Carter’s Baby hoodie jacket/Baby Gap reversible winter leggings/Sweet Kiddo leggings
Toddler Vera wears: New woollen gloves and fur boots from Morrisons
Where to shop for children’s winter clothes and accessories in Singapore?
Check out Uniqlo HEATTECH, Decathlon winter gears, H&M Kids and Zara Kids for baby and children’s winter wear. Ordering winter apparel from TaoBao is also a popular choice amongst parents in Singapore!
If the sun is bright and glaring, a pair of UV-coated sunglasses can help protect their peepers – that’s if they allow it to be on their face! :P Better received by older kids, I’d say! #keepingitreal
{SKINCARE TO PACK IN KIDS LUGGAGE FOR WINTER HOLIDAYS}
Wintery cold weather is nice to have but can also be a pain for sensitive and vulnerable skin like the kiddo’s. Ensure their skin is kept moisturised with a body lotion even when indoors. It’s easy to miss out on their toiletries when packing your child’s luggage for a winter holiday.
Just like adults, the cold and dry elements may aggravate their delicate skin, causing rash which is itchy and entirely uncomfortable. Babies with eczema may experience triggered skin conditions too, so the trick is to keep the affected area dry and clean, and moisturise, moisturise, moisturise!
Vera’s current skincare essentials comprises of Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream and California Baby Calendula Cream, which helped keep her skin soft and hydrated in the cold weather too!
{BABY FOOD TO PACK FOR WINTER TRIPS}
If your babies are less than 1 year old or are not having adult meals yet, consider bringing an Electric Lunch Box, which is thankfully portable and handy for travels! Best of all, they serve up piping hot meals, which is great for the cold weather.
Alternatively, you could bring along commercial ready-to-go baby meals available from supermarkets. If so, I’d strongly recommend that your bub try them first before bringing something totally new over. We won’t want to be greeted with allergy surprises during a holiday!
We were residing at our friend’s home during our London trip, so access to kitchen meant we could cook proper meals. As I’m not much a fan of purees and blended food for baby V, plus she happily welcomes textures and lumps so most of her meal were unseasoned versions of what we ate.
When we dined out, we opted for food that she could have like kids-friendly pasta, pancakes, sandwiches, bread, roasted or grilled meats like chicken and fish and cooked vegetables. If your accommodation comes with a kitchenette, that could be your culinary playgrounds! Want to see what we ate in London? Over here!
There you go! That wasn’t too bad, was it? Now that the tough part of packing your child’s luggage for a winter holiday is settled, get ready to have a whale of a time! Have fun and take tons of photographs!
Hope our tips on how to pack your child’s luggage for a winter holiday will come in handy for your next flight out! Do you have more packing tips and winter hacks to share too? Let us know!
Follow our parenting adventures on our Singapore parenting and lifestyle blogazine, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest too!