[YouMeAndThree]

OH is booked to fly out on 13th August:raebanana. I am looking to follow him with our 3 little ones early/mid September. All our worldly goods are going to be shipped over, so what I need to know is what should I pack in terms of clothing? Am I going to have to pack for both seasons? Or will we be coming over to the start of (slightly) warmer weather? Whatever we bring will have to cover us (literally!) for the possible 12 weeks it takes the container to arrive. As there is only going to be me travelling with the children I could really do with some great advice on how to keep my luggage weight to a minimum to allow me the possibility of bringing over some much needed supplies to tide us over for that time.

T.I.A. :)

Lx

[YouMeAndThree]

P.S. Yes it's 5.33am here in the UK. I've been up since 03:00, my sleep pattern has been rotten for several weeks now. Questions like this just have me tossing and turning all night. Better to get up and just ask them I suppose. I'll try and get my head down now for a couple of hours.

[5kings]

Hi

I can't help with your question but just wanted to say hello! I haven't been up as long as you, but my son has decided 5am is a good time to get up every morning so I end up on here seeking more information!

I would not know where to start with packing, are you taking some fave toys/books for the children?

Helen

[YouMeAndThree]

I would not know where to start with packing, are you taking some fave toys/books for the children?

Helen

I've started getting little things together to put in their flight bags. I found 2 books, one about flying for the first time and one about moving house :nice1. We went out for a meal last week and I pocketed the children's activity sets :o before the girls got to know about them (mini crayons, colouring poster and game cards). Magazines with free gifts etc. I have limited them to just 2 soft toys to take over (we started packing most of their toys yesterday). They also have a couple of computer game type toys (Vtech pocket). I am in all honesty trying to refrain from taking too much 'toy' stuff in the suitcase - I'm hoping to kick them outside to play :laugh. What we can take in their flight bag will have to be enough for 12 weeks ............ cruel parents or what?:o I'm sure we'll be able to pick up some bits and bobs once we arrive, such as puzzles, which they love, skipping ropes, balls etc. I might pack a few of their favorite DVD's which they can watch on the laptop or portable DVD player (which OH is taking over with him)

Lx

[marcia]

You'll want a mix of clothing, we arrived in Nov 2006, still needed a couple of jumpers etc.

There are a lot of places around that you can hire toys from, the librarys usually have a selection of puzzles, dvds, and games available as well as lots of books of course!

If you are bringing over dvd's, take them out of their cases, (send them with container!) and buy one of those wallets that you can store loads in, we did this brought over cd's, dvd's, PS2 games (we brought a PS2 in suitcase - works as Cd player, dvd player and games station in one! :nice1 )
Also suggest things like dominoes, cards, and dice for playing yatzee.

Good luck!

[Familyofmonkeys]

I would suggest a mix of clothing....layers, but go for things that can be washed and dried easily.

I don't know about keeping luggage to a minimum, but there are several ways to carry extra stuff with you. Remember to ask for extra luggage allowance for flight, and if you need stroller, changing bag etc....find out if included in allowance or extra. Definitely bring waterproofs. We wore our waterproofs & fleeces for travelling....only actually wore them for about 10 minutes though, but if they are not in your suitcase then they don't get weighed with everything else. We also stuffed things in the pockets....paperwork, camera, psp etc. Coats have to go through the scanners so everything in pockets can stay in coat to get scanned too. We also wore our heaviest shoes for travelling, but took them off as soon as we got on the plane. We were up to maximum weight on all out checked in luggage and hand luggage too....would suggest you make full use of kids hand luggage allowance, right to the limit, but pack with the smaller heavier items to you can fit everything in and get them to wear extra layers just for check-in....then you can take them off.

[YouMeAndThree]

Doesnt' look like we can get away with just one season of clothes then :no. I'm not too sure that I'm going to be able to get the children to layer up to go through check-in with the current warm (:)) weather we are having. I think they are a bit too young to understand the reason and comprehend how long "10 minutes" will be (and I'm too big to wear it for them :yes). Unless of course the departure lounge has super cold air conditioning on the day we fly. Will bear pockets in mind and heavy shoes - great tip. Also great idea about the DVD's, that hadn't even crossed my mind. Now I need to hunt down that old CD holder OH left lying about.

Thanks

Lx

[CJ22]

Don't forget chargers for all your electronic goods.

[tigerlily]

We had one suitcase of toys, and it was way too much. Could have done with so much less, because we were out exploring and then school started, very little time to play (but it was January) inside. You can indeed buy everything here, Warehouse is actually cheap too, quality is iffy, but it's cheap in a pinch.

I struggled to cope with all the luggage, I so many times wanted to get rid of about 4 bags! If you will be somewhere with laundry facilities, you need less clothes than you think you. My best "toy" on a plane ride is a long story book to read to them in case of long delay. However, they do tend to sleep better than adults.

When we go back for a visit, I'm strictly limiting us all to one bag going over!