Hi everybody, Melissa here.
Welcome back to CloudMom.
So winter break is upon us, I'm really excited to be heading off skiing with my kids.
I love to ski, my kids love to ski.
We've done it for years since they were really, really little, and being somebody who loves
practical tips, for those of you who do ski and who are going away skiing over the break
or over another break, I thought I would throw out five tips for packing for a ski trip with
kids in the hopes of making this all an easier process for you guys.
And of course I'm really interested to hear if any of you guys out there have other tips.
So my first tip is to strictly limit how many clothes you're bringing, ski gear tends to
be really big.
The pants are big, the ski pants are big, the socks, the gloves, so you're already going
to be weighed down with all of this clothing and gear.
So when it comes to things where you can really, really limit the quantity, do so because this
will really lighten up your packing.
When it comes to long underwear, for younger kids depending on the age, I would say maybe
one extra pair, maybe two and keep it at that.
For older kids, I would say one pair should be enough unless they're in the sort of teenager
years where they really can start to sweat and smell, but that really doesn't happen
so often skiing, so I don't think that's going to be a huge concern.
When it comes to day clothes, go super casual.
Ski places, ski resorts tend to be super casual types of places.
Nobody cares what you're wearing, they know you just came down off the slopes, they know
you're just trying to relax and have fun, you don't have to have like the latest outfit
on.
Your kids can throw over you know, a jersey even like a ski sort of sweater, a shirt,
any sort of casual type thing.
Even over their ski pants if you're going out to dinner or doing anything like that
and nobody is going to care.
And that's just going to make it so much easier for you not to worry about bringing an additional,
you know, seven outfits.
Strictly limiting the amount of clothes you bring and being really disciplined about it,
brings me to my next point.
There is no need for pajamas on a ski trip.
Have your kids sleep in the long underwear.
They take a bath, they put the long underwear back on, and that means in the morning it's
that much easier to get ready because all you have to do is put on the ski pants and
the jacket, you're carrying your gloves and you're carrying your helmet and you're good
to go.
It's so much easier and there's really no need for pajamas.
Kids are, you know, clean after their bath, and you know they're most likely not sweating
in their long underwear during the day.
So you guys must think this is like really gross, but I have seven people in my family
of five kids.
I cannot bring like, think about it, if each of the five kids brought three changes, that's
15 pairs of long underwear.
I just can't bring that.
That's like a whole suitcase, so I have to be really economical about it, this is what
I've done and it's always worked out.
And in fact when I brought more, I found that we haven't even used it.
My next tip is going to seem really kind of counterintuitive because here I am saying
don't bring a lot of stuff.
Unlike the ski clothes, if you are flying, consider bringing your skis and your boots,
and here's why.
And there's a bunch of reasons I'm going to go into and it's based on a lot of past experience
but here's what I'm going to say.
Number one, when you go to a local ski rental shop near to your home, you likely can get
a rental for the entire season that's going to be cheaper than when you get on site for
one week.
It's going to be cheaper.
Number two, the people are probably going to take their time with you.
They're going to make sure that the boots fit properly, that the skis are the right
type of skis, that the bindings release properly, all that stuff they're going to take their
time versus when you're showing up on a Sunday night for a ski week and everybody's like
rushed, rushed, rushed and there's often you know people working there who come in and
out and you often don't get the same kind of service, and not to you know say these
people don't do a good job, they do.
But we personally in our family have had two terrible accidents that have resulted I think
in part due to this type of equipment where bindings didn't release from skis, and in
one Beckett fell and broke his nose and the other Mark's knee went, because someone like
skied over him, he fell to the side, and his boot never released from his ski so his whole
knee went, and he's still dealing with that knee three years later.
So I actually think it's a really great idea to get one extra bag, put all the ski boots
in that bag, or get backpacks where the kids can put the ski boots on the side so there's
no extra weight in your baggage, and then skis are usually free on airlines.
You can pack them into bags with wheels, you wheel them onto the plane, and you're good
to go.
It seems like tons and tons of extra work, but it's actually easier because when you
get there, you have nothing to do.
You just unpack your clothes, put your skis where they need to be, and you don't have
to worry about going and renting when everybody is exhausted and hungry and tired and cranky,
and it makes for a much easier first day of your vacation.
One other thing, whereas you might be renting the skis and the boots, do not rent the helmet
for yourself nor for your kids and there's s bunch of reasons for this.
Number one reason is that helmets are super important to protect your kid's head.
Concussions are really common in skiing, and once that helmet has sustained a powerful
impact, meaning it's been banged because your kid fell on the snow with that helmet and
that kind of thing has happened, that helmet can no longer be used.
It's no longer safe, you don't know if the interior protection of that helmet is working
anymore.
So for this reason safety experts actually recommend buying your own helmet and getting
a hand me down helmet from someone else or renting a helmet onsite is not as safe because
you don't know what that helmet has been through, you don't know if that person has had a really
serious injury, you don't know if that helmet is safe, it's just not something that's a
good idea.
So even though it's sort of expensive, you have to invest in a good helmet for your kids
that fits their head.
And you have to make sure that it, you know, comes down to the right point and then it's
tight enough fitting.
Some kids where their helmets so loose they're like flipping back and forth, that is not
safe.
It's supposed to stay in place should your kid fall.
So anyway, I recommend buying the helmets.
Sorry that you won't get, you know, years and years of use out of them . They have to
fit at the time but when it comes to your kid's head and the safety of their head and
concussions, you don't want to mess around.
My last piece of advice involves how to pack when it comes to the ski clothes.
Pack child by child and even consider if you have a bunch of kids putting all their stuff
in a clear plastic garbage bag with their name on it.
So when you get to where you're going, depending on their age, you can just put that bag on
their bed, say organize and pack your stuff because they're going to be getting up in
the morning, hopefully getting themselves ready, getting themselves dressed, they have
to know where all their stuff is, and that's going to make it a lot easier for you.
And what you don't want to do is have everything mixed up with socks and pants and shirts so
that when you get there, you have to them go through again and see what belongs to who,
and who should be wearing what and whose thing is what size and da-da-da-da-da, it's going
to be hours more work.
Pack according to children and it should be like compartmentalized in the suitcase in
stacks, ok?
So that it's very, very clear.
That includes the gloves, that includes neck warmers, anything you need to do.
You can tell I have five kids because this is they way I have to think about it.
That's actually what I do in suitcases too, I pack according to kids.
I don't put like shirts, jeans, socks.
I do like, Hedley, Lachlan, Beckett, you know it sort of all stacks up that way and that
saves me a lot of time when I get to where I'm going.
So that's it when it comes to packing for a ski trip, I hope you guys are up to something
really fun and exciting this winter break or spending amazing time with family.
Relaxing, resting and enjoying all the joys of the season.
Thank you guys so much for watching CloudMom and I will see you soon.