Being an expat comes with a lot of travel. Every Spring, Summer or Winter break (basically any break that is more than a week), we either travel to spend time with family in Pakistan or in US or go exploring the places we have never been before. Travel is always on the cards for us expats.

I love to travel but absolutely HATE to pack, specially the decision making part of it! What to pack, what to leave behind, what I may need, what I can or can’t live without etc. And trust me, it gets much more complicated when there are kids involved.

Since we travel so often, I have made a check list for my self and the kids, so at least I don’t have to brainstorm that every time. It’s just a matter of deciding ‘which’ clothes and shoes to keep!

The list I have is what I call ‘My Ultimate Packing List’ (You can download the list HERE ). I usually end up omitting a few things off this list, depending on the variables such as the destination, the weather, the duration of stay etc.

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1. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS	Kids	Me
Passports / RP Cards	✓	✓
Tickets	✓	✓
Travel Insurance/ Health Insurance	✓	✓
Cash/ Credit Cards		✓
Frequent Flyer Cards		✓
Contacts and Address Book		✓
A Pen!		✓

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2. IN THE SUITCASE

THE BASICS	Kids	Me
Pajamas/ Sleepwear	✓	✓
Under Garments	✓	✓
Socks	✓	✓
Shoes (Dress Shoes, Running /walking Shoes ,Crocs, Flip flops)	✓	✓
T-shirts (half and long sleeves)	✓	✓
Pants (Shorts/Jeans/ Track pants)	✓	✓
Party Wear (Dress Shirts/ Dresses/ Desi wear)	✓	✓
Fleece/Jacket	✓	✓
Sun Hats	✓
Swimsuits	✓	✓
Swim goggles	✓
Makeup Bag		✓

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3. TOILETRIES

TOILETRY BAG	Kids	Me
Tooth Brush / Toothpaste	✓	✓
Hair Brush	✓	✓
Shampoo/ Conditioner/ Body wash	✓	✓
Body Lotion	✓	✓
Sunscreen	✓	✓
Face wash		✓
Deodorant		✓
Feminine hygiene products		✓
Perfume(s)		✓
Nail clippers/ Tweezers	✓	✓
Hair dryer /Straightening Iron		✓
Clips and Head bands	✓

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4. CARRY ON LUGGAGE ESSENTIALS

Some of the items mentioned below (laptops, ipads, cameras etc.) are not allowed in the Carry On Luggage on flights from a few destinations to US/ UK anymore, so they either have to go in the suitcase or have to be gate checked.

CARRY ON BAG ESSENTIALS	Kids	Me
Extra change of clothes	✓	✓
Fleece/ Jacket	✓	✓
Medicines (Pain relief and fever reducer,  cough and cold medicines, presecription meds, hydrocortisone ointment, bandaids, Insect repellent )	✓	✓
Thermometer
Hand Sanitizer and Wipes
Hand lotion and lipbalm		✓
Travel Pillows/ Small blankets	✓	✓
Extra contacts, solution, and contact case		✓
Sunglasses and Prescription glasses	✓	✓
Laptop, Ipad (+ chargers)	✓	✓
Mobile Phone (+ charger)		✓
Headphones	✓	✓
Electrical converters and adapters		✓
Camera, Lenses and Chargers		✓
Toys /Activites for kids	✓
Jewelry		✓
A good book!	✓	✓

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Hope you find this list as useful as it is for me! What else do you need when you travel? Share with me what you think is missing from my list.

Download the complete packing list HERE

Until next time!