Tales of The Carry-On Kid: To Grandmothers House We Drive
Packing for a drive out to a relative or friend’s house for the holidays presents some challenges that can be easily overcome with some good planning and even better packing. The size of your vehicle, plus the amount of people traveling, plus holiday traditions will equal how much space you really have.
I have always cautioned you my loyal readers to not to get cocky when it comes to packing your vehicle. The first and most obvious factor when packing is the size of trunk or storage space in your vehicle. A full sized SUV will have more space than say, a Scion XA. This amount of space can be deceptive, however, if you are going to a destination that includes gift giving, you must factor in your giving and receiving ratios. The size of the gifts you give might be less than or equal to the gifts you receive. I can remember traveling down to Texas to spend Christmas with my parents and because my girls are the first set Grandkids, my folks went nuts. The biggest problem was how in heck do you get the Barbie Dream house re-disassembled and transported back home? When you factor kids into the gift giving, things only get more difficult.
Because of these holiday packing hazards, I will fall back on my mantra of “pack light and pack right”. If you pack heavy going in, coming out will only be worse. I often choose to give gift certificates or money if I’m traveling. An easy way around this is to send your gifts in advance. With internet shopping and shipping times decreasing, shipping gifts can be a good move. If you are headed to a destination a few days before the actual gift giving or exchange, you can arrange for an in-store pickup of big items at a store at the destination. This keeps you from having to pack the item and it allows you to guarantee they will have the item you want. Many stores will even wrap the gift for a small fee.
Roof top car carriers soft or hard are a good way to transport additional goods and can often be picked up cheaply at a local thrift store. If you still feel like you will not have room to transport gifts home, you can ask the gift givers to mail the gifts ahead of time. Additionally, you can mail the gifts home or some of the larger gifts can stay at a grandparent’s house for the next time you come to visit.
Now the amount of people traveling will have an effect on exactly how much luggage you pack. I find packing as much of everyone’s stuff as possible in one or two bags makes life much easier for the person or people who have to carry the luggage. During the holidays, the amount of vehicles broken into in hotel and motel parking lots can increase because thieves are interested in the gifts that are often stored there overnight while passengers sleep. Bringing as few bags as possible means fewer bags to carry up a flight or two of stairs at a hotel or at your final destination. You might laugh, but garbage bags are a great way to pack items that you are not worried about wrinkles with. Their amorphous shape allows them to fill the nooks and crannies that most traditional luggage won’t fit in.
The last factor I want to address is holiday traditions and how they affect packing. Does your family dress up to go to Temple? Do you go to Christmas mass every year? Are there some parties that you always attend while you are in town visiting? Do you and your family stay to celebrate the New Year? All of the aforementioned activities normally involve dressing up. This presents a slew of packing problems that must be dealt with. For women, I recommend packing separates that allow you to dress up a normal outfit. This way you have clothing you can wear throughout the day then add a few items so you are dressed for formal success. The little black dress is always a great option for women as well. Male readers, try to pack shoes that you can wear every day and for more formal occasions. A white button down shirt is great because it can be worn with a pair of jeans or with your suit. A sports coat and a tie can go a long way towards looking civilized. No matter what Items you bring, try to place them in a good garment bag and if you don’t have the space to hang them up, lay them over your other clothes. If you are obsessive about wrinkles, remember that most hotels have irons in the room and there is nothing stopping you from calling ahead to ensure your host has an iron and an ironing board that you can use while you visit.
I want to mention what we call the car carry-on bag. This is the bag of stuff that my girls and I normally bring in the car to keep ourselves sane. I include my gadgets and a silk travel blanket. My girls bring their gadgets as well as books and other nick-knacks. If anyone is planning to sleep on the way, blankets and pillows are normally brought along. If you are in a small car, bedding alone can eat up a bunch of interior space. Plenty of camping companies offer inflatable pillows or better yet, pillow cases that you can place clothing in to provide a soft pillow for your weary head on. This frees up luggage space and you have a pillow in the process.
There are so many other aspects of car packing I could deal with, but if I keep writing these articles and you keep reading them, you won’t have time to pack and you might miss some wonderful holiday celebrations. Take some time to plan your packing. You might find that packing right and packing tight will reduce your stress before you leave and while you are wherever you are visiting. No matter how you pack, remember that the holidays should be a time of joy. Enjoy your friends, enjoy your family, and if everything doesn’t go the way you planned it, everything is going to be alright!
Affiliates
