Buongiorno! Packing a Family of 5, for 15 days in Italy

Last fall, I had the opportunity to help a friend prepare and pack for her family of 5 as they embarked on an amazing, 15 day trip to Italy! This adorable couple has 3 kids, ages 8,6, and 3. Traveling with children can be a daunting task, especially in a foreign country while navigating planes, trains, and automobiles. The last thing they wanted was a ton of luggage weighing them down. As Sarah said, "One of our major concerns was not having a TON of things at the train stations when we were trying to manage 3 kids and keeping track of all of our stuff." So our first objective was to get everything in 1 large bag to be checked bag, and 1 carry on. 

Here they are strolling through the train station. You can just see the size of the one checked bag -the red rolling duffle that Patrick is wheeling behind him. Jack, in the orange jeans, is rolling the small carry-on, and each child had their own small bag for snacks and activities.

The second objective was to dress appropriately - "when in Rome...." or at least Italy. "One of the biggest challenges to packing, was packing more dressy clothes for the whole family, and especially a little nicer than the kids were used to wearing on a daily basis," said Sarah. Their plans included visits to museums, theaters, Mass at St. Peter's, and restaurants. Italians, and most Europeans, dress more formally that we do in the US. You don't see too many people walking around in lounge wear or workout clothes, and sometimes you don't want to stick out as an American tourist.

We planned about 3 weeks before the trip so Sarah had plenty of time to purchase any additional needs. I took pictures of everyone's clothes laid out across the bed so Sarah could easily reference them while packing. The trip was in October, so temperatures were expected to be 50s at night and 70s during the day. Each place they were staying had a washer, but no dryer, so things could definitely be washed and re-worn. 

Luckily this family has amazing style, so finding great clothes to choose from was not a problem. We started with Patrick, and we started from the bottom up - shoes. My suggestion was 2 pair of shoes per person with a possible third if there was room. Shoes might be the most important thing you pack for any European vacation where you will most certainly be walking A LOT! We chose his awesome pair of Frye boots as they are sturdy, comfortable and could be worn on dressier occasions, as well as pair of trendy Converse high tops. People outside the US DO wear tennis shoes - but they are not the same as the ones we wear to the gym. We chose 4 pairs of pants - 2 pair of dark jeans, 2 pair chinos (olive and grey) and a pair of grey lulu lemon pants that could pass as slacks similar to these . Basically these are to men, what leggings are to women. Then we picked about 4 fashion T-shirts, to be worn alone or for layering, and 4 long sleeve dress shirts with neutral patterns that were easy to mix. 1 grey marled sweater and 1 sport coat for dressy events, i.e. Church. And somehow I do not have a picture of Patrick's clothes! Here is a great pic showing off the his cool shoes and adorable kiddos. 

Next we did Sarah's wardrobe. We tackled hers a little less methodically. I asked her to start by choosing her favorite pants/jeans with the goal of picking 4 pairs - 3 jeans, dark wash, black, grey and a pair of black leggings. You are going to be wearing these clothes a lot, so it is wise to pick your favorites. Then we just started pulling out more favorites and laid them all out on the bed. We did a lot of moving things around and eliminating from there. Below you see the 3 jeans, along with 2 tanks, 1 short sleeve blouse, 2 cardigans, 1 v-neck sweater, 2 sheath dresses, 3 scarves, and 1 grey leather jacket (not pictured). The idea here is everything can mix and match. The dresses can be dressed up or down, the scarves help add color and pattern, and the cardigans are perfect for the varying temperatures throughout the day. For example the Navy dress can be worn by itself, add the blue print scarf (see Sarah below), with the navy marled cardigan, or the under the coral V-neck sweater - you get the idea. And of course Mom gets 3 pairs of shoes - AGL black loafers, retro Saucony tennis shoes, and a Sam Edleman suede bootie. For  other accessories, we picked 2 or 3 simple gold necklaces, some gold bangles and gold watch. You do not want to travel with a ton of jewelry. We kept fit, comfort and laundering in mind.

This dress and scarf is one of my favorite outfits!

Now onto sweet Harper (3). She might have the best 3 year old wardrobe I have seen.We did a lot of Ts, knit dresses and leggings. Stripes, polka dots and color! 1 cardigan and 1 sweater/sweatshirts. And her 2 pair of adorable shoes. Her tiny clothes don't take up a lot of room, so it could be easy to over-pack. 

And finally the boys. 

This is where we had a bit of challenge. Like most little boys, they often wear T-shirts and athletic shorts. We wanted the boys to be comfortable, yet dressed appropriately. So we tried to meet in the middle with Quinn (8) by picking clothes that wear like play clothes, but don't necessarily look like them. We chose 3 pairs of pants (jeans, olive and khaki chinos - added camo later) and 2 pairs of shorts (chambray and grey ) and then we picked about 6 soft, comfortable T-shirt and 3 collared polos. Every piece can be mixed and matched and nothing was too 'fancy' to cause complaint. A collared shirt and chinos would suffice for Mass at St. Peter's. 2 pairs of shoes - bucks and tennis shoes. 

Jack (6) loves clothes and all things artistic, so there is a little more variety in his selection. We chose the colored jeans as well as dark wash and black, and 2 pairs of shorts. A few more collared shirts, but several T-shirts as well. Bucks and tennis shoes. 

I left Sarah's house the day of this planning hopped up on Starbucks and joy! I had so much fun helping her pull all this together. I know it doesn't matter what you are wearing to enjoy a trip to Italy, but if it can help reduce some stress, then you are able to enjoy the trip that much more! Sarah shared, "All in all - using you made packing a breeze and took so much stress out of packing for 5 people. I would definitely recommend it!"   Thanks for the kinds words, Sarah. 

At the end of the trip Sarah said they could have used even less clothes. The weather was unseasonable warm, so some of the heavier sweaters and long sleeves were not needed. And they had to buy swim suits at the end of the trip and were able to enjoy the beach. 

So the moral of the story is pack less, and always throw in a swimsuit! 

Ciao!