Trip Planning

It's that time of year again. I'm counting down until our next America trip. Our tickets are bought, our rental car and hotels have been ordered as we have decided to only take one flight a day. After all we are travelling with a toddler.

I'm racking my brain with lists. A list for what to entertain the kid with on the flight. A list for what to pack. A list for what to buy in America. A list for what we shouldn't forget. The rest my husband takes care of. Where to go, what to do and so on.

Luckily, I planned on this blog post a year ago so I have already prepared this Trip Planning post in pictures.

First, Packing:

I like to pack very lightly on our way to the U.S.

I also fit our carry on bags inside the suitcases. 

Inside that I have gifts for the year to family. Birthdays, Mother's & Father's Day and Christmas. 

I don't like to spend unnecessary money on shipping to the U.S. so it makes sense to have the gifts prepared and packaged for my family to open throughout the year. :-) 

In case our luggage gets lost, we do have some clothes in the "plus one" bags we take on the plane with us. The airport gives out diapers, toiletries, baby food, etc in case your luggage is lost or in our case last year, our luggage was forwarded while our plane was so delayed we spent a night in Newark. 

To demonstrate how much space is in a standard suitcase, I decided to fit myself in one.

The Piazilla climbed in too. 

See! I fit almost perfectly. 

This almost makes me cringe because I want no part of fashion on my blog, BUT
I carefully planned out the outfits I packed.
Again, I pack very lightly on the way to America.
Here is Pia's going away outfit. I thought it was cute and fitting. :-) 

Pia's going away outfit. Leggings, shirt, cardigan and a fleece suit. 

This is how lightly I pack my clothes on the way to America.
I buy more clothes when we're there, so there's no need to pack a lot.
This year I HOPE to do differently.
I just cleaned out our closet and found so many clothes I didn't even know I had.
I don't need to buy so many clothes this year.
(I will repeat this to myself over and over and over again when we go shopping.) 

My going away outfit.
Shirt, cardigan, jeans and a hoodie. 

Pia's clothes I packed for her. I think I overpacked because my family
also enjoys buying her clothes. I won't pack this much this time around.

And for our upcoming trip, I wanted some sort of organization for laundry
and whatnot. So I found these at our local Princess store for Smykker (Jewelry, which
I don't wear, but will use to store Pia's hairbows) Sko (Shoes) and Undertøy (Underwear).

Second, Entertaining the kid: 

I DO NOT look forward to being trapped in a flying steel cylinder over the Atlantic ocean with a bored, tired, confused toddler.  I'd rather hug a cactus quite frankly.

I'm still very new at this and I still have no idea what I'm doing. 

Traveling last year was a bit disastrous on the plane. Pia cried a lot. A LOT. She refused to sleep on any flight we were on. She screamed. She didn't understand what was going on. And she even grabbed coffee creamer and squirted it in the big burly man's beard sitting next to us. 

However, I'm hoping it will go smoother this year as she's older, she talks and she understands more. One can hope. :-) 

The on the plane entertainment supply.

Felt Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. 

This year I want to be prepared. Really prepared. I've packed her backpack with coloring books and new crayons, a magnet book, hand puppets, Peppa Pig toys, Little People, her Peppa Pig headphones and we will bring the tablet for a source of entertainment. 

Like I said, I'm not here to advise on how to entertain kids on a plane because I'm not so great at it. I am pretty great at having a kid scream their head off on a plane though! ;-) These are just some methods of entertainment that I can only hope lasts at least 2 of the 8 hours of our longest flight. 

Third, The America Shopping List: 

Throughout the year I usually realize I wish I had bought this or that product in the U.S. and feel like kicking myself because it's nowhere to be found. 

My shopping list generally looks something like this: 

As many Reese's as I can pack 

Knorr Pasta sides

Tums 

Dayquil

Tylenol Cold and Flu

Chloraseptic throat lozenges and throat spray

Pumpkin Spice

And a long list of books in English for myself and Pia

Jeans (Being 4'10" it's nearly impossible to find jeans that fit in Norway)

Before our trip, I print off coupons and use them. Mostly because I miss using coupons, but also because saving money makes me feel like I'm beating the system. ;-) 

Fourth, Gift Buying for Family and Friends: 

I buy birthday, Mother's/ Father's Day and Christmas presents for the next year and wrap the presents to bring to the U.S. This saves on the ridiculous shipping prices. 

While I can't say what I have bought, I will say it's interesting to buy some typical Norwegian things. Everyone loves Norwegian chocolate! Some like salty licorice. Trolls are interesting. Poul Pava design is fun. It's also convenient living close to Porsgrunn Porselen. For the most part, I have Pia make gifts for her American family.  

So there you have it! This is at least my part of trip planning in a nutshell! I'm very much  looking forward to my next America trip!