How to Pack for Winter Travel / Holiday

how to pack for winter travel holidayHi Everyone, 🙂

A lot of you have requested me to do a post on how to pack for a winter holiday / travel. So here it is.

After this trip I think it is the easier to pack for a winter holiday than it is for summer holiday mainly because you can rotate a whole lot of clothes.

So we were carrying 4 suitcases – one huge one, 2 medium sized and one check-in stroller. You must have seen this pic on instagram. So the 2 suitcases are behind the 2 that you see in the pic. 😀 Two suitcases are mine (obviously 😛 ), one is Sanjeev’s and one we keep our cameras and laptop that we check in with us.

I barely shopped anything from here because I wanted to explore the brands abroad. I was going to some of the hottest shopping destinations so it made sense. What I shopped from here was (you may click on the links and they’d lead you to the respective posts) 🙂

  • Thermals (lots of them) – Marks and Spencer has nailed them.
  • A leather jacket
  • Tall Boots 
  • A pair of jeans
  • A pair of sport shoes – do yourself a favour and invest in Adidas Stan Smiths. Most comfy sport shoes ever and oh so chic! You can style them in so many ways.
  • Some high neck sweaters for layering.
  • A pair of gloves
  • A massive scarf that proved to be such a good companion throughout the trip.

This is the extremest cold we have ever experienced. I mean I used to crib about Delhi’s cold, well Delhi does not even feel cold any more. 😀

Shoes : Comfort is the key and pick something that you can wear with multiple outfits.

I wore my tall boots with a couple of outfits HERE, HERE and HERE. Plus I wore them throughout travelling because I didn’t want to ruin them in the luggage. They were suuuper comfortable so that was definitley a bonus. The only issue is that sometimes they ask you to take off your boots at the airport. They come off in seconds. But other than that you should always wear your heaviest shoes. That prevents a lot of luggage problems.

I also took my brown boots (these ones). I had these since last year. Wore these a lot last year. After one wear only during then trip they wore out. So I dumped them. Yiipppiee more space for new shoes. 😀

Sport shoes, and THESE black shoes from Diesel I wore these a lot during the trip. Then I invested in these gorgeous black ankle boots from Acne Studios. I wore these with 4 outfits (yet to post 2 outfits). Celine loafers were just an added bonus. I picked them during last leg of the trip so I could fit them in.

So except the tall boots, all my shoes were short and soft. So they could easily squeeze in and fit in.

But you can do with 2-3 pairs of shoes – a pair of sport shoes, a pair of boots and may be a pair of shoes that you can wear in evening for dinners (I used to wear my tall boots because they were quite fancy you know 😀 ).

Clothes : Pack loads of thermals, socks and undies, of course. If you don’t wear thermals, you’d die seriously. 😛 If you don’t like to wear thermals then you get these puffer jacket that prevent you from wind, rain, cold and everything that is winter related. Our first stop was Vienna and almost everyone wore puffer jackets there. I got so disgusted seeing so many puffer jackets that I literally ran away from puffer jackets section at stores. I think I am done with them for life…well may be I’d have to wear them if we ever go to Antarctica. May be. 😀  So for me it was jackets, and my coats. 😀 But I think if you invest in just 2 puffer jackets you can easily do a 20 day icy-cold trip. If you are going skiing, you can rent clothes and equipment from ski shops. You don’t have to buy them necessarily.

For playing in the snow, well we didn’t get wet or anything . If you are worried you can always pick up some waterproof and wind proof outerwear. Always carry a pair of socks with you. Just in case you need a change of pair.

Layering is a must. In every single outfit that you have seen I am wearing atleast 3 layers. Altleast. You can always have fun layering up clothes.

So here’s you quick cheat sheet for winter packing.

  • 1-2 coats
  • 1 -2 puffer jacket (if you prefer). Trust me, it would keep you very sorted. You don’t even have to pack it in the luggage. You can always wear it.
  • A leather jacket – pick one what has a warm lining underneath or else leather has a tendency to get cold. It wouldn’t help you in keeping you warm. My brown leather jacket is great for Delhi winters but there I had to wear layers underneath it during the trip because it does not have a warm lining on the inside.
  • 2-3 sweater. Keep a mix of thin and chunky. You can use thin ones for layering and chunky ones when you are indoors or to wear on their own etc.
  • 1-2 pair of gloves
  • 1-2 caps.
  • 2-3 pair of jeans / trousers.
  • Atleast 2 pair of shoes. One sneakers and one formal.
  • Lots of thermals and undies. You can keep washing them every few stops.
  • A cross body pouch / bag is very handy. You can keep your phone, cash, snacks etc and still keep your hands free.
  • A pair of sunglasses.
  • Stockings if you are going to wear skirts. (optional)
  • Leggings if you don’t like to wear jeans while travelling. (optional)
  • You can also carry clothes that you think you have worn enough but still haven’t got enough of them. You can wear such clothes a couple of time more during the trip and then dump them . We always do that. We tell the hotel people to donate the old clothes to someone. That makes space for new clothes and you also don’t feel bad about letting go of your old stuff. 🙂

I would have to admit that I am not a light traveller by any standards. I like to dress up. Sanjeev likes to click. We also do a whole lot of makeup shopping for IMBB. But you don’t have to go crazy carrying a lot of stuff. Also during this trip I learnt that if your itinerary includes shopping places it’s best that you carry less and shop from the places you go to. It’s always more fun. Even our huge Pink suitcase we bought in Prague and not in India. If you have to bring gifts for your friends, carry something small for them. I think a gesture is more appreciated than whether you have got something big or small.

I think more than the makeup, skin care is a must while travelling in winters. Definitley carry a vaseline, hand cream ,moisturiser,  lip balm etc so that your skin can survive the harsh weather and various weather changes.

Don’t stay hungry AT all when you are doing a winter holiday. You are prone to fall ill more if you are empty stomach. always take time to stop for coffee and meals. Always carry some snacks with you. Definitley pack the basic medicines as well.

I wrote this grooming post on 5 Things you Must Learn if you love Travelling.

Hope this helps some of you in your winter travels. If you have any more questions, let me know in the comments below. I’d try to answer.

You can also read a post on How to Plan a Europe Trip- Italy and France

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