If your son or daughter gets the opportunity to go skiing with their primary or secondary school, it is such an amazing opportunity. Some children may already know how to ski whilst this may be the first time for others, either way this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most and if possible not to be missed. However, as a parent we found it quite stressful, knowing exactly what to pack for a weeklong stay.
The first thing you need to remember is when packing for any school trip is that your child will be responsible for carrying, lifting, pushing or pulling their suitcase or bag. Teachers unfortunately can't help every child with their luggage so it's down to each child.
If your child is flying to their ski resort they will most likely only be allowed 15kg maximum. This is still heavy for little ones to carry. Also most hotels have lifts however we have found in the past that schools prefer the children to use the stairs while transporting their luggage so it's wise to have them practice on stairs at home lifting or pulling up their case.
So bearing that in mind, it is quite difficult to know exactly what to pack for the ski trip. The school will give you some basic information on what the essentials they need, which I will speak about however, it’s the 'other' clothes and accessories that they may need on their trip that you don’t get much guidance on.
As a parent of a son who went skiing as a year 6 pupil, here is exactly what we packed but I have also added what you may also need for packing for a girl too. My biggest tip for you all is label everything! You could use personalised labels or custom patches adding them to ski jackets, hats, gloves, and bags to help kids easily identify their items. This can be particularly helpful when all the students have similar-looking gear.
We opted for a large holdall bag with wheels* which was recommended to us by a resort volunteer. Also we used packing cubes labelled with what was inside, which we found was so much easier for our son. We showed him exactly what was in each packing cube so he knew exactly what was where.
For travelling our children where given a red jumper and were asked to wear their ski jacket so no need to pack this.
Also the teachers who were travelling with the children were in receipt of their
Passport
EHIC
Spending Money (€80)
In The Case
Ski Essentials
1 pair of salopettes - these are recommended over ski trousers so they don't fall down.
2 x base layer tops
2 x base layer trousers
1 x fleece
2 x pairs of ski socks - ( 3 pairs if you are not requested to put a pair in their hand luggage).
1 x ski goggles - These must be of a high quality to protect their eyes.
1 x sun glasses - Again these must be of a high quality to protect their eyes.
1 x ski gloves
1 x hand warmer gloves - these go inside their ski gloves for extra warmth.
1 x suncream - preferably one that can be worn around the neck so they can reapply when on the slopes
1 x lipsalve - preferably one that can be worn around the neck so they can reapply when on the slopes.
1 x hat - a beanie style hat is preferred as needs to sit inside the helmet.
1 x neck warmer - these are preferred to scarves.
Other Clothing
3 x tracksuit bottoms or leggings - plus the pair they travel in.
7 x a mixture of short and long sleeve t-shirts - plus the top they travel in
2 x hoodies, jumpers or tracksuit tops - hotels are usually warm so no need to over pack.
10 x pairs of undies or knickers - 1 for each day plus a few spares.
10 x pairs of socks - 1 for each day plus a few spares.
2 x pyjamas
1 x slippers
Toiletries
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Shower gel
Roll on deodorant
Brush
Hair bobbles and/or clips
Towel - the hotel our children went to did not provide towels
Hand Luggage - We chose a medium sized backpack
This will differ for everyone but our school wanted inside hand luggage
A packed breakfast - our meet time was 4:15am so they ate their breakfast at the airport
A packed lunch - this was so they could eat their lunch before leaving for the resort in Italy
£10 to buy drinks at the airport - as you can't take drinks through security
An empty sports bottle - There are water fountains in most airports
Activities to do on plane coach such as pencils/ paper/ colouring books/ top trumps
A hi vis vest that was given to us by the school
A large trolley bag such as a sports direct bag
A pair of ski socks - this was so they could go straight to their ski boot fitting once at the resort.
A small cuddly toy. Preferably not a teddy with huge sentimental value in case it gets lost but something that your child can cuddle or a nice reminder of home such as Palm Pals.
This all fitted neatly in his packing cubes and in his large holdall. It was heavy but he could manage it with some effort.
If there is anything I've missed off please feel free to message me and I'll include. If you have a child going on a ski trip I hope they enjoy it and make memories to last a lifetime!
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Michelle
