Winter wardrobe for toddler? Moving to the U.K.

[SunRainFog]

We are moving back to London after a few years living in a hot country.

I have no idea what to buy for my 2 year old. My MIL got him a rain coat with fleece but not sure if that's warm enough?

He'll need wellies and winter boots? What brands are good? I got totally overwhelmed when googling!

What should he wear to sleep? He's not used to blankets and hates socks. Do I leave the heating on all night for him?

I sound like an idiot but I've completely forgotten what it's like to live in winter.

When are you actually arriving? I moved to Australia in a January with my dc and everyone said 'ohh, just wait till you get there' but because it was the height of summer/back to school we couldn't find sandals anywhere, it was a right debacle.

He will definitely need a better coat than a raincoat. My Dc were always colder than the average child when they came back to the UK as they weren't used to the cold!

You might be better off with snow boots or lined wellies instead of ordinary wellies as they are warmer.

I'd do a big marks and Spencer's order to either someone else's house or to click and collect when you arrive.

Long sleeved pyjamas.

www.marksandspencer.com/l/kids/boys/nightwear/pyjamas

Boots
Trousers
Jumpers
Coat
Hat
Gloves

You can get Welly socks that are thicker, lindex do nice brushed cotton lined leggings that DS says are really.cosy (he's 3). You'll definitely need a proper winter coat, hat, gloves, not just a rain coat. Vests, long sleeve tops, jumpers, sweatshirts. Layers essentially.

Oh yes long pyjamas and if you look on the m&s link above they have some really soft velour ones that DS likes when it gets really cold. Slippers etc try the joules outlet in eBay, I got DS a pair of slipper boots for less than £5 and wellies for less than £10. A couple of thick jumpers too, the borg lined ones. Boden are good for those but I tend to buy out of season in sales or they're quite expensive, but they do wash well. Also try FB groups for joules, frugi , Boden you can pick up second hand bundles quite reasonably at the moment which gives you chance to work out what you use most.

I would second M&S. Padded coat for cold days, woolly hat and mittens. Plus a waterproof coat for wet days. They tend to be less padded but you can layer up underneath them. Thermal vests or t shirts are also very useful for layering. Outdoor shops often have good winter boots. My DD (a little older) wears Startrite ankle boots most days in autumn, wellies if it's really wet.

Probably no need to keep the heating on at night if he has a duvet. ( Not sure if he's in a bed or cot.) Sleeping bags are an alternative but not so good for older toddlers.

ASDA do good wellies for toddlers.
A coat will be fine
Puddle suit for splashing in puddles - again ASDA or another supermarket brand
And a quilt - we use a 7 tog as we're in the south of England.
Aberdeen or Derry - very different places to dress for.

Might sound odd, but I often put my DC (2&1) in a pair tights underneath their trousers to add an extra layer of warmth if we're going to be out for a fair bit of the day (even my son as you can't see them).

They both wear a long sleeved vest underneath their pyjamas.

I'd recommend having a rain coat, a fleece jacket and a thicker coat, then you're covered for every eventuality.

For an idea, my DS (15months) wardrobe consists of:
1 snowsuit with hood (no feet)
1 rain coat
5 jumpers (a few too many but they came as sets with joggers)
1 pair of shoes
1 pair of wellies
8 pairs of socks
7 short sleeved vests
7 long sleeved vests
3 short sleeved T-shirts
6 long sleeved tops
5 pairs of joggers
3 pairs of jeans
3 pairs of tights
4 pairs of long pyjamas
1 fluffy dressing gown
2 pairs of slippers (like thick socks with grips on the bottom).

He has a knitted blanket, duvet cover and pillow in his bed, but mostly sleeps on top of the duvet 🤦‍♀️

Hope that helps!

Forgot to add,
2 woolly hats
2 pairs of mittens

Also worth looking on Vinted for 2nd hand stuff once you've arrived here - seasonal gear often shows up there in good condition.

I’ve always found Sainsbury’s clothes/wellies/boots etc great value and hard wearing.

Depends how hot your child is tbh - we live in the east of England and mine would be absolutely fine with a fleecy rain coat all winter!

We arrive next week!

I'll look at M&S, thanks for tip. I don't even know where to look for things anymore.

We've only been back to the U.K. in the summer so he's not used to wearing mittens, coats, hats. Not sure how he'll react, I can see myself with the only child in the park without a coat.

This is amazing! Thank you!

London is mostly not that cold in winter but it is wet.

Wellies yes

Winter boots no, but make sure their everyday shoes are quite robust and can stand up to some rain

Warm coat that is fairly waterproof. Gilet or fleece lined hoody or raincoat for in between days when the warm coat would get abandoned. Mine liked gilets most.

Changes of trousers as they will get muddy/wet in playground or park

Vests are good to go under normal clothes to add an extra layer of warmth, rather than buying special warm clothing which won’t get much use

Sleeping - mine were always fine in normal long sleeved cotton PJs and duvet. Hated velour ones and got too hot in them.

I would suggest a duvet with a thin layer and thicker layer that can be attached together to make a super warm duvet if needed. Also an extra fleece blanket to pop at the end of the bed for unexpected temperature drops.

My DS is nearly two and has:

a thick padded waterproof coat
a puddle suit
a light rain coat
wellies
1 x shoes/trainers
hat and mittens

outside of the normal clothes.

I got all the above on Vinted either new or close to new. Really good for getting out of season stuff.

Matalan, Next, M&S and H&M do really good warm weather gear. We’ve always had second hand wellies from JoJo Maman Bebe or John Lewis.

For sleep, he is in a sleepsuit and H&M 2.5 tog sleeping bag at the moment. He is tall and they do age 2-4y. If the house gets colder, we do have a duvet for him but would probably also keep him in a lighter sleeping bag as he’s a wriggler.

What should he wear to sleep? He's not used to blankets and hates socks. Do I leave the heating on all night for him?

This depends on how well insulated your home is. It also depends if you're in The Highlands or in London.

Coat
Hat
Wellington boots
Mittens
Snood (less faff than wrapping a scarf around a child)
Dressing gown
Thermal leggings.

Can you order stuff for before you arrive to a friends/family member's house? Next and Marks & Spencers are good for children's wear.
When you get here you can shop around in the supermarkets. My DS's winter boots are from Asda.

@SunRainFog You definitely won't be the only one with a coatless child, they all whip them off given half a chance.

This Autumn has been really mild so far, so do t worry about going all-out snow gear.

I’d recommend wellies and a puddle suit if you can find one. Toddlers love puddles 🤣

A point to remember... they can't wear winter coats in car seats. Partly because they can overheat, but mainly because they been thrown out of the harness in a crash as the coat compresses. Having a blanket in the car could be essential.

For sleeping I'd recommend a body suit underneath his pyjamas. It will stop a draft up his back. Age 2-3 bodysuits are available in lots of shops. If he's nearer 3 or tall for his age, M&S do bodysuits in 3-4 years as well.

DH and I still have winter stuff from when we lived in U.K. probably all out of style and possible not enough sweaters and cold weather trousers but it's a starting point. Poor DS doesn't have anything.

I'm going to do a big M&S shop and there a big Sainsbury's with clothes near the flat we are going to live.

Waterproofs for jumping in puddles a must but if DC wears different size top v bottom, I prefer salopette style trouser with rain coat instead of all in one puddle suit. You will probably want a warmer coat later in winter but you might be ok with fleece lined raincoat for first weeks.

My DC hated blankets so I used JoJo maman sleeping bag suits (like a duvet but with arms and legs) or pyjamas with layers underneath. Generally I preferred layers over big bulky outfits.

These are fantastic for cold muddy days, you can get fleece lined or non, really cosy and properly waterproof www.hippychick.com/shop/pcategory/out-about/waterproof-clothing/

I would recommend some sturdier waterproof boots as well as wellys as they can be quite tricky to walk in and they're not very warm, we've had these for our toddlers:
www.decathlon.co.uk/p/children-s-warm-waterproof-hiking-boots-sh100-warm-scratch-size-6-5c-13c/_/R-p-163491

H and M also have a good selection of kids shoes that are lined and waterproof.

Think everything else has been covered! Good luck with the move!

Which part of the UK?
The south can be quite mild in winter and a lot of toddlers are happy running around in nothing but a long sleeve t-shirt, trackie bottoms and a pair of wellies even in the 'coldest' part of the year.

It doesn't really get very very cold. At the worst in jan/feb you'll be looking at around 0 Celsius.

Properly waterproof coat and wellies are very useful, depending on where you'll be it can be very normal to have weeks with no dry days. Avoid 'shower proof' and look specifically for the word waterproof.

Otherwise layers are good, so vest, tshirt, jumper, coat.

I liked having waterproof trousers for DD when you was little too, because she'd be in and out of puddles on every walk. Although word of warning, waterproof trousers and wet slides in parks mean you end up with a child hurtling down the slide at super speed and shooting 30feet off the end 😂

For night time, long sleeved pjs, socks and a vest if it's very cold.

I would buy wellies, trainers, a puddle suit that's a size up (you can layer a polar fleece and extra jogging bottoms underneath for the 2 weeks of proper winter, mostly winters and damp and circa 10 degrees these days), couple of decent fleeces, jeans, jogging bottoms. London is temperate not cold