Luggage advice for first time family flying please!

[LazyDoll]

Hi,
Having not left the UK for 11 years my family and I are taking a trip to the Arctic Circle early 2018 and I need to kit 5 of us out with new luggage!
I've checked baggage allowances etc but wondered if anyone travelling with children can recommend actual bags/cases or help more with sizes of luggage.
3 children 6/8/10 will definitely need luggage (they have back packs which I'm assuming will suffice for carry on) and us 2 adults.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thank you.

Whether you go for cases or holdalls, get them with wheels and handles and then the dc can move them about themselves.

I was just on Surfdome putting some discounted bags in potentially for the DC's and then thought this EXACT thing...excellent point!

I am assuming the type of kit you need for a winter trip to the Arctic Circle will be somewhat different to that required for a week on the Costas......
What is the allowance for each person, and do you think you will need the full allowance? How long are you going for?

Also - what are you doing when you get there? Luggage requirements for touring round and staying at a different place each night will be different to staying in a hotel etc

4 days.
Ice fishing, husky safari...outerwear/boots provided. Will need base layers/hats gloves etc.
20kgs each.
We'll wear our winter coats/boots and layers to cut down on packing!

Staying in lodge. Not touring round.

Where are you going? We flew to Kiruna and then had a 2 hour transfer to Northern Finland.

Although the holiday company provided snow suits and boots we found that we needed all the layers that we packed. 20kg is ample for everything you need.

We wore about 3 or 4 layers under our snow suits, inner and outer ski gloves, hats, a snood - it is really important you have a scarf or snood as you need to cover your face for husky driving, snowmobiling etc and thermal socks.

Take sunglasses as well. When the sun shines it is really bright with glare from the snow.

Ah Lonicera thanks so much for the tips. I have been compliling a list and glove liners and snoods are now ON it! Any other tips are also gratefully received

We're flying into Rovaniemi and transferring to Ranua. Can't wait!!

Lip balm

We love IT luggage. The suitcases are lightweight and very sturdy. Two of ours are about to go away for the third time and are unharmed and we've just bought another.

Thanks I'll check that out delilah

Rule no 1 is mix it up. Every case has some of everyone's clothes. That way if one goes astray no one is left stuck.

I tend to avoid suitcases which open in two, like a shell (eg www.samsonite.co.uk/cosmolite-3.0-spinner-69cm/73350.html?dwvar_73350_color=1549&cgid= ) because you require twice the space to open them, and because staff moves around when you open and close it.

I prefer suitcases where only the top opens up (eg www.samsonite.co.uk/b-lite-3-spinner-expandable-78cm/64952.html?dwvar_64952_color=1247&cgid=SAMS049#prefn1=customProductMaterialGroup&prefv1=Softside&start=9&cgid=SAMS049 ) because you need less space to keep them open. Unless you know for sure you will be staying in huge hotel rooms, it’s a big convenience.

PS Of course I meant stuff, not staff...

Definitely agree - mix stuff between cases, and one complete change in for each person in their hand luggage.

4 wheels are better than 2 - does the travel organisation have recommendations? Sometimes they do for where luggage needs to be stored when you get to them.

Yes yes yes to specialsubject's rule number 1.

Don't get anything toooooo big. I can get 30kg into a 65cmx30cm suitcase......
Personally, we prefer the type of suitcase SouthLondonDaddy dislikes. If you think you might be in the market for more suitcases in the future, maybe try a mixture. Then you know what you prefer for any future purchases.

We now buy the brightest colours we can. There are 500 suitcases coming off a plane, and if they are all black..... however even the kids can spot our cases now (red, purple and light blue). We also have neon baggage straps to aid with identification ( I had to go buy an interview outfit as someone took my black suitcase off the carrasol and took it to Devon. I'd been travelling for 2 weeks, and stopping off in London on my way home for an interview. I was not impressed)

Enjoy. It sounds like an amazing trip.

I love the sound of your holiday. Can I ask who you're travelling with? I would love to do something like this with DH and DS but not really sure who to book through...

We have just got some Away suitcases - very light but also some super strong material so they don't break. They are very easy to roll about.

We also have lots of wheel bags. The dc all have one of these personalised with their names, which have been great for school trips and things over the years. Sadly they only seem to do one colour now as mine all have a different colour. It certainly makes packing easy.

I can give you some other tips too (non luggage related)...(I used to write the brochure for the holiday firm I worked for about Lapland/Artic Circle).

Tights. As thick as you can (for boys and girls).
Thermal pyjamas but NOT for the hotels which are seriously overheated. I took DD to Lapland and her layers were....underwear, thermal pyjamas, polo neck top, warm leggings, snow suit.
Do not take woolen gloves...they just get soaked.

Primark - When I went I got loads of thermal underwear, tight, pyjamas, mens long johns (which I wore underneath etc) from Primark. All in, for the three of us the cost of buying stuff was about £60.00. Nobody sees what is under your snowsuit.

Everyone on these trips do not get dressed up.

We have IT Luggage. Light as a feather but hold loads. You can really pack them in and still be under the wight allowance. (leave some room for souvineers of course)

www.argos.co.uk/product/4641908?cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59156|cid:189949525|agid:18074417725|tid:aud-144400486596:pla-167318246725|crid:77627774245|nw:g|rnd:5069825675680597230|dvc:c|adp:1o1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiqTNBRDVARIsAGsd9Mp089r0UJZRaOvSH6j0HTO33cBfEb0WMFcrVOLdOOx2A0LozlH79FQaAvpXEALw_wcB

Look around for the cheapest, we got ours in TKMax not asda.

It sounds a great trip!

You won't need 100Kgs of luggage between you for a 4 day trip, and where outer wear and boots are provided. Personally I would save money and buy only 2 cases between 3 kids - which also means that you have one less case than person, which could be handy when managing that number of kids. The 6 year old could struggle with a big bag.

Cases take up a lot of storage at home, take up a lot of room in the car / taxi (depending on how you are going to the airport) etc etc. In fact for our family I would take a total of 3 bags for this trip. But I do travel quite light.

Pile the amount of clothes you think the kids will need for the trip on the bed and see how much space it seems to take up.

Presumably towels will be provided, basic toiletries, you ca take miniatures, not loads of full sized bottles for that length of time. A few books.

Favourite cuddlies need to be in your hand luggage.

Thank you so much for all these really helpful replies! I'll read through and reply properly later on!

Aldi have their ski stuff in at the moment, and it is pretty decent quality for the price.

So after looking at all these replies I went away with a friend for the weekend and she's lending me all her family (of 5's) luggage! Solves the expenditure and storage problems and as her husband travels A LOT for work there's plenty to choose from. It IS all black so I will be on the lookout for identifying markers!!

SouthLondonDaddy they all (but one) open like you say - and with 5 of us in the lodge space will be an issue so great thinking! Also there for such a short time we won't be unpacking.

For all those who suggested mixing luggage and packing change of clothes in hand luggage thank you I will definitely do this

TheOnlyLiving thank you - we're very excited! It has featured on Secret Escapes but we booked through Artisan Travel/Activities abroad and so far they've been great!

MaddieMookins what an awesome job! I've just brought (dirt) cheap base layers from decathlon and some walking boots for the DC's from Mountain Warehouse. Yes I'm not planning on taking my heels
I'm umming and ahhing over gloves and hats at the moment as they provide large mittens over gloves. What gloves would you suggest for under?

DopeOnARope great tips thank you! I think I can do light (boys aren't fussed about wearing dirty clothes) so I'll see if DH and I can share a case, DS2 and 3 share and DH1 can have his own.

Thanks again - even MORE excited now!!