What to Consider When Packing for Upcountry (For Your Kids)

Finally, the festive season is here again! The long-awaited season that even we adults, like children, do a countdown right from January. And we are traveling to the upcountry popularly known in Kenya as?shags.?

Most families in Nairobi and other urban towns in Kenya travel upcountry during Christmas, which comes with a lot of planning and packing, especially for moms. Here are great tips that will go a long way in packing for your kids so that your stay at the village turns out as exciting and memorable as you envisioned.

The length of stay

How long will you be staying? Is it a few days, a week, or two weeks? Decide prior. The earlier, the better. It will save you much hustle and the heartache of either over-packing or under-packing. Nobody wants to show up with huge suitcases as if they are relocating.?

On the other hand, you also do not want your children to run out of what to wear, especially if the festivities are climaxing and you don’t have time to wash. I didn’t mention the unpredictable weather when you count on the sun to shine and dry your clothes. But instead, it ends up raining the entire morning and afternoon. How disappointing!

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Your children’s age

Again, what you pack and your number of clothes will depend on your children’s age. An infant, for example, will require many clothes compared to an older toddler. Still, you can approximate a definite number because infants will only quickly soil their clothes compared to toddlers if they are crawling or learning to walk.

If there is the stage where much clothing is required is the stage between infancy and toddlerhood. This period is when your child is learning how to walk.

Once, I traveled with my son upcountry, and I can’t say enough about how I got disappointed with the numerous times I had to change him, especially in the mornings. He kept falling off balance and would get either wet or soiled. It was frustrating because I had packed lesser attires.

If your children are toddlers, that is easy to pack because toddlers love to play outside; they mostly wear one attire daily and two on the higher side. They will not soil their clothes as much, especially with food, apart from (of course) the soiling that comes with playing, which is typically the age. But you can decide how many pieces you will need depending on how they usually dress.

The weather upcountry

I can't end this article without saying that you need to consider the weather of the area you will be staying in. Could you call home and ask about the current climatic condition in that area? Kenya is a subtropical climatic region, but some sub-climates can be distinct between areas. I want you to please be aware of packing right.

When I pack for my children, I must always call home to enquire before deciding on whether to pack jackets or just sweaters. I also consider the heaviness of the sweaters I am packing and whether or not I will be packing shorts, light clothing, heavy pants, and long-sleeved T-shirts.

Suppose you’re traveling from Nairobi to lowlands like the coast of Kenya, which borders the Indian Ocean, then you will consider doing light clothing.

However, go heavy in your packing if you travel from lowlands to highlands like Nairobi and other mountainous regions surrounding Mt. Kenya and Mt. Elgon. Include socks, Marvin, and boots. Remember, a nice warm sleep sack for your infant.

Remember?to bring extra blankets for the kids as you do not want to depend on the ones in?shags?since there will be many families, and the blankets will probably be up for grabs. Travel in style.

The color of the clothing

If you have toddlers who love to play outside, you must be smiling now because you know what it means to consider the color of their outfits. Handwashing soiled toddlers’ clothes is not for the faint-hearted.

Save yourself that energy and only pack cool or dark-colored clothes for your toddlers. Infants can have brightly colored ones. Keep brightly colored T-shirts like white for the town life. Otherwise, your toddlers will have less fun in the village because they will be too concerned about soiling their clothes to enjoy themselves.?And you will have it rough scrubbing the clothes. You do not want that, do you?

Let them have dark colors like navy blue, dark grey, green, black, maroon, and red. Mostly, pack colors that are not easily stained. I just wanted to give you a heads-up that you will thank me later.?

My life and stay upcountry have become so much fun since I discovered this trick. Dark clothes do not mean that your child will not be smartly dressed. You can always find a way to march the outfits properly. For example, don’t let your toddler wear sky-blue pants and a white T-shirt instead of black pants and a red T-shirt. You can still style them out.?

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The setting of your?shags?(upcountry)

Considering the kind of environment your family will be staying in may seem unimportant, and you could easily brush it off. Still, it is a significant factor to consider when packing for an upcountry visit and stay.

I would like to give you my perfect example. When I visit my mom’s place, I prefer to pack more clothing because the home has many trees and hence more sheds. Meaning clothes will dry slowly. I also pack several pairs of play shoes because, when it rains, it gets a little muddy, and the compound is big, making it challenging to monitor how far the kids can go while playing. They, therefore, soil themselves more.

On the other hand, when we visit my husband’s home, I pack less because the compound is smaller. But it’s greener. When it rains, it doesn’t get muddy as such. It is also much easier to monitor the kids playing as the place is more secluded. Besides, the hanging line area is open, and thus clothes will dry within an hour or two, which increases my likelihood of packing fewer clothes. After all, I will wash them and reuse them anyway.

So, do your research and find out the setting of your home, then decide what to pack. Don’t fall victim to disappointments like me when I was still a new mom and had no idea what to factor in when traveling with kids. I thought all you were required to do was throw clothes in your suitcase, and off you go.

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What to consider before you start packing

I have been packing several Christmases travels for my family, and I can tell you that these tricks have worked for me. First, decide what you want to pack and write a packing list. Then start assembling everything you intend to pack.?

The essence of assembling before packing is to include everything. It is easy to forget small things like toothbrushes or socks. That is why you want to intentionally do the assembling as you tick on your packing list.

Design your packing list so that you have two columns in which you put a checkmark. So the first check mark is after assembling the things, then the second check mark is during packing. When you are done packing, it is easier to identify what you didn’t pack and what you are packing that morning before the departure. See, simplified life!

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Bonus tips when packing

snacks

You should consider buying snacks for your kids or plan on how you will source them. Would you be able to prepare them at home or buy them from the local shop? So that you know, some shags?are not close to any mall or supermarket where you will purchase snacks or fruits like apples and grapes. If you have to, buy oranges or mangoes and carry them in bulk. You can also buy yogurt and popcorn, so you will make the kids popcorn to re-energize them as they wait for the community food to cook.

I can tell you that your child’s appetite will automatically spike while upcountry. Appetite in town and appetite in shags?are not friends. I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me why; brace yourself with enough snacks. I just wanted to give you a heads-up that you will thank me later.

Organize your clothes in the packing bag.

Please make sure that your clothes are well organized in the bag. It is more frustrating than pulling socks from a huge, fully-packed traveling bag or arriving at your destination late at night and figuring out which bag has sleep attire. Then having to throw everything out in a rage and desperately search among heaps of clothes. You can do better.

Organize your clothes, so you know whose clothes to find where. Life will be much easier and more manageable. Everyone wants that.

Group the clothes

Have the clothes grouped according to how you will be wearing them. Wrap a complete set of clothes together. For instance, wrap a T-shirt, a pair of pants, and a sweater in one tiny bundle so that you have several little bundles neatly arranged in the bag. This way, when it’s time for a change, you pull out one bundle, and the attire is complete instead of pulling out a piece independently. It tends to get messy, frustrating, and time-consuming.

Underpants, socks, and beebs

Pack all tiny pieces of clothing in one collection for organization and easier accessibility. If you copy this style, you will rarely have cases where you have a missing sock, or you need help finding your daughter’s underwear because it probably got lost in the heap of other clothes in the bag. Frustrating, right? I knoooooow! I have been there. Trust me, and you can cry.

Improvise a laundry basket.

Your life will be much easier if you have a place to dump your dirty clothes rather than putting them back in the bag again or piling them in some corner of the room. I am not saying that you pack a laundry basket, LOL—Improvise a portable one.

I usually pack one or two carrier bags. So I fold the dirty clothes and neatly arrange them in the carrier bags. It makes the room neater and more organized. Again, there will be more people around, probably another family sharing a room with yours, so you want to maintain the highest level of organization. And we all know that unkempt clothes are one of the reasons our bedrooms become disorganized. Remember, it starts with you.

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What is the size and type of your bag?

Consider your choice of traveling bag. Again, your bag choice will depend on your family size.?

But let’s all agree on this.?That the type of bag also matters a lot! If you travel long distances like the people of Western and South Nyanza, consider staying away from suitcases.?

I can’t count how many times my suitcases have been dismantled while traveling upcountry using the big long-distance travel buses.?

I know what you are thinking that you’re going private. Good idea, but a suitcase is still not a good choice because suitcases take up much space in the booth.?Also, you can pack more stuff in a regular bag than in a suitcase.

Have you witnessed a scene where suitcases are being offloaded from the top carrier of a big long-distance bus? You will feel remorseful to its owner. How these suitcases are mishandled and thrown from the board to the ground will make you keep yours safe in your house and find alternative traveling bags.

Use softer fabric bags, as they will still be in good shape when you return. Don’t say nobody told you.?

Final thoughts

Packing for an upcountry trip doesn't have to be complicated. Now that we know a few packing tips and tricks let’s get started before time catches up with us. The clock is ticking. Plan and pack responsibly. Remember; Happy kids, happy mom. The show is about to go down! Great mouthwatering food awaits. Keep your appetite intact.