What to Pack for a Family Vacation? A Mom of 5 Shares Her Go-To Travel Products Under $40 (2024)

After five kids and 15 years of parenting, my husband and I are taking a big step this year: We’ve decided to take our first-ever family vacation. As the mom in charge of all the planning and packing, a trip like this doesn’t always feel very relaxing (shoutout to all my moms who get it).

I’m doing my best to be as prepared as possible ahead of time with some convenient family vacation essentials like a tiny travel fan, an insulated backpack for theme park adventures, packing cubes to keep us organized, fold-down laundry hampers, and my kids’ favorite puffy sticker accessory books for the plane ride.

Here’s what else I’m buying for our family vacation with seven people along for the ride.

Melissa & Doug Puffy Sticker Activity Books

I’ve raved about my love for these Melissa & Doug puffy sticker activity books before because they single-handedly got my kids through a 17-hour road trip for a family wedding. I have two daughters who are still young enough to enjoy stickers and they both used these sticker books for hours on end—and even played with them when we got home.

I just picked up a fresh batch of books for the plane ride and layovers, and I’m hoping those puffy stickers work their magic again.

Bagail Packing Cubes

Saving room in our luggage is crucial as a family of seven. I still pack for my 4-year-old, so I'll be using these packing cubes to separate her clothes from mine. Plus, to encourage independence, I'll organize her clothes by category: She'll get a cube for pajamas and one for socks and undies, letting her find and pick out her own outfits easily.

An added bonus: These cubes make unpacking a breeze since everything is already organized.

Yorepek Padded Car Seat Travel Bag Backpack

In writing this article, it just occurred to me that we'll need a car seat in our rental vehicle, so if you’re in the same boat and have to bring a car set along on your trip, this travel bag backpack is a very convenient option. It's water resistant, weighs just 2 pounds, has padded shoulder straps and an adjustable waist strap, and is compatible with many different car seats.

You’ll just need to measure your car seat to make sure it fits; the bag is 28 x 18 x 18 inches.

Iniu Portable Charger

After years of struggling to find outlets when traveling, I finally caved in and bought a portable charger. I found this portable power bank for 51% off, and with 4.6 stars and over 93,000 ratings on Amazon, it felt like a safe bet.

So far, I’ve been really happy with how quickly it charges our devices: It brought my 1% phone up to 36% in literally two minutes this weekend. It doesn’t come with a long cord, though, so I picked up my own.

Matein Insulated Cooler Backpack

We've included a theme park adventure on the itinerary, so I'm bringing my new favorite insulated backpack. I bought it for weekend sports tournaments a few months ago and I absolutely love it. It’s roomy enough to fit a full weekend of food, clothes, and my laptop and charging cord.

The insulated compartment keeps your food separate from the rest of your belongings, and there are more zippered compartments for other essentials. The large adjustable straps are comfortable to wear around, and I love the included charging port and key ring. I plan to use this as my carry-on, too.

Toy Life Collapsible Beach Toys

To entertain my younger kids, I'm bringing this collapsible beach toy set. It comes with four collapsible buckets, eight sand shovels, and a mesh bag to hold it all. Each bucket collapses all the way down so the set fits neatly into the included carrying bag. I love that this affordable toy has enough pieces for my kids to play together!

SimpleHouseware Crystal Clear Over the Door Hanging Shoe Organizer

If you’re taking a lot of people—or shoes—on your family trip, one genius tip I received from another mother is to stash your kids’ shoes, outfits, and even toys in an over-the-door shoe organizer and pack them that way in a suitcase. Then, when you get to your hotel or rental, you can easily hang the whole organizer up in a closet or on a door.

Frienda 8-Pack Swim Goggles

I booked an Airbnb with a pool, so I picked up a pack of cheap swim goggles to get us through the trip. Even though I will 100% tell my kids not to open their eyes in the pool, they will still 100% not listen to me and end up with bloodshot eyes by the end of the day without goggles to use. For us, this is a vacation necessity.

TriPole Mini Desk Fan

Most of my family depends on fans to help us sleep, but lugging along full-size box fans isn’t exactly an option for cross-country travel. My sister recommended this USB-powered mini fan, so I bought my own and have been testing it during weekends away for several months.

For $14, it’s surprisingly powerful and provides enough noise to soothe me to sleep. It also produces a nice breeze for those who sleep hot, and its compact size lets you throw it in your luggage or carry-on. It charges through USB but doesn’t come with its charging brick, so you might want to toss a USB charging port in your cart, too.

Flents Foam Ear Plugs

Just in case my kids object to sharing rooms in the Airbnb or my husband’s snoring becomes too much, I also picked up this multipack of foam earplugs. I love that they're flexible, easy to use, and come with a carrying case. Plus, for only $3, I won’t feel bad if we lose a pair or two along the way. I used them on a test run in a hotel this weekend during my daughter’s volleyball tournament and they worked great.

Bagsmart Hanging Travel Toiletry Bag

I treated myself to this bag when it was on sale over the holidays and I’m looking forward to breaking it in on our family vacation. It’s a hanging toiletry bag that folds out from the bottom and on both sides so you can access all of your products. I expect that it will save a lot of space on the shared counter in our vacation rental, and it'll help me take my favorite skincare products with me.

Soomfon Electronics Organizer Travel Cable Organizer Bag

Speaking of keeping stuff organized, this electronics organizer bag has been one of my favorite travel purchases to date. I can keep everyone’s random charging cords and chargers, along with my own AirPods and Kindle, all safe and secure in one spot—no digging through my bag to find them when the inevitable chorus of “Mom! Have you seen my charger?!” comes at me mid-flight. While this organizer is not a hard case, I've had zero issues after owning and using it regularly for two years.

Collapsible Mesh Hamper With Carry Handles

Because I’m a mom and laundry = life, I also threw one of these horizontal hampers in my Amazon cart. I love the idea that the hamper could double as a convenient carry bag to take essentials to the pool or beach while we’re on our trip and save space in my luggage. You can never have too many catch-all bags as a parent on a family vacation, you know? And for only $10, I won’t worry too much if it gets ruined on the trip.

A New Beach Read

Last but not least, I'm treating myself to a new beach read while we’re on this trip. And it just so happens that one of my favorite authors—Jenny Colgan—is releasing a brand-new book at the start of spring break. All of her books are easy-breezy fun beach reads you can still enjoy even if you have to keep an eye on the kids. Happy vacationing, everyone!

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