What to do with winter jackets?

[2boyzmom]

We are leaving Saturady in 20 degree weather for Miami :) My bags will already be stuffed so what do you with the jackets? I can freeze for a few minutes but not the kids. Do airports have lockers?

[derf5585]

Airports used to have lockers. Not any longer because of security. I had the same problem if Ft Lauderdale in the winter. I wore the coat in 70 Degree weather.

[naragonl]

I'm not sure if airports have lockers anymore ...hmm, but my initial thought would be to bring a collapsible soft type piece of luggage/bag, Won't weigh much and when not used it can folded to hardly nothing.

 

Good luck either way. I agree on not wanting the kids go without coats.

[Globaliser]

Alternatively, get them to wear lots of layers. Many layers of relatively light clothes can be surprisingly warm, which is why layering is such a hot tip for packing light.

[ute_fan]

How are you getting to the airport in NY? If you're leaving a car there, or having a friend/family member drop you off, could you just leave them in the car? If you're relying on public transportation, that wouldn't work, but it's part of the reason that we normally find someone to drop us off at the airport.

[tchrchgo]

we just went to florida in jan from chicago. for my 2 three yr olds, I did this:

 

I had them wait in the house till the cab was fully loaded and ready to go;

I had them wear long sleeve shirts and fleece sweaters; I ran them into the cab and then into the airport upon arrival and then shoved their sweaters into the outside pocket of the suitcase (it is much easier to shove in sweaters than winter coats). my father was picking us up from the airport, so again I waited until car fully loaded and ready, and ran them out to the car.

[michigansal]

Being from Michigan, I know exactly how you feel. You only need the coats for a short time, yet don't want to have the kids freezing. What we usually do is layer, layer, layer. Start with a T-Shirt (one that goes with shorts), then add a sweatshirt, then the spring jacket. This way, you are relatively warm, yet can start peeling the layers and storing them in the carry-on as it heats up. This works well for us, because we aren't carrying bulky winter coats, and have some items for the milder nights on the trip. Years ago, (I don't know if they are 'in-style' any longer), I would buy my kids the cargo pants that were long, but had zippers about the knee level. They thought that it was great that they got on the plane wearing long pants, but when we landed they had unzipped the bottom and were now wearing shorts!!

[Ehpride]

I agree with the layering. Actually, I just wore a t-shirt and a jacket and froze for a few minutes, and then bought a hooded sweatshirt in Florida and wore that home, but that won't be viable with kids. Why not have them wear a t-shirt with a long-sleeved shirt underneath it, a sweatshirt or fleece (might be good if there's a cool day on the ship!), and a windbreaker. It'll probably be cold in your connecting airport (it sure was in Minneapolis!) and on the planes so all those layers will come in handy and then you can peel like somebody else said.

[Hootsie]

We live in Montana and when we travel in the winter, we leave our coats in the car (long term parking) and freeze for a few minutes until we get into the airport. I am not dragging those things along on a trip no matter what! I do have a sweatshirt on (layers) because I do get cold on the plane (no matter what the season) but the coats don't go.

[wrp96]

My cruise last January I didn't take my winter coat with me and it was a mistake. I froze because when I returned it was really cold. You don't just have the getting it to the airport, remember the jetway isn't heated and you can get backed up on that very easily. I still shiver just thinking about it. Bring your coats and a lightweight foldable duffle. This is always a good idea anyway, that way you have something to carry souvenirs home in.

[smrtypnts]

We recently went out of JFK and what we did was this....

We drove ourselves to the airport and planned to park in long term parking. i dropped DH and 2 kids off, who all had sweatshirts on. They got settled in with the tix, etc. while i drove around to long term parking. i walked (freezing) to the high speed shuttle and came in at some remote location and had to walk all the way around the building to the other side on the outside where I froze the entire way, but it was worth it cuz we had no coats. on the way home it was reversed, with them getting the luggage and me using the cell phone to alert them to go outside 1 minute before I arrived with the car, where we loaded the luggage into the car and drove home, comfortable in the car without coats!

 

good luck, i know it's a dilemna!

[Sheffie]

Maybe you could take some of those big ziplock bags, put the coats in them, and then squeeze out the air. You could then just stick them in the bottom of your closet. That would take up a lot less room in your cabin.

[Nliedel]

My husband dumps me, the kids and the luggage at the door of the airport while he parks the car. No jackets required. We do the same thing in reverse on the return.

[2boyzmom]

Sounds like the best idea is him dumping us at the curb with the luggage!

[Nebr.cruiser]

Gosh, kids are not little hot-house flowers; they won't freeze in the few minutes it takes to get from the house to the car or from the car into the airport. The only exception might be a baby, but I assume you'd be taking a blanket along for one anyway. We always have one person drop everyone else off at the airport, then drive to long-term parking and take the (heated) shuttle back to the airport. Each person wears slacks and a t-shirt (you could wear a couple if you're really worried about the cold) and whatever light jacket, sweatshirt, or sweater they are taking along on the cruise. Some kind of light wrap is usually needed for windy days/ nights/ air conditioning anyway. We either wear them on the airplane or stick them in an outside pocket of a suitcase. We leave the winter coats that we wore on our 2 1/2 hour trip to the airport in the car. Coming back, we reverse the procedure--one person takes the shuttle to get the car while the rest of us get the bags. No one has ever frozen in running from the car to the airport door!

 

I realize not everyone has to drive to the airport, but surely most transportation is heated? I can't think this would be a problem unless you had to walk a long way for some reason to get inside the airport.

[SWEETNLOW2005]

We usually leave the coats in the car. Mostly we wear jogging suits that are layered,with T-shirts and jackets.

[mared1]

We also layer clothes - T-shirts, sweatshirt and then a lightweight fleece type jacket. Sometimes the air conditioning is cool on planes so we keep the jackets with us or place in the overhead bins. Once in Florida we take off the sweatshirt and tie that along with the fleece jacket to the hand of our luggage. Once on the ship, we put them in our luggage after we have taken out our clothes for the cruise and store the luggage under the bed. Then before we leave, we take them out and carry them on board the plane.