It’s funny how despite having lived around the UK for years there are so many big cities I never visited. After Brighton, Edinburgh, London and Oxford it’s finally time for me to go for a winter city break in Manchester.
It’s not just for leisure, though. I did take Thursday and Friday off, but my point for going there is to attend another Grow & Glow event. I can’t wait to see all the people I’ve already met through this blogging community, but also those new faces that I follow every day on Instagram.
And if that wasn’t enough to make this winter city break extra special, wait til you hear about my accommodation options!
The first night I will stay in the Britannia Hotel in the city center. I chose this particular hotel largely due to it’s beautiful staircase and chandeliers in the hall. And on Friday I will move into an AirBnB with 5 other Grow & Glowers. I haven’t met any of them before but that don’t matter. I love a girls’ trip!
There are ingredients for the ultimate slumber party weekend with Saturday requiring a tad more business-like attire. But because it’s me, I like to pack along a little bit of everything, just so I’m prepared for any situation.
Perhaps I’ll leave the dinner dress at home this time since I don’t have time for dates on this trip anyway. Nonetheless, it’s a budget airline I’m flying with, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pack for all situations. Cue my packing tips for a winter city break:
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Packing Tutorial – Winter City Break in Manchester
It all comes down to planning! Well planned is half done, my mother always used to say. And I’ve come to realize that, as per usual, she was correct.
When flying with just hand luggage to a 3-night winter city break, you do need more than 2 shirts and a pair of jeans. This is completely doable! We just gotta add a little bit of capsule wardrobe into the equation.
The fundamental corner stones of a capsule wardrobe are
- keep the colours in check (black, white, blue, brown)
- choose clothes that are easy to mix and match.
Those are the magic words for packing light to a winter city break: mix & match. When you can wear one shirt with several different bottoms, and vice versa, it’s so much easier to avoid over-packing.
I will be away for 4 full days so I’m actually packing by planning each day’s outfit beforehand. Here’s how I go about assembling my capsule suitcase:
Tops
For 4 days I will need 4 tops. Yes, I need a different top for each day. Of course you might do with less, but I’m one of those people who are stiff from horror of sweaty armpits. And since it is winter, and you’ll be wearing a thick jacket indoors, for example in a mall, sweat patches are a risk.
So, to avoid smelly humiliation, I pack a different shirt for each day. But note that I choose shirts that are easy to fold and that don’t take too much space. Perhaps forget that over-sized wool jumper straight off, it’ll take up the whole suitcase. Instead go for these:
a loose silk blouse
a basic white shirt
These can all be folded up into small rolls that don’t take much space from the suitcase. I’d also pack one or two basic strap tops to wear underneath the silk blouse, but that’s just because I’m always cold.
Bottoms
On a regular week at home I always, always wear trousers. So, going somewhere else feels like an opportunity to up my style-game, and thus I will pack a bit of everything. Remember again, choose items that mix well with the tops you’ve chosen.
A variety of options provides you with a lot of freedom. This style of packing suits well especially those who simply can’t plan their outfits beforehand! I, for example, change my mind approximately 5 times each morning about what I want to wear. Obviously this doesn’t change even if I leave the country. So, let’s go with:
a pair of jeans
leggings (I always travel in these, so they come along regardless)
a skirt + tights
Here’s another case with which I am justifying rolling instead of folding to you, but I’ll get into this more in details in just a bit.
Shoes
Ah, my favourite part! And also the hardest. Choosing only 2 (max. 3) pairs of shoes along. Obviously you already have the shoes you will be traveling in, so that’s one pair taken care of. I assume we all go for a comfy option for travel shoes, so most likely trainers or ankle boots.
In case you’re an outgoing person, like me, who wants to experience the city day and night, you should perhaps fit a pair of heels in there too (or maybe not, that’s just me). Shoes take the most space in the suitcase. UNLESS you do these things:
- stuff the shoes full of undies or any piece of clothing to use up all available space
- assemble the shoes to the bottom of the suitcase before anything else, like a puzzle.
Simple, but oh so efficient. I think my record so far has been fitting 3 pairs of ankle boots and a pair of actual boots in hand luggage along with 2 weeks’ worth of winter city break clothing. That’s some pro packing, peeps!
Extra Tip – Folding vs. Rolling
Now we come to my favourite subject: I could talk about folding vs. rolling for days on end! This is a popular debate among travelers. Which one are you; do you fold your clothes into the suitcase or roll them up?
As you perhaps noticed already, I’m a roller. I have 10 years’ worth on investigation on this matter under my belt, so I think I can say I know what I’m talking about. If you google this, you’ll find accounts both ways. Some say by folding you avoid creases, but I know from experience that actually, it’s the other way round.
When you fold your clothes, pack them as tightly as you can, close the suitcase and lift it up, all the stuff is pressed downwards. Which means your beautifully folded clothes are there now in a bundle of creases.
Whereas by rolling you get the fabric straight, and it stays straight, no matter how much the items move around in the suitcase. Yes, rolling your clothes takes a bit more time than folding them but for heaven’s sake! Are you in fact kidding me? We’re talking about an extra minute. So no, I will not accept excuses on this matter.
If you want to see how a pro rolls their clothes, check out my recent IGTV. At the end you can also see an example of what I meant by ‘assembling your shoes like a puzzle‘
And there we have it! I’m not going to go into details about toiletries. We all have them and we pack them in a toiletries’ bag and toss it on top of everything else. Ta da! As long as we’ve taken care with the initial packing, there will be no issue to fit your toiletries’ bag along.
What kind of a packer are you? Are you a folder or a roller? Perhaps it’s the little control freak in me but I luurve to talk about packing tactics, so let’s get a discussion going! Comment any thoughts on the matter below ♥
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