Thanksgiving break packing guide: The essentials

Thanksgiving is soon approaching and it’s likely you have images of turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing dancing in your head.

But before you go home and enjoy all the delicious food, you need to figure out what to pack. Now is a good time to bring the things from your dorm or apartment you haven’t found yourself using recently.

Whether you’re a guy or girl, a packing guide can help you figure out what things stay and what things go. The following packing list will have you ready to go before you know it.

1. Out-of-season clothes

Maybe this is your first time going home since the semester started. If that’s the case, now would be a good time to bring home clothes that don’t fit the bill of being winter friendly. This includes sundresses, flip flops/sandals, shorts, tank tops and swim suits. Taking your out-of-season clothes home allows you to swap them out for other clothes you have.

2. Laundry

Chances are you’ll need to do a wash of clothes. While you have the option to do laundry at school, it can be costly and time consuming. Save yourself the money and put it toward great deals on Black Friday.

3. Interview clothes

Holiday breaks can be a time for students to apply for seasonal or summer jobs. If this is on your agenda, plan to pack an outfit you could wear to a potential interview. After all, you don’t want to have to go out and spend extra money on an outfit because you forgot to pack one in the first place.

4. Electronics

Whether it’s to stay caught up on school or for leisure there’s no denying you’ll want all your tech gadgets with you over break. This includes iPad, laptop, cell phone, iPod, tablet, charger etc.  Just don’t forget to repack those items when returning to school because it will hard to finish that term paper if you end up having use paper and pencil instead.

5. Your not-so-casual clothes and accessories

It’s no secret the night before Thanksgiving is the biggest bar night of the year. In addition to packing your out–of-season clothes it’s also important to make room for your-not-casual clothes. This clothing can include your “going out” pieces along with any accessories you use to complete an outfit. (watches, bracelets, necklaces, rings, ties, etc.) Your going out clothes don’t have to mean Wayside clothes either, but rather clothes you might not otherwise wear on a regular day.