Son Going to Washington DC. How Do I Label His Stuff?

I always just did a sharpie on the inside tag/label.
Don't pack anything too valuable. When it comes to camps and field/school trips things WILL get lost.

How old is your son? Is this a school field trip or like a summer camp/summer trip? Does he NEED his items labeled or has the place organizing the trip required the items to be labeled?

When I sent my kids to summer camp when they were young, I labeled their things. But when my kids went to D.C. in 10th grade, I didn't label anything (they were too old to have things labeled - if they didn't know by that age what was theirs, oh well). I still label my special needs kids things when they go to camp, but that is because they cannot tell what does/does not belong to them and the camp staff is the one that has to do the packing and unpacking.

If your child is over the age of 12, and is largely responsible for his own items for the duration of the trip, I don't think I would bother labeling a bunch of stuff. Have him help you pack and that way he knows what he should be keeping track of.

For advice - what sort of "trip" is it? A school overnight? An internship? Returning from recess to his position in the House of Representatives?

M.

WHEN is he coming to DC?

When I sent my sons off to summer camp? I put their initials on the collar of the shirts and shorts, not on the tag (as it can be removed). I have also put permanent marker color dots on the waist band and collars (a specific color).

Socks? I sewed a dot on it - usually in an inconspicuous place that would stand out but would be seen when washing/drying.

Don't make it hard. It's really easy.

I usually use sharpie. Another option is to get some cloth you can put his initials on and sew into his cloths

I used Sharpie marker on the tags.

Try to take some of the pressure off by sending stuff that's not so important.
While we tried not to lose things - some things did get lost - but it was no big deal.
The really important stuffed animal lovey (our son was little back then) was left at home safe on his bed.

It would help you stated how old your son is, what is going to DC for and for how long and when.

I do NOT put initials on tags because the tags can be ripped off.
We have colors for our boys and it makes life easier.

I have used a permanent marker/sharpie of their color and put it under the tag or on the collar. On pants and shorts with zippers? I put their color and initials on the fly.

For blankets? I sewed their color on a portion of the hem.
Sleeping bags? I put a tag on the zipper that was made of metal so it couldn't be easily removed and then backed it up with sewing a dot or their initials on the zipper material.

It would really help if we knew the age and WHY the child was taking the trip. Is it school related? Or something else?

We use Sharpies on tags with name/phone number, I've used strips of masking tape with same (can easily be removed afterwards without damage to clothing), we have used iron on labels (which I did not like so much), and we've purchased those stick on labels you can order online with your child's name printed directly on them.
They're just fancy where if you only need it for the trip - don't think you have to go that route.
For summer camp - we use the sharpie on the tags.

Would you not just buy fabric labels and write on them in laundry marker? I'm confused.

I'm guessing this is the annual safety patrol trip? I went on it in the late 80s (grew up in Boca). Just label his bags--he should be able to keep track of them. Hope he has fun!

Use a fine tip sharpie on the tag, if you must. I agree with MilitaryMom if your son is older. Instruct him to select what he packs carefully, knowing there is always a chance of loss of theft on a group trip, although unlikely if he is rooming with friends. I was supposed to label everything for my 16 year old's volleyball camp, but I didn't. She packed and took responsibility for her own stuff. A label isn't going to prevent a theft if someone really wants to take something. And if they lose their own stuff, oh well. Special items should be left at home. I'm going to take a guess this is a school trip? Maybe with Worldstrides? My daughter did that in 8th grade, and it was a great experience.

Since he is taking a blanket, I'm assuming he's pretty young. Use a laundry marker. Put his initials on the tags even if you mark the inside of clothes they won't be ruined.

I use no-iron clothing labels made by Avery. They're basically stickers labels for clothing that are washer/dryer safe.