Good idea. Going to the library was one of the first things we did and my kids maintained a strong connection with it throughout their time there, with volunteering for various things they both won awards for service. A nice way to connect with the community.

Yep, same here

My kids used to wait in the local park for the Book Mobile to arrive. Back when we first arrived our little town didn't have a library so every other week the county library system sent out the book bus. The ladies were really good and would always try and bring a new selection every time.

Now the town has it's own library building. It started out with volunteer funding from the town people (we could all donate $2 a month on our utility bill) plus many fund raising activities. We could also donate our own books. Eventually the County System stepped in so now it is a full county funded library.

Quite a change over 25 years

Thanks guys, I think I definitely overdid the book thing. We could have gone to the library here, and then joined up once over there. I might look to jettison all but the most sentimental ones in favour of library books...

Airfreight quotes for a tea carton seem to be around £155, meaning that I could take nearly 3 on the plane for the same price. I'm glad that most people seem to take 2 bags each, and will try to get rid of as much as possible.

It's personal preference but mine is to be as unencumbered as possible on the journey so £155 would be money well-spent. You and the kids can find a worthy cause to donate the books to and feel good about it, duvets and kitchen equipment could be ditched and then replaced easily with a quick trip to IKEA or Target.

Can't you just surface mail them? There's a printed material rate in the UK, it should be cheaper. Will be slow, 6-12 weeks, but it is a option that you have while in the UK, that you don't have in the US.

If not mentioned already, watch your suitcase weight if close to the limit allowed. Airline scales are notoriously inaccurate and the charges for being overweight can be considerable.

Put the heaviest one on first, then at least you have a chance to take stuff out and transfer it to a lighter case. I made the mistake once of putting the lightest one on the scales first, then having nowhere to move some stuff to other than into my hand luggage.

I keep one of those lightweight nylon dufflebags for this exact scenario. It weighs nothing and usually ends up being checked in as one of the kiddoe's bags.

I gave one away to a family checking in with one massive suitcase for the whole family. It was overweight and "they" weren't going to let it through. At 6.30 in the morning there were no shops open to buy a bag either.

My brother-in-law used the sneaky trick of having a large bendy bag, which wouldn't stay on the scales without some "support".

That is one way of doing it but having worked alongside airline staff for many years a very polite sorry normally works unless the agent has his/her pants in a real tight knot.