freudian slip en Internet. It should read "How to fit it all in a single jet plane?"

DO NOT TAKE THAT MANY SHOES.

Really. They're heavy, they don't pack well, and you should be able to get away with one casual pair and one formal/work pair. I pack clothing around the shoes -- I pick one pair I'm going to wear, and only bring outfits that will work with those shoes. Try to find clothing you can wear multiple times without washing (jeans, skirts that don't get wrinkled, cardigans you can wear over things) and pair other items with those.

The first time I traveld, I brought a HUGE suitcase for a two-week trip in Europe. Never, ever, ever, EVER again. What I remember most from that trip is struggling everywhere with the damned suitcase. I have been an insanely light packer ever since -- seriously, I think I took less when I MOVED to Italy for a year than I did on that first trip -- and have been so much happier because of it. (And I dress reasonably formally -- I'm not talking the backpacking "wash t-shirts in the sink every third day" mentality. Black jersey skirts & dresses are your friend.)

I've always liked the line, "You're going on vacation to get away from it all... so don't take it all with you!"

yeah, I'm an insanely light packer, as well. I never bring more than I can (easily) carry with me on the plane... but of course I'm not carrying stuff for kids as well.

But something to remember about the kids is that they will probably be showered with gifts when they get here, so you really shouldn't pack too much for them. If I were you, I'd basically pack for a week; two months is just 8x that, and you won't be seeing the same people during that whole time. One black skirt with three different tops = three different outfits. Don't bother bringing anything for different weather - you know that it won't be anything but hot while you're here.

Bring only the most comfortable, easy to wash-and-wear stuff. No ironing. At all. Take no more cosmetics than you can fit in your purse. You will thank the gods, twice, for every item you left at home. :)

There is no real difference between packing for a two week trip and packing for a two month trip, the longer trip will just require more laundry to be done. I find thinking about packing for a shorter trip relieves some of the anxiety and helps me prepare, ymmv.

1. The old adage, "prepare, and then take half as many clothes and twice as much money" still holds true. The only exceptions are tshirts and underwear, which you will want to have extras of in case laundry facilties aren't easily available.

2. Pick a color scheme. Do not give in to the temptation to bring super-cute individual items that don't fit in to your red-tan-black (or whatever) color scheme. Everything you take has to go together, be ruthless! For your formal events I'd go with silk chiffon, it's light weight (both in your luggage and on your body) and has miraculous non-wrinkling properties.

3. Three pairs of shoes. One pair of walking shoes or oxfords, one pair of dressy shoes, one pair of sandals. If you stick with the color scheme they can all be the same color, anything else is redundant. Two swimsuits, one to be wearing and one to be washing. And so on. Pare down to the bare minimum you could possibly get away with, and think of what else you could remove from your bag.

Finally, remember that you are not going to be in the middle of the wilderness. It's a civilized country, with all the amenities you're accustomed to. If you forget something you can buy it when you get there.

cali speaks truth. When I came to Greece for three months (before we moved here), I did all black and white, with colored tops. One pair each of black and white pants and shorts, black skirt, white skirt, black sundress, white sundress. White sandals, black sandals, and tennis shoes. Lightweight orange jacket, and a couple of multicolored light shawl thingies that could also be tied as skirts. One black bathing suit and a beach coverup sort of thing. That's about it. We didn't do anything formal, but I'd say the right black or white sundress works perfectly well as a formal outfit with jewelry and heels.

Two swimsuits? Ok, don't ask me - I try and pack everything in a single bag that I can carry onboard because else my luggage is lost and I got nothing. And the jerky airlines keep making the size of the carry-on bag smaller every day! ARGH!
The hardest thing to make small is beautystuff/makeup. Bless those tiny cans of hairspray and scoop your good creams over to small jars and bottles - nobody needs big jars.
And yes, stick to a color sceme. Mine is black. And I only ever have two pairs of shoes, the ones I travel in (flats) and the ones in the suitcase (heels). Beach sandals can be bought.

(...and packing for kids, forget it. I haven't mastered that at all yet. She takes up two thirds of my little carry-on.)

But definitely don't forget that people here are probably going to giving those kids so much stuff - you'll need twice the luggage to return.

Well, let me 'splain my predicament. There is this wedding I am going to, where I play the maid-of-honor (koumpara, for you taz). Due to some sort of lack of good judgement I bought a lovely dress, which is though... how shall I put it, well, ok, here it is: it is PINK! Yes. You could call it pink-violet, if you were feeling merciful. But this is just a euphemism. With a pastel pink bow-belt. And thus I got to accompany it with pink shoes and a pink bag and a pink shawl. All pink. Pink.

On top of my analism perhaps we should add frugality, cause I am devastated when I have to buy something there that I already have here...

My suspicion has been confirmed. I am a luggage hog.

heheheh. pink.

PINK!

No worries, pink and white or pink and black are currently so hawt you little fashionista. However dragging giant luggage around is terribly passe.

And my mother always did this for me on every trip 1) made me drag my own wee suitcase and carry-on [I felt so grown up!] 2) only packed half of both. I got so much stuff wherever we went it was usually hard to close at the end of teh trip.

Packing light will make your trip so much better. This page has a sample packing list. Granted, I'm an organizing nerd and read these lists even if I don't have a trip planned!

I love the closing words from halonine's link:

Pack your chosen bag with the items you plan to take. Put on the shoes you plan to wear. Then take a one-hour walk around town, ideally including an ample assortment of stairs, poor roads, and the like. If you're still happy at the end of your excursion, make your travel reservations.