A family holiday is a different kind of travel. There are more bags, more timetables and more opinions; the day is shaped by the youngest and the oldest rather than by the most energetic, and the evenings are given to long tables rather than late nights. Linen for family holidays has to work within all of that: easy to pack, easy to wash, comfortable for every age, and good enough to be photographed in, because a family trip is usually the one that ends up framed.

The winter months make the case most clearly. Between November and April, families travelling from Europe and the Gulf head for warm places — the Maldives, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean coast, the Gulf's own beaches — and spend days that move from breakfast to pool to lunch to siesta to dinner, with very little time to change in between.

For him. A father's day is spent half in the water and half out, carrying bags, children and plates. Sets solve most of it. A PP Natural Set in Sky Blue or White — shirt and shorts in the same linen — is a complete outfit in one choice, and it moves from the pool deck to lunch without thought. The PP natural swim shorts handle the water. For dinner, a long sleeve in a quiet colour and PP Casual Linen Trousers in Oatmeal are all the evening needs.

For her. The ladies linen set does the same work for a mother, and the Amelia linen dress shirt, a dress in itself, takes her from the afternoon to a family dinner. Both are in the women's collection, in colourways from Light Blue and Mint Green to Coral Orange.

For the grandparents. Older travellers may feel the sun and the air-conditioning more, and value cover and comfort above all. A long sleeve in linen — the Bliss or the Laos Long Sleeve in the men's collection, the PP linen blouse for women — gives shade to the arms without warmth, and the loose cut sits well on a long lunch or an afternoon in a shaded chair. Linen's natural fibre is also gentle on the skin, which matters at every age.

Colour deserves a moment's planning. A family photograph looks calmer when the colours sit together rather than match exactly. One approach is a shared palette — blues and whites, or sand and oyster tones — with each person wearing a different shade. Sky Blue, Light Blue and White, for example, belong to the same sea; Oatmeal, Oyster and Vanille to the same sand. It looks considered without looking like a uniform.

Most villas and many resorts have a machine, and linen washes simply; the routine is in the linen care guide. Because linen is light, a family can pack fewer pieces and wash them midway, which leaves more room in the bags for everything else a family carries.

Packing for several people at once rewards a simple system: one or two sets per adult, one evening piece each, swimwear, and a shared bag for the beach. The approach to sets is covered in our linen set packing guide, and the rhythm of villa days in the piece on linen for villa holidays.

At the end of the week, everyone gathers on the terrace for the photograph: three generations in pale linen, sun-browned, a little creased from the day, with the sea behind them.

Read more: The Resort Wear Packing List  ·  Linen for Winter Sun