1

i also plan on bringing lots of dried fruit and granola bars to save money, because i do hear fruit is impossible to buy on a budget and i dont mind eating meals out of packaging as long as i can use the extra money to marvel at the northern lights and take kayaks through glaciers

2

Don't forget your swimming suit!

3

Something WARM to put on your head/over ears! Gloves
How do you think it is to see glaceiers when whole landscape (maybe) is covered by snow? Not easy to see what is a glacier and what is simply snow!

" take kayaks through glaciers " ???
Hope that you will get an opportunity to see the Northern Lights.

Re food import: remember the rulke: NO uncooken or dried meat and in addition:
"Travellers may import duty-free up to 3 kg of food, not exceeding the value of ISK 13.000."

4

I'd bring a balaclava, scarf, stocking cap, definitely wool socks (merino wool, smartwool, etc. less odor). Maybe something waterproof like a raincoat if your down jacket is water proof/resistant. That's probably good but I'd bring extras of socks and gloves depending on how long you're going to stay. Long underwear tops are nice as well.

Have fun!

5

"wondering what kinds of clothing I would need for a normal night"

There is very little difference between day and night conditions in an Icelandic winter. Temperatures can be a lot colder in New York than in Iceland: Iceland suffers more from unpleasant winds and stuff falling out of the sky, and the latter is often rain even in midwinter. Don't forget that there won't be much daylight during Jan and early Feb.

Probably the only place you can see glaciers from public transport in winter (other than distant glimpses) is on the 3 times a week bus between Vik and Hofn, and they aren't going to be timing the trip to maximise your chances, or stopping and waiting for you to get a good look. Or you might get lucky looking out of an airplane window. The problem is that transport takes you to places where people live, and they tend not to be where the sights are. Also with bus frequencies reckoned as a handful per week outside the immediate area of Reykjavik, going somewhere to be picked up later in the day may not be feasible. You really need your own transport to make the most of the place. But a degree of hitchhiking is likely to be possible, indeed essential in places since the transport system doesn't fully connect up in the winter.

Check out other threads on Northern Lights in Iceland; treat them as a bonus rather than an objective. Realistically they are only going to be available to be seen a few times per month in any given spot, and you might not be looking.

You may think that the air fare is really cheap, but your main costs are going to be accommodation and transport, even with the collapse of the Icelandic currency. You may be accustomed to bus transport being cheap, but in Iceland it isn't.

"I dont mind eating meals out of packaging" - I don't know whether you are thinking of carry-out/take-away meals from restaurants, or pre-packed meals from supermarkets, but you'll find neither especially cheap, since Iceland is not well supplied with low-cost Mexican labour. Self-catering accommodation where you can cook your own simple meal is reasonably common. But the cheapest options may not all be operating in deep off-season.