Ten states. Ten days.
Six people. All packed in one
minivan after 3700 miles we all determined it was the best vacation ever! After that trip I decided I was a travel with
kids expert. There were no major meltdowns, however we did get asked by a
waiter why we were so happy. (No, I didn’t
drug them.) We stopped and had an
activity about every 8 hours. We had
fun. We played games.
1. Everyone
needs their car bag. Things I put in car
bags include (depending on age) their favorite stuffed animal or doll, a
notebook to write in or draw on, a kindle or some kind of electronic device
along with the chargers. The car bags
become their hotel bags. So they are personalized
for each child. I make sure there is
room left for the goodies I will be giving them over the trip.
2. My
goodie bag idea was started by my Mom and the kids love it. I have a bag of items to hand out when the
kiddos start getting antsy. A new
coloring book and crayons (colored pencils in the summer…crayons will melt and
will be with your car forever!) A new movie. A book. Crossword puzzle book or word
searches (don’t forget pencils).
Anything that is a quiet activity and doesn’t have more than 3 or 4
pieces.
3. Which
brings us to the snack bag. My husband doesn’t
like to stop every 5 minutes and let’s face it who does? So, the little ones need a small snack to
keep them relatively quiet and happy. The things I carry in my snack bag are
gummies, cereal bars, granola bars, M&M’s, chex mix, chips. You get the idea. Little snack bags of their favorite items.
So, I can hand out individual proportions when needed.
4. Yes,
I carry drinks too! If we are on a long
trip I have a cooler. If it is just a
one day trip, I get them one drink and remind them I am not stopping for a long
time. When they were little I would just
pour an ounce or two in the sippy cups at a time.
5. I
also let them bring a pillow and I carry beach towels for each one. They come in handy to cover up if you are
cold. (We don’t use our favorite blanket
on the car ride. Drinks could spill, sticky
food could get on them…..So, we use beach towels in the car and the blankets we
save for the hotel or our destination.)
It seems like a lot. I use to have to hear it from my husband all
the time. I pack too much he would
say. Now after traveling all over the
country with 4 kids. He just puts it in
the car. Because if they are relatively
quiet and happy. The drive is so much
nicer. I almost forgot! We play games!! We are always playing the license plate game. The 10 day trip we would stop at a National
Monument and our kids were searching the cars in the parking lot for the states
they were missing. We also play the
alphabet sign game. You see a sign for
Applebee’s and you can say, A for Applebee’s.
No one else in the car can use that sign. Now if they see the actual Applebee’s they
can call it. I also make a scavenger
hunt for each trip. Things we should see
along the way. In the past they have
included things like buffalo, a casino, a tour bus, the Hollywood sign….you get
the idea.
If we have kiddos, we will travel
with them at some point. I hope this
helps make your trips no matter how long or short more enjoyable. Do you need all the stuff? No, but I would hate to be stuck in a traffic
jam with hungry, tired kids with nothing to do.
If you figure out how to make the daddy person behave in that situation,
please comment!!
I hope all your travel is smooth
sailing and no traffic this holiday season!!
Lisa
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