Traveling with children is always an exciting experience, but it can also be a stressful time if you aren't armed with necessities of the road! Here are some things we never leave home without when heading on vacation!
Snack Tubs
Our family of 6, soon to be 7, are spread out over three rows in our SUV and while I'm very thankful for all the leg room this vehicle provides, it makes it very hard to pass items around or get items back to the kids in the 3rd row. In an effort to minimize the amount of times people have to unbuckle, climb over seats, or spill items on people behind them, we now use snack tubs on trips.
Each child has their own tub, customized to their own personal likes with snacks, drinks, and sometimes even special treats just for our time on the road. We don't snack a lot at home, so this is a super special occasion for all of us!
I have run the gamut on what I have filled them with on different trips. From things like apples, granola bars, bottled water, and cheese sticks to cookies, gummy bears, juice boxes, and mini donuts. :) No matter what is in them, it really makes our trips go more smoothly when each person has their own tub to pull from right next to their seat.
I personally love these tubs with the latches on both ends as they keeps everything snug and sound even if the tub gets dropped or we make a sharp turn and they slip onto the floor.
Audio Books & Dramas
There is nothing like a quiet vehicle when traveling down the road and nothing grabs my kid's attention more than a fun story on CD. Some of our favorites are:
- Adventures in Odyssey's Truth Chronicles
- Adventures in Odyssey's Bible Eyewitness Set
- Adventures in Odyssey's For God and Country History Set
- Your Story Hour CDs
- Lamplighter Series
- Audio Classics on LibriVox
- Books on CD:
- Beginner's Bible on CD
- Madeline
- Curious George
- Blueberries for Sal
- If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
- Jonah and the Big Whale
Games
There's nothing like a heated game of I Spy, Twenty Questions, or The Alphabet Game to make time fly by while in the car. We also have Travel Bingo cards and dry erase crayons or markers in the car, that are a family favorite.
The license plate game is always fun and we also have magnetic tic-tac-toe and a fun Melissa and Doug wooden matching game that the kids enjoy.
Reading Material & Activity Books
I know that this may not be an option for all as reading in the car makes some people sick; however, my kids don't have this problem, so we love to bring along books, magazines, circle the words, sticker and coloring books.
My daughter can color for hours and can't get enough of stickers so time just flies when she is in her own little world. One of my boys loves anything WW2 or Nascar, so he will obsessively read a race program or a tank book for hours on end. My rambunctious fellow loves hidden pictures hunts, knock knock jokes, and to read Bible stories so his go to is his Clubhouse Jr Magazine. Invest in what your kids enjoy and you will have a peaceful car trip.
Videos and Movies
This last one is always one I'm on the fence about. I grew up in a time where you kept yourself busy in the car with some of the above items or looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery and happily lived to tell about it, so I hesitantly add this last one. This is one we rarely pull out but on longer trips I have to admit it has been a nice perk.
We have a double screen set of DVD players that attach to our headrests and can reach all the way back to the 3rd row so no one misses out on the fun! It's nice to pop in a Veggie Tale movie, let the zombie stares ensue, and hubs and I get our own quiet date in the front row!
There are many ways to make a car trip more fun, what are your family's favorites?
No comments:
Post a Comment