Road Trip Suggestions...

Traci Reed

Traci Reed

Well-known member
for little kids? I'm going to the dollar tree in a bit to stock up on crayons, coloring books and such but do you have any other suggestions?

My boys are 2 and 4 so playing car games on the 8 hour drive to san diego is kinda out of the question. Unless, of course I want to hear "Knock Knock, (who's there?), banana (banana who?), banana and you peel it and eat it! hahahahahahhahaha" over and over and over again for 8 hours straight.

OR my personal favorite "I spy with my little eye something that is.......mommy's shoe! (is it....mommy's shoe?) yeah! good job mommy! I spy with my little eye..something that is...the hulk..."

so what else can little ones do on an extremely long drive? Benadryl? hahaha i kid...i kid...
 
Traci Reed said:
for little my personal favorite "I spy with my little eye something that is.......mommy's shoe! (is it....mommy's shoe?) yeah! good job mommy! I spy with my little eye..something that is...the hulk..."
Click to expand...

My son plays the same game! It's funny; the first 550 times.

Don't suppose you have a portable DVD player? Other thoughts - music or a simple travel bingo game if you can find one.
 
well we're bringing the laptop and a car adapter for the power supply but I'm supposed to be doing homework too on it so that's a last resort. I morally object to in-car DVD players though :P hahaha
 
Stickers or band aids keep them busy for a long time. Magna doodles, magnet books, matchbox cars. Also colored pencils are sometimes a novelty for my kiddos, instead of crayons. Anything to buy a few extra minutes :P

We bring the portable DVD player for just in case, but end up using it most of the time. It relaxes their minds, which in turn relax their mouths :)
 
I read a suggestion once that you take a bunch of little toys and snacks and wrap them individually in balls of tin-foil. Every so often, you pull out a new one and hand it to the kids -- the unwrapping is fun and keeps them busy and then they have the treat inside. I've never actually tried this myself, but I keep thinking I might one of these times!

At those ages, my kids really liked those magnet activity kits -- they come in a slim metal box that opens up and inside are "scenes" and sheets of magnets to use on them (one is a house, one faces, one a farm). Sticker books too. And pipe cleaners are always popular with my 2.
 
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Tell them you'll give them each $5 if they can kiss their elbows... that'll buy you at least 30 minutes. ;)

Hmm... we used to love colorforms on the windows...
 
Abby loves her magnadoodle...and even though you are against the DVD player, for a long trip, it's a LIFESAVER!!!! It at least buys us a couple of hours and then usually a nap after that! what about interactive books or something like a leap frog book? other than that, I can't think of anything....I like the wrap things up and give to them idea! and a little sticker book is always a good idea...
 
We play our own version of "bingo/eyespy" and my 3 y/o plays quite well!! The first person says we are looking for a blue car. The first person to spot it yells "bingo" and then they get to pick the next thing. It's fun in short bursts and alot easier then eye spy!!!
 
The Magna Doodles are a lifesaver. Same with sticker books. If you're driving down I-5, there are several cattle farms along the way...lots of great scenery through the valley. And, at their ages, they will probably sleep (if they're anything like my boys). They just can't help it! LOL!

Good luck, Traci! And have a great time :D
 
feed them peanut butter (no jelly) sandwiches and don't let them have anything to drink. that should keep their little mouths occupied for a little bit.












(i'm totally kidding!)
 
Great ideas! I need ideas too for my 3 yr old DD, we leave in 3 weeks and will be driving for 5 days! We're going across the country to visit our family. We're taking 5 days so we are only driving 6-7 hours each day then can have time to find a park in each city we're stopping in so we can play before spending the night in a hotel. We're also going to try to go to some fun hands on science museums that are along the way.

we'll be using our portable DVD player, my DD's mini doodle pro, I bought her a new movie and several little I Spy books that are for her age and are board books so I don't have to worry about them getting ripped in the car. I'm trying to find a bright and colourful map of our country (Canada) so that I can print and laminate it for my DD, that way she can "see" on the map how we're getting closer and closer to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I might add some fun images to the map, maybe make it like a treasure map with an X marking the destination... lol, my DD loves playing pirates.

Wish us luck on our major family vacation/road trip! LOL!
 
I don't have any other ideas except what people have listed here....just wanted to tell you that you are a brave mommy!!! LOL!......I don't want to go anymore than 1....maybe 2 hours tops in the car with my two! :)
Have a great trip!!!
 
Benadryl. And I'm not kidding. Okay, okay. LOL

Magna doodles are good.. my 4 yr old has recently become fond of her etch a sketch. Coloring books, colored pencils... JJ's fav car toy is books and little trucks. Those also tend to become projectile missles aimed at his sister, so choose carefully. LOL
 
Someone once gave me a simple idea to keep my young'uns busy and I swear it totally did! Buy a roll of CHEAP tinfoil at the dollar store. When they start to get restless, give them a sheet or two and let them make "sculptures" out of them. Cameron used to make superhero gear like swords and helmets and stuff!!
 
we just got back from a 6 hour car trip this week, my kids are 18mths, almost 3 and 5. We use the DVD player, magna doodle, dolls and cars and 2 hourly McDonalds or park stops to play on swings or something similar. Oh yeah, and chocolate or lollypops
 
When we went to Disneyland, I bought a bunch of the Crayola Color Wonder coloring books and markers that only work on the special paper. The kids loved them. They thought it was neat to be using markers. I loved them because they didn't melt like crayons do, and I didn't have to worry about kids writing on the seats. :)

Good luck with the road trip and have fun!
 
We moved a few times when we were little (military) and my mom always made us up a little bag of goodies marked with the different times we could eat them. Of course, Mom couldn't make sure we waited, but if we ate them all right away, we knew we weren't getting anything else, lol.

I also remember she had some travel bingo cards, I think made out of felt. (And I think she bought them somewhere.) Anyway, the felt (or cloth) was great because the pieces wouldn't slide (so I guess velcro would work). The card had things like stop signs, trucks, etc., and if you saw it, you would cover up the picture. I don't remember if we won a prize or anything.

Magna-Doodles are great too. Or Etch-a-Sketches.
 
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