7 Activities to Keep the Kids Busy on Holiday Road Trips
Load up the car with these items, fill the tank and embark on a family road trip that all of you will look back fondly upon.
1. Keep Your Charger & Cords Handy
Plan ahead and charge all the electronic devices that you have a pretty good notion will get a workout during the trip to your destination. Laptops, iPods, tablets, and everything in between. When the charge starts to fade on these, have your cigarette light to USB adapter handy if you need to, to keep things going. If you want to avoid a possible in-car meltdown from a family member just remember it's better safe than sorry when double checking charges.
2. The Teenagers
Here is where those devices being charged will really come in handy as teens will have little to no interest in the things that will capture a younger audience's attention. So some Netflix, access to whatever hot social media site they're on, or even a book via Kindle on a tablet should keep them happy and the time rolling by.
3. Look for Landmarks
Family road trips are fodder for great memories and unfortunately where sanity and feelings of normalness fade away. A great way to keep everyone engaged in the trip and an even better way to make sure you don't catch a case of "white line fever" is to look for roadside oddities or landmarks. These quick flights of fancy will serve to break up the monotony and give you a conversation piece with your Uncle Harrold who is getting ready to tell you the same story for the third year in a row.
4. All-in-One-Binders
A cool one that we picked up from a mom is to grab some binders in advance of your trip that includes little ones and filling it with things like the itinerary, brain games, fun facts about things that you'll pass on the way to your destination, and plastic pages with some of the kids favorite DVDs. This will give the kids something to do while also serving to keep the majority of their things in one easy to find place.
5. Backseat Entertainment
Remember those DVDs I mentioned in the last slide? Watching a timeless classic can be a great way for everyone in the back to enjoy some entertainment while also bonding. If you don't happen an in-headrest monitor like the one shown above, you can get a nice portable DVD player with a case for pretty cheap. Check this one out if you're interested.
6. Encourage Everyone's Inner Photographer
Beauty is all around us in nature occurring all of the time. Unfortunately, it gets passed over with everyone burying their faces in their electronic devices and missing out on spectacles. So in the midst of everyone partaking in whatever thing they are toiling in, just give them a reminder to take a bit of a break, rest their eyes and look out the window. Put those phones to good use by making moments into enduring pictures that will delight the family for years to come. If something is so arresting that you need to pull over and get a really shot then by all means, do so and get the whole family in the shot to make something really special.
7. How to Get It Done
Here are some great links to things you can grab to keep the kids happy and out of your hair on your upcoming trip. A Travel Bag filled with all kinds of things to keep them occupied like colored pencils, treats, and stickers. Here is another for some pretty DIY Travel Games that you can put together with a mix of things you already have or some cheap things from Amazon.com. For the those who would like a little more intellectually engaging activity, here is the link to the free Mad Libs iOS app to make them happy.
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