Organized Road Trip with Kids-11 Fun Tips!

Where has the month of June gone? I have been very busy organizing my clients homes and offices, and helping them pack and unpack, that I haven’t had time to write a new blog. The following blog is one that I wrote last year. It has lots of fun ideas on how to organize a road trip with kids. Enjoy!

I remember the days of packing up my car and children and going on road trips. My children are grown now but going on day trips, camping trips and driving to Florida were some of my best memories. Many times we travelled with all five of our children in the car with us at a one time. Being organized is key to a having a successful car trip. Here are a few tips that I used and wished I had used when I was travelling with my children.

1. Printable games – Time will go by much faster while travelling if kids are kept busy. I know everything is digital these days but besides having their iPad, and anything else they may have along for the ride, it is good to bring printable games as well. Travel Games 4 Kids has a variety of kids printable games which include Car Bingo

And Scavanger Hunts

There are lots of other printable games such as word search, crosswords etc. that are found on their website along with colouring pages. Before leaving on your trip, print off games and colouring pages and put in a binder for each of your children. Be sure to label each binder with your children’s name on it.

2. Non-printable Games – There are lots of fun games you can play while riding in a car. I remember playing these when I was a kid.
a. Telephone – Whisper something in someone’s ear, and that person has to whisper the same thing in the next person’s ear, and so on, and the last person has to say it out loud. Most of the time, it is not the same as what the first person said!
b. License plate – See if you can find unusual license plates
c. Count the animals
d. I spy

3. Movies – Bring lots of movies and have the children decide which movies they are watching in which order ahead of time so they don’t fight in the car over which movie to watch. Or draw names to decide who gets to pick the movie. If you don’t have a movie player, either rent one, or bring your lap top. My kids brought their laptops and used head phones when they really didn’t want to watch the same things.

4. Books – Stop off at your local library and pick up books for the road.

5. Snacks – Hungry and thirsty kids do not make for good travellers so keep lots of healthy snacks and drinks within arm’s reach. Either you or your oldest child can be in charge of handing out the snacks. Or pack up your snacks in a container like this one that I found on Real Simple. These are healthy and organized. Love it!

6. Garbage – Keep a package of wipes and garbage bags nearby. I prefer to keep them in the front with me. Store you garbage bags in a Kleenex box container. Easy to grab and doesn’t take up much room in the car. I took this picture for another blog but you only need one container and you don’t need a fancy cover for it. Just the original Kleenex box will work.

7. I love these green trays – I wish I had these trays when my kids were young. They are cute and functional. Found on Alli Bee Me

8. Plan Quiet Time – Plan a quiet time where children are to read or do quiet activities such as crossword puzzles.

9. Pillow and blanket – Children feel so much better when they get to bring their favorite pillow and blanket. The only problem with this is the lack of space. I always let my kids bring theirs but it always took up so much room. I had to say no to the big comforters lol

10. Plan ahead your stops – Plan your route ahead of time and schedule your gas fill ups and where you are going to stop for breaks, something to eat etc. When you stop for gas, do a quick clean up and empty all the garbage out of your car.

11. Automobile Emergency Kit – Hopefully you will not need to use an emergency kit but it is best to be prepared just in case. This particular one can be found online at Costco – Item #294640 $36.99. I am not sure if it is available in the store as I didn’t see it in the store the last time I was there. You can pick up emergency kits at other retailers as well, or if you own the items already, you can put together your own emergency kit.

I hope you found these tips to be helpful. Do you have any tips for an organized road trip with kids? If so, I would love to hear your ideas.

Have a wonderful road trip.
Kathy

Kathy McEwan is a professional organizer, moving specialist and owner of Second Set of Hands. Kathy provides virtual coaching as well as hands on organizing and consulting.

www.secondsetofhands.ca