Here's the best of my tips:
1) Start with a map. Print and laminate a map from Google Maps, or go to your local 99 cents store and buy a plastic place mat with a US map on it, like this:
Buy "job chart" sized stickers, especially weather ones, if you can find them. Have your kids chart out where you start, and then each rest spot, add a sticker, showing how far you've gone (and what the weather is like in each town/state). My kids LOVED figuring out where we were each time.
2) Know your kids, travel accordingly. Repeat after me: The destination is the goal! It's better to eat a solid meal and travel through night when your children will sleep for sure, than have a car full of cranky people just because you really wanted to see the giant roadrunner made of trash in daylight (trust me, it's not that great!) Also, if your child has a meltdown everyday at 2pm if he didn't get enough exercise, you'd better get out and run laps at 1pm. (That's my little guy, and you better believe he's run many a post-lunch lap outside of nice restaurants.) The point is, recognize your daily challenges and plan accordingly.
3) Speaking of night traveling... If you can swing it, night traveling is optimal (DO NOT do this if your destination is a campground unless you will arrive by sunrise). My husband and I have had some of our best "dates" on road trips. Here's how to pull it off:
- Pack everything the day before the night trip.
-Spend the day of doing an activity where you (and your driver) can relax, but your kids will get worn out. Examples: running around at the beach or going to the park. Allow the driver to even get nap. That way, buy nightfall, you and the driver will have energy and the kids will sleep.
-Give the kids a solid meal and put them to bed with their shoes on and a hoodie over their pjs.
-When the kids are asleep for 30 mins, put them in the car. Most children will not wake up, or will only cry for 15 minutes or less. You will survive!
-Order your favorite restaurant food (that is not messy!) for you and your hubby/wife enjoy in the car. Include a dessert.
-Car date fun on CD or mp3: Stand-up comedy, upbeat sermons, lectures/workshops/books-on-CD that you and your hubby both like (remember to pause and discuss often)
-Other car date fun: "conversation starter books"
-Pull over at the 2 hour mark to eat your dessert (and make out!)
4) This is not the time to potty train! Give it up until you get back. Besides, diapers on the road make traveling a cinch. Hint: set up a changing station in your trunk.
5) Traveling during the day. Day or night, you should stop every 2-3 hours, at least to stretch and potty. Do your homework to find out how often you will see civilization. If it's not that often, be sure to stop longer, get plenty of gas, and stock up on goodies.
My good friend Denise was inspired with this idea: Removable Multi-purpose Tray
Get a plastic tray (with a lip, but no legs) for each child from the 99 cents Store.
Grab some adhesive Velcro (Walmart) and adhere the prickly side of the Velcro to the short sides of tray. Adhere the fuzzy side of the Velcro to both sides of your child's car seat/ booster seat on the armrests. Now you've got the perfect little tray for eating, coloring, and more!6) Be a snack machine. I mean it. This will be your means of survival. Pack enough to feed a village. A full family is a happy family. Now, keep it as healthy as possible. Fresh foods are best, so make room for a cooler in the cabin of your car for quick access. Trader Joe's has lots of healthy non-parishable options.
Here's a quick list of snack ideas: string cheese, crackers, dried fruit, soy milk boxes (4 pack), juice boxes (for grown ups too!), washed hard fruit and vegetables, hummus, grapes, Snapea Crips (these are the best-Trader Joe's, Whole Foods), homemade granola bars (add your favorite mix-ins).
Easy S'mores bars - Just make rice krispie treats, but you swap broken gram crackers for the rice cereal, and add milk chocolate chips.
Car meals- make these ahead and put them in the cooler:
Breakfast bagels: Pre-sliced whole grain bagels, cream cheese & slice of deli meat with fruit and a juice box
Lunch/Dinner ideas:Pasta salad, cold cut sandwiches on dinner rolls, fried chicken holds up well and tastes good cold (if that's your thing)
Note: don't forget plastic utensils.
7) Aunt Grandma! If there are family members en route to your destination, take advantage of the opportunity to catch up- and get a hot meal! Everyone loves to feed the "weary traveler." We did this all the way to Florida and back, and it was so nice to see old friends and rest our heads.
One night, someone did a "fish fry" just for us at 11 o' clock at night!
Friends!!
My son, checking out our cousin's police cruiser. 8) Cool places to stop. If you're gonna stop, make it a good one.
One time we went 45-mins out of the way to see "the site of a giant crater"
Yeah, just a big boring hole.
Check websites like Budget Travel and Cookie Magazine to find places to stop that everyone will like. Weird stop ideas here.Be careful not to only choose destinations for your kids, but things that the grown up will like too. Unless you are in no rush, try to pick stops that you can do in less that 1 1/2 hours. Good fun ideas: aquariums, "quirky old towns", beach cities.9) Entertainment.
Incentive bags (age 2+). Buy brown bags. You need one bag for every 2-3 hours per child. Put some cheap thrill in each bag (ie, a box of Nerds, a coloring book, a DVD you already own). Tell your children that each time you make it to a new city or rest stop, or go 200 miles, they "win" a Fun Bag. If they start fussing or fighting, remind them "don't you want to get your fun bag at our next stop?" Kids LOVE this!! Note: Give it to them, whether they were "good" overall or not. It will keep them on track on quiet.
Magna Doodles are fantastic in the car. They can quietly doodle, or you can challenge them artistically ("Draw something for me that you can see out of the window") or academically, by spouting age-appropriate math and vocabulary questions (spell "apple", add 2+16 using dots.)
Driving Movie Theatre. My boys love building a car "tent" and watching a movie on the portable DVD player. Make a car "tent" by tying a lightweight toddler blanket or sheet to the front seat headrests. Next, roll the back seat windows up so that the blanket gets caught in the windows on each side. Tuck the final side of the blanket behind the carseats, or use adhesive velcro on the rear headrests. So fun!!Note: This website has a TON of really good, really cheap ideas for fun it the car.
10) Laugh a lot. Whatever it is, it's not worth fighting over. Trust me, life is too short, and the space is too small. "Yes honey, you're right!" That's my highway motto.
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT:
-Plastic grocery store bags (for accumulated trash, dirty diapers, wet clothes, etc.) Store a bunch in a paper towel roll.
-Water. Use coffee thermoses and a buy 2.5 gallon of water with a spout. You can also wash hands with this.
-Sprounce :) Works great on restaurant tables and public toilet seats too.
-A first-aid kit
Home this helps a bunch. Email me with any questions!
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