ChristusG Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 We are going on an 8 hour trip to Alabama in a few weeks. I know thats not extraordinarily long, but still, I really dislike road trips and would like some ideas. I'd like to have a secret stash that I can pull out of when needed. My girls are 6 and 3 years old. I just bought some wooden Christmas ornaments for the kids to color with markers. I also picked up some blank whit snowmen for them to decorate. We have a DVD player in our van, so of course we will bring some movies. I have a travel bingo game but that will only be good for my 6 year old since the 3 year old is not tall enough to see out the window. Any other cheap ideas that I can bring with us? I'm willing to spend a bit of money, but not a ton. But I want a stress free 16 hours lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 leapsters! they're having a deal right now at leapfrog.com. I also found a code on retailmenot for an additional 15% off. Our 6yo and 4yo have them and i just bought another for our 2yo. My 4yo was enthralled with the paint program alone when he was 2.5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 stickers pipe cleaners roll of tin foil to make sculptures color wonder kid music on a Mp3 player fruit loop type cereal and a piece of string..or a pipe cleaner to string and then eat you blowing bubbles in the back seat can you read them a story while dad is driving (I can't I get car sick) we did lots of things with magnets and a cheap cookie sheet...when my daughter was that young, she had a magnetic "paper doll" set...she also had geometric shaped magnets that she played with. Hope that helped some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 Hmmm....we have a Leapster. My 6 year old has never really cared for it. Ibe never shown it to my 3 year old. I'll definitely have to bring it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 I can't read to them in be car....I get carsick too. I always drive. If I cant read, look at a laptop, or sleep....then I may as well drive lol. Maybe that's why I dislike road trips. I cant do anything to pass the the time. I like the cookie sheet and magnets idea....I'll have to check around for a cheap one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabeline Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Magnadoodle or Aquadoodle are fun in the car. Audiobooks with a picture book to follow along with. My library has tons of these. Lots of library books for the 6yo to read to the 3yo. Maybe you could make small craft or activity bags like the preschool bags and pass them out periodically. Would a small chalkboard or white board hold their attention? HTH Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 pop rocks. They brighten up fussy kids - especially ones that don't get lots of candy. and keep them up really late the night before so they will nap in the car. we just returned from a very happy 16 hour trip. One thing that really helped my dd6 who is in a booster seat is one of those neck pillows to sit on. Those booster seats get really uncomfortable for small bottoms. I also took the 6yo to toysRus right before the trip for a my little pony toy set that couldonly be playedwith in the car - a toy that is still new and that I wouldn't ordinarily get her (we don't do plastic toys) kept her busy for a a couple of hours. My 9yo used my laptop and worked onher story fora long time, but that wouldn't help you. We loaded up the cellphones with tv shows from itunes so they could watch things individually. Rock-Paper-Scissors is great for passing time too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Could you borrow a portable DVD player? That kept my then-2yo happy for a 14 hour trip last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 We love to pick up some books on CD at the library. We don't have a DVD player, but we all like to listen to the CDs--helps the driver too! Kiddos have their own water bottles (sippy cups at your kids' ages) with water in them. Have other snacks available--some stuff they don't normally get to eat. My dh made laminated maps of the route we travel down to CA which we do every year. Your kids are a little young, but you could do kind of a hand-made simple map that shows major milestones along the way. For us, it's a route we know quite well, so we know where we stop for an In-n-Out burger, or the Costco station where we get gas. If you know your route well, you can put some simple landmarks on the map that they can be looking for. My kids can spend a whole car trip just drawing pictures! One year I got them wire-bound sketch books (not too big) and crayola twistables colored pencils so they don't have to be sharpened. They did some great drawings on the road. My girls each have a small Lands End tote bag. They pack the bags themselves when it's road trip time. They put in their drawing stuff, a book to read, a small doll with some changes of clothes, and maybe a stuffed animal. They do a great job keeping themselves entertained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiff in TX Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 My brother and I used to play this game in the car on long trips... and you don't need any materials. We call it the cow game, so it is obviously best played when driving through the country. You simply count all the cows you pass on your side of the car and whoever has the most cows when the game ends wins. We also had a rule that if you pass by a cemetary on your side then all your cows die and you start from 0... but that rule doesn't have to be apart of the game depending on how sensitive your kids are. I know it sounds simple and probably boring, but DH and I still play sometimes in the car:lol: Whoever is driving will typically cheat and take roads home that pass by a cemetary on the passengers side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 My brother and I used to play this game in the car on long trips... and you don't need any materials. We call it the cow game, so it is obviously best played when driving through the country. You simply count all the cows you pass on your side of the car and whoever has the most cows when the game ends wins. We also had a rule that if you pass by a cemetary on your side then all your cows die and you start from 0... but that rule doesn't have to be apart of the game depending on how sensitive your kids are. I know it sounds simple and probably boring, but DH and I still play sometimes in the car:lol: Whoever is driving will typically cheat and take roads home that pass by a cemetary on the passengers side. Oh gosh, that is awesome! Especailly the cemetary part LOL! I don't think it will work for us on this trip since we'll be on the interstate pretty much the entire way. And my 3 year old cannot see out of the window...her car seat is too low. I may have to play it with DH sometime though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Stcker puzzles! My girls adore these on car trips: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Pixar-Cars-Sticker-Puzzles/dp/B0014CABI4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1291238993&sr=8-7 Even though I'm not a big disney fan I find that they are great entertainment. There are also some Pooh ones that are for younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Wikki stik - little wax skicks the kids can play with. All the other ideas - for crafting... I try to make a rule for long car rides that the first hour, no movie or video games. Then we put in a movie; then we stop to strech and eat. Back in the car and then an hour before the next movie starts. This pattern makes it a little easier for the kids to know what is expected of them. I hate long car rides. The best secret is to leave really early - 5 am or so and have them sleep for the first three hours and then stop for breakfast; I also beleive in picnics on a long journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 My kids 9 love listening to audio CD's. They really like Adventures in Odyssey, Your Story Hour, or Johnathon Park Series. Some of these, especially Adventures in Odyssey, may be available at your library or you could ask other families to borrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 I bought the travel activities at activitybags.com. I just printed out two sets, put them in sheet protectors, and put a binder together for each kid. It has a mixture of things like bingo, mazes, draw in the face, etc. Most of it would be more suited for your six year old, but even my three year old liked having her own binder and washable markers to draw in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Put overnight bags under their feet so your children's feet aren't dangling. This definitely helps their comfort level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamee Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Are they good at entertaining themselves at home? We always let our boys pack a small backpack of what they wanted and they had no problems keeping themselves occupied from CO to CA--about 15-20 hours (the boys were 2 and 6 then). We never do DVDs in the car and they didn't get video games until this past summer when we were traveling for a month. Having their favorite music and audio books would be a good idea. Having snacks and water is a plus too. Good luck! Before we moved, the boys drove with their grandparents from AZ to San Diego, less than six hours and when they got out of the car they were surprised. "That's it? That was a short trip." We drove EVERYWHERE when we lived in the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.