How to Pack for Car Rides
The most intimidating part of any trip for me is the in-car packing. How do you entertain kids who are strapped into their seat for an extended amount of time. My two boys are both too young to read, so entertainment cannot include any of those books that have activity directions on each page. The youngest doesn’t even like coloring so much, so coming up with entertainment is most definitely challenging. Here are what I have found are essentials and a few lesser essentials that have proven valuable.
THE ESSENTIALS
Treasure Keeper: More or less we are talking about a box to hold toys. I call it a treasure keeper to the kids to get them more excited about it. Ikea fans may recognize mine, it is one of the bins from our toy organizer. Each child gets one. I like the size because it will hold plenty of things, even small picture books, and it is light enough for kids to lift onto their laps from where it generally sits near their car seats.
Travel Tray: You can do without, but for long trips it’s helpful to have something flat to lay out snacks and toys. There are several models around, some have pockets, some have rims. I picked up mine, pictured above in blue, from Borders. It’s very simple and has a bean bag part on the underside that rests in your lap. Again, weight and portability are important to consider. My kids will alternate between wanting one on their lap and ditching it onto the space between their seats. I would think those trays with pockets might be more difficult to move around. In hindsight, though, having a rim does seem like an improvement on my own.
Snack cooler: Near the front seat are some easy-to-grab snacks, no matter how long the trip. Our family favorites include mini bagels pre-filled with cream cheese, small Tupperware bowls of cut fruit, small baggies with dry cereal (like cinnamon Life or Cheerios), kid thermos with juice or juice boxes, string cheese (must be kept cool) and granola bars.
Favorite cds: I’ve said it before, and I still think it’s true: Nothing beats belting out a few tunes that everyone loves together. It brings up bad visions of traveling National Lampoon Vacation style, but it can seriously lighten the mood in the car. Also, checking out some kids’ books on cd from the library has worked great for us. Tip: put it on a half hour before their normal nap time and the voices will send them right to sleep.
THE DETAILS
Some things that have worked well for our treasure keepers include:
- Invisible Ink books
- Small pad of paper and foam stickers
- Small toy dinosaurs, animals, and/or cars
- Sticker books
- Travel sized lite brite (I thought losing the little pegs would be a problem, but the amount of play time vs. losing a peg or two has payed off, even to my surprise.)
- Magnetic board (This is from Greenbrier International and on average costs less than $10. They have many different themes.)
If there are several days of traveling I try to keep some back up things to add to the treasure keeper to keep it fresh. These can include:
- Pictures of where we are heading to that day
- Postcards I picked up from the prior day’s activities. I let the kids draw a picture to their friends on the other side. If they draw on top of where the address goes, simply stick a blank label on top of part of the picture or tape a piece of paper with the address over it.
- A sheet with new stickers on it
- Multi colored pipe cleaners
- A cup of random Lego bits
TIME SAVINGS
Accumulating a supply of travel entertainment gear can sometimes mean spending half a day going to several stores to get a bit of this and that. Another option is to have it all packed and shipped to you, such as in TravelKiddy. I was lucky to get a complimentary Basic Travelkiddy pack. This was a great supplement for my most recent five day trip. There were plenty of staples (as in coloring books, stickers, paper, crayons, etc.) and knick knacks that I would never have thought of. I loved the shoelace sewing cutouts; both light and portable, and you can do it again and again. My oldest went right for the paper hat that you can color on (think of a kitchen hat). Wearable art! The bonus for me is that the zippered pouch that it all comes in was perfect for keeping my secret treasure keeper stuff that would come out on days 2, 3, and 4. From the website you can choose age appropriate travel kiddy packs with different themes too, like beach, outdoor fun, etc. Refills are available, which make multiple purchases a no-brainer. And, even when you aren’t traveling, this makes a great pack to bring to a restaurant or any non kid-friendly place on your errand list.
Love love love this. Now, where was this post 3 weeks ago, when I was subjected to a 4+ hour plane ride with a 4YO and 2YO??!!
FYI – The company Melissa and Doug also make some great travel toys that are magnetic, so the pieces don’t fall all over the place.
This is a fantastic post, Lora! On our recent 6 hr. plane trip to Hawaii, blue painter’s tape also worked wonders with the 2 yo. Who knew?!?
@ Amy and Debi: These are great additional ideas. Keep them coming!
Thanks for sharing the useful info. During travel around it is really challenge that carry the toy and other kids’ toys. I’m always faced the trouble during packaging and really glad to find this post. I will remember those tips in next trip.
Best Regards,
Much obliged for giving us some reliable ideas on this topic. I have found a good variety of honest ideas about travel tips and some not-so-good ideas. Do you have any more savvy information or places on the Web that I can find more detailed information? This would be certainly appreciated! So, continue the good work!