Road Tripping with the Littles
A big budget buster for your vacation can be airfare for your whole family. Some people simply do not like to fly. Recently, we took a road trip to Florida so I wanted to share some of our best practices to keep our little ones happy and entertained on a 15+ hour car ride.
Consider the vehicle you are going to drive
I have to admit, I was one of those moms who said I would never drive a minivan. SUVs for life! But here I am, living in the suburbs, driving a Chrysler Pacifica, and dropping off my kids at soccer practice. I’ve officially converted – I love our minivan. It has so much room for all of the things we inevitably pack for our trips but it’s also super comfortable. If you are planning on a road trip, make sure you have a vehicle big enough for all of your luggage and can comfortably accommodate all of your travelers. If you don’t have one, I would strongly consider renting one.
Travel pharmacy
I always make fun of my husband and I because whenever we travel, I feel like we are a walking pharmacy. Throw in a global pandemic, and it is amplified. In terms of medication, I always bring the staples like ibuprofen, Tylenol, Benadryl, etc. For road trips specifically, I make sure I bring Dramamine (in case anyone gets car sick) and Culturelle probiotic for the kids and adults because I know we are bound to eat fast food for a couple of days straight.
Movies and screen time
Another thing I love about our van is that we have a Blu-ray player with two screens in the back for the kids. We have collected quite a few DVDs over the years and keep them in a plastic container in our car. While on road trips, the kids get to take turns and pick what movie they want to have on. It truly does make the time go by a little faster and keeps their attention off of asking “are we there yet?” In between movies, we do let the kids have an iPad to play games on. Screen time doesn’t exist on road trips, right? We have downloaded games like ABC mouse, DisneyNow, Barbie Dream House Adventures, and YouTube of course. Between movies and iPad games, our kids for the most part are entertained while in the car. Pro Tip – Make sure you get a kid friendly iPad case. We have this one and its held up for the last two years!
Car games and activities
There are so many awesome games and activities for little ones in the car. Besides famous games like “I spy” and the “license plate game”, we were recently gifted Melissa & Doug’s Travel Bingo. This was really fun for the kids because it got them off of the screen and got them looking around outside. It was fun for Drake too because he just loved flipping the tabs back and forth on his board. Another fun activity we always seem to purchase before any trip are the little Imagine Ink pads. These are handheld coloring books and come with one clear marker. When you color on the pages, the color comes out. It’s a mess free way the kids can do a little art activity in the car.
All of the snacks
The best part about road trips are the snacks you eat while cruising down the street. The key to snacking in the car with kids is making sure they are easily accessible and not super messy (sometimes easier said than done). Some of the tried and true snacks we get are fruit snacks, goldfish, go go squeeze applesauce, granola bars, mini donuts, and m&ms. For Andrew and I, we can’t go anywhere without getting Gardetto’s. I’m not really sure why, but we always eat them on road trips and road trips only. So garlicky and delish! Once we get all of our snacks from the store before we leave, I open them all up and put them in a linen basket like this one. It’s easily accessible and fits perfectly between the seats for me to grab and give them to the kids.
We also purchased the as seen on TV Snackeez cups for the kids. This way, we can put juice on the bottom and fill the top with whatever snack the kids want at the time. No spills. No mess. All smiles from the kids and mom! Pro Tip – make sure you bring bags for trash so you can toss out all of your garbage during pit stops!
Playlists
What is better than a family sing along, am I right? To get in the mood for your Disney trip, create your own Disney playlist or look up some of the many curated lists shared by Disney lovers everywhere. We’re an Apple Music family and love listening to the “Happily Ever After” playlist and Disney Hits playlist by Apple Music. Currently Playing? The Greatest Showman soundtrack on repeat in our household.
Take breaks
Inevitably, you will have to stop and take breaks. Whether it is for gas, lunch, or a quick potty break, you will have to make multiple stops with little ones. We break our entire drive up over two days. We have found that when driving from the Chicago area down to Florida, Tennessee is a good stopping point for us since it’s about half way. This gives the kids the opportunity to get out of the car, run around the hotel for a bit, and get a good night’s rest. It does take us longer to get to and from our final destination, but everyone seems to be happier, including us parents. We typically stay at an Embassy Suites because the room size is perfect to tuck away a sleeping baby in the bedroom while the rest of us can stay awake and watch TV. They also have a free happy hour for mom and dad after a long driving day. Score!
The best advice I can give when driving with small children is to pack your patience and just go with the flow. Try to make a game out of everything and accept the fact that you may be eating McDonalds for the next couple of days. Have you ever taken a road trip with your family? What are some must do’s that you have to have? Let me know in the comments below!
