Prepare the kids for long trips in the car with personalized road trip boxes

Posted on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 : 8 a.m.

Prepare the kids for long trips in the car with personalized road trip boxes

By Tammy Mayrend

Keep the kids busy on your next road trip with personalized boxes filled with small trinkets and snacks.

Tammy Mayrend | Contributor

Summer time and the livin' is easy. The sun is shining and everyone requests time off. It’s vacation! For us and countless others, it’s the end-of-summer push before school begins. It’s road trip time!

Most of you agree that the proper planning is a necessity for any vacation, but let’s focus on a very small and very specific task that needs more attention: planning the kids' "car travel kit." The point is to keep them occupied for endless hours so that we don't hear endless rounds of "When are we gonna get there?”

I never guarantee myself endless hours of quiet. After all, my kids are quite young, but I try.Â

So what's in my car kit? I usually include a DVD player and movies, special road trip music, fresh crayons and a doodle pad, coloring books, books and snacks. I also like to have items that are “fresh” and new for the kids — items that they haven't seen before sometimes will occupy lots of their attention.

I began my quest to occupy the kids a few years ago when driving five hours north for a long weekend. I started by grabbing two shoebox-sized plastic bins, and, with decorative pens in hand, I personalized them for my kiddos. After that I went about finding small trinkets and goodies that the kids could have. My only rule was that they could do whatever they wanted with the goodies, but once they were gone, there was no more.

At first I included toys from fast food kids meals, small treats and pocket-sized coloring books. This year my bins have small trinkets for each of the kids, a small Lego kit or a Polly Pocket, a kids map of the United States I got free with purchase from my local Marathon gas station, a Where's Waldo 3-D poster from Wendy's and a pack of gum.

I look for items throughout the year, as I find that's the best way to prepare. I find inexpensive trinkets at Michaels and or in Target's $1 bins. A few months ago, I found that The Rocket in downtown Ypsilanti was a great place to find novelty items perfect for road trips; I bought individual repositionable sticker activity books there. By planning ahead, I am always prepared — I actually have items tucked away for future trips.

So what do you give your children to occupy them on long road trips? What are their favorite items? Is there anything special that is a must-have for your children in the car?

I’m heading off into the sunset with the car stuffed to the gills and the car's top carrier overflowing. The kids will be happily occupied for hours, allowing me to enjoy the ride. One can hope anyway, right?

Tammy Mayrend is a search marketing professional and mother of two who blogs on low-cost local activities, events, and Ann Arbor area freebies for families at annarbormom.com.

Comments

Tammy Mayrend

Sat, Aug 28, 2010 : 9:01 p.m.

I'll admit it seems crazy to prep children for a trip like this; I didn't have these types of things available on long car rides either. My children however benefited just fine from the "family time" playing car "bingo", following along on their free maps, singing songs, and coloring for endless hours on their blank notepads - It wasn't until the second full day of driving and almost 9 hours of travel before the DVD was pulled out and I have no doubt that my children will have the same wonderful memories that I have of my family road trips even if a DVD player or other trinkets are toted along. I am pleasantly amazed at how well behaved they have been which makes the trip more pleasant for everyone!

Ann Arbor Mom

Fri, Aug 27, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.

I also do a road trip box. I bought the large scrapbooking boxes from Michaels for 1/2 off. They will hold regular size paper and even a clipboard. I include paper, coloring books, stickers, tape, glue, pens, pencils, markers, scissors, highlighters, maps, dry erase boards and markers, and more. These are to be used while we are on vacation too, so that they have something to do during down times. I also have laminated car bingo games and have found a website that has other car bingo games, car battleship and the license plate game. One thing the girls love is when we take pictures of their dry erase pictures as we are driving. One time my youngest drew me a picture of potaoes and onions "because that's what you like to eat Mom". I get most of my items during back-to-school sales and at the Dollar Store, only clearance or sales for us. We only use the DVD player when we have a trip over 3 hours and only after we have traveled at least 2 hours.

Angela Smith

Thu, Aug 26, 2010 : 1:33 p.m.

"I'm always prepared" -- man, I wish I was you!;) The $ store is my last minute source, and my kids love anyting gift wrapped. I have heard that a roll of scotch tape is endless fun. Does it still count if i use some to wrap it??

expioneer

Thu, Aug 26, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.

Yet another way in which I was obviously abused as a child. Our folks took us on took cross-country trips every summer beginning at the ages of 11 and 4 and the only special accommodation my parents made was alwasy stopping in mid-afternoon so we could have a long swim in the motel pool - and giving me dramamine. We were expected to behave, occupy ourselves and look out the car windows - and we did. Nearly 50 years later I can still remember those first sights of the Rockies, the U.S. Capitol, or the castle at Disneyland, and how cold my feet got roaming through Great Sand Dunes before the campers were awake. Thank goodness we didn't have dvds - I would have missed so much irreplaceable time with my family. We may not have had seat belts, bicycle helmets, rides to school every day or every minute of our time scheduled, but in all the important ways we were much less deprived than kids today.