Well friends, travel season has officially arrived, and thus begins the dreaded road trip!  Actually, they don’t have to be dreaded!  Did you know that not only can a road trip be very do-able with little ones, but they can even be really fun!  It just takes a little planning!!  Here are some tips on bringing some fun back into the road trip without using screens!

1.  Road Trip While the Kids Sleep

Travel during sleeping hours.  My husband and I are NOT night owls so I would never recommend driving over night.  In our family, it would just be BAD.  But some people do it and love it because their children sleep the whole way. We really like getting up SUPER early in the morning!  It’s almost as exciting as Christmas!  When our girls were in elementary and middle school we would get up, pack up and drive an hour or so and then stop for a big breakfast!  After that the kids were tired from all of the excitement and took a long nap! Ensuring you travel during your children’s nap times are another great way for the time to pass well for them!  Always make sure your child has access to their favorite lovey at sleep time!

2.  Make Regular Pit Stops on Road Trips

On a road trip take regular stops at places your children can stretch their legs.  Chick-Fil-A is our go to on road trips and we always go in, even if we are going to eat on the road.  It gives us a chance to go to the restroom, but we also let our son play on the playground while we order our food.  This little bit of playing goes a long way with keeping the wiggles at bay!

3.  Be Prepared for ANYTHING on a Road Trip

First, pack a change of clothes (or 2) along with more diapers than you think you will need! Anything could happen on a road trip! Do you have children that struggle with motion sickness?  I have one that got nauseated just driving to church and one that has no trouble at all! Have a roller bottle of peppermint and lavender on hand to apply behind the ears from time to time to get motion sickness and dizziness at bay! Or have them take a smell of peppermint when they start to feel sick! I love these oils!  Ginger is great to chew as well!

4.  Pack Tons of Activities for Road Trips

Make sure you have several activities and snacks easily accessible for your child!  Here are a few of my favorite activity ideas for road trips:

1. Invest in a cookie sheet!  Say what??  A cheap cookie sheet can double as a magnetic board or a lap desk for activities of for food.
2. Put magnets on everything!  I use magnet tape that I can cut to the size I need.  I put magnets on the backs of puzzle pieces and blocks.  I love these puzzles and these blocks for this purpose! Another great idea is to put magnets on markers or crayons if you plan to let you kids color.  So they won’t roll off the tray!
3. Use Color Wonder markers and activity sets.  These markers only work on the special paper and not on your child’s skin or clothes.
4. Make some simple busy bags.  I love these that I made from colored Popsicle sticks and Velcro circles.
5. Pack various actives or snacks in individual baggies.  That way you can pull out only what your child needs at that time, instead of everything everywhere!  I don’t know about your but I don’t deal well with everything every where!

Here is a round-up from Pinterest with some ideas for road trips that I LOVE!

Activity bag ideas from the Nerds Wife log: http://thenerdswife.com/road-trip-activity-bag-ideas.html

A travel binder with dry erase pages from u-createcrafts.com: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/free-printable-road-trip-book/

Some sanity savers from the Krazy coupon lady:  https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/travel/11-sanity-saving-road-trip-hacks

Some travel activities we love:  https://www.thesmokymountainmom.com/travelactivitiesforkids/ 

I hope these tips help you and your family have a successful road trip this summer and for months to come!  What are some things that have worked well for your family?

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Happy Road Tripping!!

**Some affiliate links are used at no cost to you! I just want to share some things that I love and think you would love too!