What we often see portrayed is that the holiday season is a magical time for families. And while that is true for many folks, it doesn’t always come so easily for others. There’s a lot involved in this season, and, naturally, it is also a time of stress.

There is a good chance that many of us will be traveling during the upcoming months, short distances and very long distances, which involves families cooped up in the car for an excessive amount of time. “Are we there yet?” might be the most commonly used phrase by little ones in the backseat. It’s a process getting from point A to point B, so we’ve tapped into different ways parents and families can hit the highway with peace and peace of mind.

Take a page from our book and incorporate these family road trip activities to keep kiddos from getting restless after all those miles.

Pack Plenty of Drinks and Snacks

Plan for the inevitable calls for snack time by packing a container of snacks in an easy-to-access area. Sometimes the snacks are loaded with the luggage in the back, meaning you need to pull over to get them out. This way, either all of your snacks or a selection of car-friendly snacks are easy to grab and pass around.

We recommend including snacks that your kids enjoy, such as fruit and crackers. A great way to incorporate your kids into this decision-making process is to pre-select snack options and let your kids choose from those options. You can also pack small water bottles and juice pouches for when your kids get thirsty (just make sure you have a plan for bathroom breaks along the way). This container is also a great place to pack a trash bag and a collection of tissues, napkins, wet wipes, and hand sanitizer.

Create a Road Trip Activity Box

Gather books, toys, and games that are road-trip-friendly into a box or bag for each child and keep it within their reach during the car ride. Your kids will have the ability to choose their activities throughout the trip, and you will not be responsible for providing all the entertainment.

Depending on your child’s age, you can include coloring books, puzzle books, books at their reading level, fidget toys, a journal or sketchbook, and any small toys or games they can play with on their lap. Read to the end for more items to include in your activity box!

Let your Kids Follow Along on a Map

For your older kids, print a map of your road trip or purchase a state map from the gas station and highlight your starting point, endpoint, and significant landmarks along the way. Your kids can follow along with you as you travel, tracing along the route as you drive. Adding this activity to your car trips can help cut down on the questions of “are we there yet?” and get your kids involved with your local geography.

Mobile Movie Theatre (for those REALLY long trips)

If you are on a really long car trip, bringing devices into the car can make the hours pass a little more quickly. Regardless of your device, you can quickly transform your backseat into a rolling cinema with an iPhone, tablet, or portable DVD player. Pop popcorn and portion it out for each family member before the trip, attach dark blankets to back windows to minimize glare, and decide on a movie title before hitting the road.

If traveling for an extended period, make it collaborative and let each family member select a movie. Or choose a theme, like “Classic Holiday Films,” search for the top films in the genre, and let your children pick from the list.

If noise is an issue for you as a driver, make sure you include headphones or earbuds in the equation. This activity will ensure you keep your eyes and focus on your driving with little distraction.

Family Games for Road Trips

Mad Libs – you can buy Mad Libs books or print out free versions from the internet. Mad Libs are great for kids learning sentence structure and storytelling. Your kids can be silly and creative while better understanding verbs, nouns, adjectives, and more.

20 Questions – take turns coming up with characters, places, items, or animals for the rest of the family to guess. Ask “yes” or “no” questions until you can guess the word. This game is a great activity for encouraging your child’s creativity, and they will feel included and important as you question them and guess their word.

Traditional Car Games – there is a whole collection of classic road trip games such as searching for license plates from different states; counting cows or basketball hoops on different sides of the road (and losing your number if you pass a graveyard, if you play with those rules); and the alphabet game to name things you pass as they start with each letter of the alphabet. You can also think back to your favorite road trip games from your childhood and teach those to your kids.

A Few Easy Independent Activities for Kids on Car Trips

Magnets – a metal cookie sheet or rimmed sheet pan with magnets is a great, inexpensive way to entertain your kids. Once you have a cookie sheet for each kid, you can find a few different magnet sets, pass them around, and let their creative juices flow through creating words with letter magnets or scenes and stories with character or animal magnets.

Activity Books – depending on their age, kids can keep themselves busy with stickers, puzzles, and coloring books with a small collection of crayons or colored pencils. If you keep these items within your kid’s reach, they can grab them when they are bored without needing your attention.

Audiobooks – if you have a long car ride ahead of you, planning a few activities that can take a few hours, such as an audiobook, is a great way to keep your kids engaged for more than a few minutes. The audiobook could be something for your kids to listen to independently if you have a device and headphones they can use. You can also choose an audiobook for the whole family to enjoy (such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, or any family-friendly novels by your favorite authors for children or young adults).

We know planning activities is one solution to make a road trip easier, but Triple P has more tips and tricks to make your holiday travels smoother. Contact Northwest NC Families today to partner with a local Triple P provider to get the full road trip tip sheet and tackle your travel woes once and for all.

Have a Happy Holiday Season from Northwest NC Families

The Northwest NC Families team wishes you a happy holiday season filled with opportunities to connect with your kids and family – whether you are in the car or around the table! If the holiday season has your family stressed, our team can help. With a network of local providers ready to come alongside your family and build stronger, happier relationships, please contact us so we can help ensure this is the last holiday season that causes unnecessary stress within your family.