When you have kids, going on vacation becomes expensive. Getting them all on a flight or trying to hire a hotel room that fits the whole family (especially if you went beyond the 2.4 kids!) is pricey. This means that a road trip is usually the best option for your family vacation. Road trips – luckily – are a fun and flexible way to enjoy time together, but they can be frustrating.
The last thing that you want to hear while you are on vacation is the cry of, “I’m bored!” it’s just not the ideal way to start your vacation. The good news is that there is plenty that you can do to keep road trips fun and an interesting way to be together. You need to be as prepared as possible before you go, as you want this to be the best possible experience. Allowing the grown ups some quiet time to talk while the kids are kept busy is the goal, so here are some of the things that you can do to make your road trip an interesting one.
Play Radio Roulette
As a family, put together a playlist of all the songs that you all like. Everyone gets a say, here, and then put it onto shuffle. The game is to get the kids to guess what the song is. Use a portable whiteboard to keep track of the points scored in the game, and the winner gets a prize at the next rest stop. It’s an excellent way to teach the kids all about real music and not the rubbish they may be listening to today!
Driving Games – These Are A Must!
From counting cars of specific colors to playing Punch Buggy, you can get the kids busy with playing road trip driving games and trying to find personalized license plates. Bring a back of sweets that everyone loves and you can chuck them individually to the winners.
Magnetic Games
You can sit in the back with the kids and let your partner drive to play these ones. Magnetic chess, Connect 4 and Scrabble all go down well, and you can help the younger ones by allowing a word descrambler tool to help them win. Magnetic games are always better as there’s no worry about the pieces falling onto the floor of the car.
Tablet Games
When you want a moment to relax and enjoy the ride, break out the tablets. Download games that don’t require an internet connection and keep them together on the tablet. Children can then access the right games in the car. Downloading games makes life far easier when you’re on a road trip, and also when you’re stopping overnight somewhere. Whether it’s an RV resort or a hotel, the fact is you don’t know what the internet connection is going to be like when you land, but you also know what keeps your children occupied for as long as possible. When you’re staying overnight somewhere, it gives you a bit of respite, but it also means that everybody’s in a better mood for the next leg of the journey, so have a few old reliable games handy. They don’t have to all be educational ones, but it’s a good idea to have a few!
Movies, Please!
Some children love to be able to while away the time with their favorite movie. Get downloading onto the tablet before you go and make sure that you bring a headphone splitter and a tablet mount for the back of the seat rest. This will be the perfect option for those who want to watch a film together in the back!
