Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week. It's been a good week at our house. It's always good to come home after vacation. We are all happy to be back in our own beds with our cats.
Today I'm going to talk to you about all of our road trip favorites.
We just got back from an 18+ hour drive each way from Indiana to Florida. There were stressful moments, but overall it was great for all of us. Our kids are 8, 5 and 1. They all were pretty happy to be along or the ride.
1. Meal Prep and Plan Your Snacks
We always feel better when we travel if I take the time to pack healthy snacks. It's not hard. It just takes a little extra planning and a grocery pick up run to make it happen. I used throw away storage containers, ziploc bags and popped all of this in a cooler in our van. We snacked on it and had a finger food lunch in the car. Everyone loved eating their favorite foods on the go. And it eliminated some stress of finding good food options along the way.
This was a good way for the one year old to eat snacks independently. He wants no help these days. I put a few bites of food in a plastic cup for him - apple slices, cheetos, crackers, fries, etc. He loved having his own food cup.
2 . Driving at Night
This was our second year to head out around bedtime. Kevin slept during the day. I packed and loaded the car. We ate dinner, changed the kids into their pjs and got on the road. Each kid had their own pillow, blanket and favorite animals near their car seats.
3. Restrooms for Everyone
We left around 8:00pm. Stopped at 10, 2 and 8 for restroom breaks and then breakfast. If the kids woke up when we stopped, we took them to the restroom or changed their diaper. These regular stops kept us from having to make any emergency stops. The kids would wake up at stops and then go right back to sleep when we got on the road.
This sweet moments was 2am at some random gas station. They were all happy, smiling and so sweet. They're great little travelers.
4. Plan for stops to stretch your legs.
We got out of the car for breakfast and a few other quick stops to stretch our legs.
5. Flexible seating
This depends on your vehicle, but if you can offer flexible seating, do it! We had a plan for our kid who gets car sick, a plan for me to sit by the baby if he needed some extra attention, and a plan to rotate the bigger things like the cooler if I needed to move seats to the back. Leo loved this!
6. Entertainment options
We packed DVDs, fully charged tablets, toys, surprise toys and new toys. Dum Dums for the baby and favorite snacks for everyone else. The variety of things helped the kids pass the time.
7. Technology
Create your own Spotify playlist to help pass the time. I helped the kids make one. They LOVED listening to their own music on our drive. It was cute. I also have a Spotify playlist or two that I made for myself. Then turn on your BlueTooth on your phone and connect it to the speakers in your car.
Bring along a WiFi Hotspot. Our local library is wonderful and has WiFi hotspots you can check out for 10 days at a time. I checked out one for our trip and it worked in our car and our condo. It holds a charge so you don't always have to have it plugged in. It's free and it allowed the kids to play on their tablets on the go.
8. Pack the Gear
Pack the baby gear that you'll need on your trip to keep your baby happy and safe. High chair, Pack N Play, Stroller, Puddle Jumper, etc.
9. Surprises
Pack surprises - little toys, treats and activities - for your kids. Pass them out randomly to add a little fun to your drive. My kids really loves these Cats Vs Pickles stuffed creatures. They also love PEZ dispensers. I bought a new carseat toy or two for the baby and then everyone had new things to play with on the drive. In the past, I've surprised the kids with a new DVD.
10. Be the Sunshine
It's your job to set the tone for your trip. If you're negative, doom and gloom or dramatic, it will be contagious. So enjoy the beautiful sunset after a stressful drive through traffic and heavy rain.
Or look for coins at a midnight gas station stop where you have to change everyone into their pjs and keep driving because there are no hotels available along the interstate in all of Georgia. Be positive. Have the mindset that you can do anything as long as you're together. And remind your kids that you're out on an adventure!
I'll link our Amazon Road Trip Must Haves below (affiliate links):
We own all of these things and would buy them again!
Car sick bags - they contain the mess and seal closed after they're used. They are a game changer if you have a kid that gets car sick.
Claw grabber - it helps you easily grab and pass things to the 2nd and 3rd rows of your vehicle. It's great for passing snacks.
Cats VS Pickles - my kids love collecting these little cats and pickles stuffed animals.
Baby toys- the bird & the Leap Frog Tablet
Soft Sided Cooler
Linking up with Momfessionals
and Prime Purchases
Such great tips!! You're so right that it can be stressful trying to find a place to eat when you're traveling. I learned that lesson and now always travel with food for breakfast and lunches if needed. And no matter what, it's so much cheaper than eating out or grabbing snacks in the gas station. My favorite thing to take are those premade salads from Aldi or Walmart - for $3 or $4 you can have a great salad with all the toppings & a fork! I almost never travel without a couple of those. :) You and Kevin make a great road trip team and I know your whole family appreciates your attention to their needs - and your desire to make it fun and pleasant for everyone!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh! You're such a great mama. Loved these tips, esp the "Be the sunshine one"!! What great ways you made 'rainbows from the rain' of your trip.
ReplyDeleteWhen our kids were really little we had a good 16+ hour drive down to see my mom and we used Rebox rentals to keep our kids occupied (as well as snacks, music, toys, etc.). We'd pick up a movie at home, drop it off at a box a day or 1/2 day later when we saw one and grabbed a new one. They thought it was great to see some movies we didn't own and watch all the time.
ReplyDeleteThese are all such great tips. Number 10 is the most important for road trips and just life in general with the family! My mood can make or break our family activities. :) Happy 4th!
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