Growing up, Summer Break has always meant road trips and traveling to our families, and we are sure many agree! School is out, and we are all ready to unwind while exploring beautiful places – but the most stressful part easily could be packing. We’ve reached out to our ambassador families and they’ve given us their must-have tips and items to make road trip planning for your family a little bit easier!
Here Are Our Community's Tips for Family Road Trips
Bring/learn Car games and toys – keep it fun, easy and entertaining! I-Spy is a great one to play with little ones in the car and keeps them entertained for a long time. Magnet toys are a great idea as they are less likely to roll down an airplane isle or under car seats. Sticker books are another hit amongst many of our families!
Allowing your child to pick out a new item to increase “wow” value. If you let them pick out a new colouring book or small toy, it can keep them entertained longer as they’ve never seen it before. This works great for long plane and train rides!
Patience. This one may a little self-explanatory! The longer you stay patient, the happier you and your children may be! Learn to appreciate the little moments along the way because you may only experience that moment once.
Sense of humour. Sometimes plans can go haywire, kids start a rebellion, and even a bear might even break into your car while you sleep. Laughing about it together bonds your family and gives you the joy to keep exploring.
Travel Trays! These help prevent mess, as it gives your kids a flat surface to eat on, but also gives them a place to play and colour on. Colouring and drawing while having legs as the surface can become frustrating which could lead to meltdowns!
Bring items that are familiar to your children for sleeping. A pack-and-play have been what most of the families have suggested, as well as a favorite blanket or two and any stuffed animal they may love. Make it familiar to home so they are more comfortable and fall asleep faster
Organize family member items in color coded packing cubes. Nothing is worse than having to make a quit stop to find something, and tearing the vehicle apart to find it! Packing cubes that are color coded per family member make it easy for everyone to put their stuff where it belongs, and makes it so you don’t even have to unpack the car if you please!
If you carry around a pocket knife and vegetable peeler, it is easy to stop at a local market/store to get fresh vegetables and fruit!
Bring a soft carrier if you’re pressed for space. If you have a larger stroller, this can take up the most space out of all items. Consider purchasing a soft carrier to free up room in the car!
Some Absolute Must-Pave Items for Road-Tripping with Kids
Water bottle Food pouches and sandwiches Cloths/wipes to clean up At least 2 sets of clothes – one that is easily accessible Extra diapers, wipes, and bum cream First-aid kit with Baby Tylenol, especially for a teething baby! Walking shoes Hat, sunscreen & bug spray! Towel – kids will always find a way to get wet! Coffee – this one was suggested a lot as a Do Not Forget!
Thank-you to all of our Ambassador Families for lending their knowledge to help make this blog post! We hope you can put these tips to good use. Send us your favorite tips and don’t forget to tag us @KidsWhoExplore & #KidsWhoExplore on Instagram so we can follow along on your next travels!
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