{Giveaway below}
*UPDATED with Winner*
Our big road trip of the year is over. The last suitcase is put away (but the laundry is never done, right?) We had a wonderful time and I’m getting plenty of use out of my home traction device. Thankyouverymuch.
Here are a few things I learned on our trip and thought I’d pass along with the upcoming Christmas holidays:
- Bring a cooler in the car with drinks.
- Tuck snack food into a box or bag for munching while riding (but not while driving…did you know this is the cause of 80% of traffic accidents?)
We stayed in a very fancy hotel the night after the cruise (courtesy of my smashing hubby’s win from his company!) As soon as we walked in the door, this greeted us on the counter:
Snacks, expensive snacks, courtesy of the hotel. $8 for a bottle of water? $4 for a bag of M&M;’s? No thank you.
(I covered the whole box of food with a box, so little hands wouldn’t be tempted!)
- Pack plenty of water
- Make sure you prepare for spills with a roll of paper towels
- If your traveling for more than one night, pack a separate bag with a change of clothes for everyone so you don’t have to drag in ALL of your suitcases (this helped us so much)!
- Never, ever under any circumstances, buy your child a noisy souvenir.
You’re welcome.
Thanks to Viva, a lucky reader is going to win a $50 Visa gift card for their next trip (or Christmas or whatever you choose!) Just share a travel tip in the comments!
This post was sponsored by Viva Towels. For fun, fork-free recipes – including videos – and snappy entertaining ideas, get over to the VIVA® Diva Café
One tip would be to bring along some activity books!
We put snacks in a shoe box size rubbermaid container. It helps them NOT to get smashed:)
I always keep a roll of paper towels in my trunk and a little bag of plastic grocery bags in my glove box. It is amazing how many snack bags, Starbucks cups, etc. accumulate in our car. At the end of the day, I get out a plastic bag and have everyone gather trash. The paper towels are great for wiping up spills and messy faces!
Always pack extra baggies, for toting home everything from leaky toiletries to seriously dirty clothes.
Also… friends of mine went on a road trip, packing an extra bag for the one night in the first hotel. They left the rest of their bags in the car. The next morning, everything was gone.
They had to buy all new clothes before they could finish their trip, which, of course, seriously hurt their travel budget. So… while I like the idea of a seperate bag, I think I'd take the bags inside the hotel, even if you don't open them.
Bring plenty of ziploc baggies – be sure to put a wet washcloth in one. These babies can hold anything from snacks to soiled laundry.
My tip probably only applies to large, tight-fisted families, but we travel with our crock pot and/or griddle. That way we can cook meals in the hotel room and save a fortune on eating out. When we traveled by plane last year, our first stop was a thrift store to but said items. We really enjoy having easy, familiar meals when away from home, and honestly if we didn't do this we wouldn't be able to afford any travel!
My tip is to pick the right starting time. We usually start our long trips in the late afternoon. This way the kids get to enjoy the excitement of starting a trip, but then in a few hours (when all the excitement wears off) they can go to sleep during the night. This way you don't have to deal with as many "I'm bored" or "Are we there yet?"
Travel trip with small kids: learn lots and lots of songs.
I guess my best travel tip is a portable DVD player. That has made traveling MUCH easier! I hope I win!
We drive to see my parents every other month or so. We have 4 boys and 2 get car sick fairly easily. We MAKE SURE to bring a couple of air plane bags as well as grocery sacs to help with 'car sickness' if ya know what I mean! ; ) This has SAVED us from having to get our car DEEP cleaned plenty of times.
My best travel tip is to pack very lightly – most people overpack. Let's face it, most of the time you can wear an outfit more than once unless you are rolling around in the mud or are a very messy eater! The reason they call it "luggage" is that you have to lug it around: in and out of the car or van, into the hotel, in and out of elevators, etc. Coordinate your outfits to mix and match, wear them more than once, and have lighter luggage with less to lug around! You'll have a happier trip, I promise!
Nancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
I love books on CD, especially if it's a good mystery or adventure. The Westing Game is a great one!
My travel tip isn't one for while you are actually traveling, but before you go. I have found that making a list of things to pack, things that go in the car, even right down to drinks, snacks and wipes, is crucial to a smooth trip. Making the list well ahead of time (when things are calmer and not 15 minutes before heading out the door!) and gathering the things together as early as possible makes for a very smooth trip. Just check your list as you load your vehicle. I have found that I ALWAYS forget something if I haven't made THE LIST first.
I go shopping at the dollar store and other such stores and create a "Mommy bag". I keep it mysterious so they don't know all the goodies I have in there. It's stocked with fun activity books, fun pens, maybe a chalkboard, a book with string to learn to tie knots, a few Mad Gibs, coloring books, postcards to send back home, an address book, white board and stink-free dry erase markers, math games, books to read, reading games, magnetic checkers….
You get the idea. And I only give out one thing at a time…keeping the future mysteries of the Mommy bag a secret throughout the whole trip – making sure to have a few surprises left for the ride home.
http://www.runninggalinsights.blogspot.com
Two words : Baby Wipes – They clean up the stickiest of messes in no time flat! I use them for EVERYTHING!!!
Most amusement parks will let you bring food in – which is a HUGE savings with 5 kids. : ) We normally eat breakfast at the hotel (either a continental type provided or donuts/fruit type things that we can bring with), then we'll splurge on lunch later in the afternoon because we snack on trail mix, crackers, etc that we brought at the park and eat a picnic for an early dinner. Most parks have lockers where you can stow a small soft side cooler and we'll pack sub sandwiches, cookies, fruit and sodas – for a fraction of the restaurant prices. Plus, we can eat at odd times and take advantage of shorter lines while everyone else is fighting for food!
I always keep paper towels, wipes, hand sanitizer when traveling. Some of those stay in the car all the time. I also take some extra grocery bags to try and keep trash to a minimum.
I love travel tips…and packing snacks accessible to littles but not to momma would help me so. I snack while I drive…bad on many levels.
Blessings,
Amy
I dont' have any fabulous travel trips, because I am a homebody (and a wimp!) and rarely travel with our kids. But the couple times we have flown with the kids (12 hours including layovers and driving) our portable DVD players, magnadoodles, and colorform games (or the new magnet versions) saved us again and again.
I haven't purchased one yet but I saw a travel potty that you can use ziploc baggies in. With a recently trained toddler–it's a must have before our next road trip!
sylviarj at yahoo dot com
My travel tip is to make sure there is plenty of small games and things of the sort to do in the car. We love the magnadoodle coloring boards and now that they are getting older, Leapsters with games.
My travel tip is…have each child pack a bag with their own toys/items to occupy themselves. Make sure there is plenty in there, and have some extras that you pack for them.
Thanks for the great giveway!
I have wrapped inexpensive small fun stuff and I would pull out a new "gift" for them to unwrap every hour. Helps to keep them entertained! We also had a dvd player with headphones for when they just can't take being strapped in a minute longer.
Most of my ideas have already been posted, so I will go with one that I don't think has been. My girls love to color, but rather than buy a coloring book and hope that there are some things in there they will like I go to Disney Chanel and Nick Jr. to print the pages of the characters they know. I will also search for: "topic" coloring page. This almost always works to find good coloring pages, and what 4 year old cannot be distracted by coloring…at least for a while!
My travel tip is bring a pillow and a blanket, you never know when you'll need it!
We do as severalpeople have already suggested. Pack a bag for each kid with a few small favorite toys. I pack a bag with some dollar store stuff for new and exciting fun. I bring a (usually library rented) new video for the dvd player for the kids and a book on cd or ipodcast for hubby and me.
Oh, and courtesy of my sis-in-law anything liquid that has a foil cover over the top (like bottles of milk or juice) just push the straw through the yogurt. No more spills!
Travel tip: When traveling with children, when one person has to go potty, everyone has to try! I don't care if you don't have to go now, you're trying anyway!
We often traveled with my Gramma– and saying the rosary was a staple on road trips of longer than 60 minutes. Somehow, the collective voices soothed even the wildest beasts…
Liz M
I travel with Dramamine and readily give it to our 2 children who fight being carsick. We also travel with a hospital vomit tray and plastic bags and paper towels!! We have learned the hard way over many miles in the vomit comet.
My travel tip is to travel during the kiddo's nap time! lol
Travel tip: On extended trips, a portable DVD player is worth its weight in gold.
Thanks for the chance to win!
I create a journal/game book for the kids each trip that is unique. You can print off numerous word finds, crosswords, and other worksheets from the Internet for free as well as many coloring pages. I have a binding machine but I think you can take it into an office store and get it spiraled bound for a few bucks. I also include room for a daily journal so they can keep track of how far we have gone- what we did each day and then we keep those so when we scrapbook our trip we can remember what we did each day and any special moments.
Inside of that handy ice chest, be sure the pack a few energy drinks to help keep the drivers alert and awake! Also, gum can come in handy for that as well.
My best travel tip (especially for car trips) is to pack smart. You can save a lot of time by not having to rummage through the trunk every time you stop at a rest stop and you can avoid some stops if your frequently used items are within reach. My second travel trip – always bring your own pillow, even when staying in a hotel. I sleep so much better on my own pillow.
Play the I Spy / Alphabet game, this really keeps my 8yr old entertained. Whoever finds all letters of the alphabet first wins (using license plates, billboards, restaurant signs, etc).
DeLane
bc0105@aol.com
Take rest stop "picnic" breaks. Individual snack bags and bags of their own personal "quiet" toys and books. Small travel pillows for naps. For the older kids, a travel map so they can keep up with the progress of the trip. And NEVER take boiled eggs in the cooler for a snack!
Stop often at rest stops, take a bag or 10 for trash in the car, and sleep WELL the night before.
Pack each kid's outfits, down to the hair ribbon, in separate zip loc bags. No more wadded up clothing in the suitcase or searching for a pair of socks.
Wow tons of ideas and many are ones I use as a former military family we have traveled lots! One i didn't see that I have done is have a clip board for each child (i printed travel games, like the states game, tic tac toe, hangman, etc… and covered with clear contact paper the child can use the clip board to hold paper, coloring pages, etc.. or to play one of the gmaes then wipe it off when they are done. We usually have a seperate travel bag for each child with books, MP3 player, and any misc they may want to bring along. Also we freeze several bottles of water and juice pouches and place in the cooler with fruit and cut up veggies, cheese, the little snacks seem to help our car sick kiddo's. Hope these will be of help to some one else.
Christina
http://ohmommaok.blogspot.com
ohmommaok@yahoo.com
My travel tip: if/when flying a baby carrier is a must for any child under age 2. I either use an Ergo or a Didymos wrap and it makes it so much easier to get on and off the plane then using a stroller. Also, always check the airport websites before you fly to find out if any of the airports you are flying through have play areas. These are wonderful(and mostly clean) places to let the kids run and play and are usually equipped with family bathrooms next to them. (I fly from Alaska to Florida often to visit family:-)
For long trips I make sure my 8 and 5 year old have…
1) Their own water bottle in nearby cupholder.
2) A backpack w/ a spiral notebook and pencil for doodling, books to read, and a couple of small toys.
3) Mess free snacks already broken up into little snack ziploc bags so their handy to toss to the back of the van where we can't reach.
4) And most importantly….
THE DECORATED BARF BOWL always makes it in the vand in case of…well, you know.
My tip…make sure you know lots of silly kids songs so you can spend the time singing goofy songs.
I have three children and I have them each pack their own "car bag" They can include whatever they want. Books, crayons, knitting stuff….etc. That way they can have no complaints, they packed it themselves.
I "rotate" toys… and save special sticker books, and travel games hidden away- and only pull them out for long car trips- AND my girls have their own Kleen Kanteens with the sports top for the journey.
When my brothers and I were young we had "Car Kits". It was a plastic storage container that we got to fill up with whatever we wanted to take along on our trip. It had to fit in that box and we each got our own. Usually it was coloring books and crayons and stencils, a travel trouble game and some small cars or other toys. It always helped keep us entertained.
I agree wholeheartedly about your idea for drinks and ssnackd, they can get so darn expensive on the road! And each stop takes so much time
Well, if you had asked BEFORE your trip, I would have totally shared the "take a cooler of drinks" tip with you! After 4 drives to Disney World I have LEARNED.
My other tip would be to take a mini medicine cabinet with you. Mine has Tylenol and Pepto Bismol always (also childrn's versions), Dramamine for car sickness (me!), a few Band-aids and Neosporin for good measure. If one of the kids gets an upset stomach, no more stopping in the middle of the night at a gas station and paying $15 for a bottle of Pepto! LOL
Corinna
My travel tip is to give each child a roll of coins, nickels, dimes or quarters. Then every time they nag 'Are we there yet' they lose a coin. Whatever they have left is theirs to spend at the destination. Only takes losing a few coins for them to get the idea. Of course, this doesn't work on toddlers.
My travel tip (for long trips) is to buy a few items (they can be inexpensive) that your child has never seen before & then pull them out in the car when they are close to melting down. We traveled to FL recently & this helped us tremendously.
My travel tip (for long trips) is to buy a few items (they can be inexpensive) that your child has never seen before & then pull them out in the car when they are close to melting down. We traveled to FL recently & this helped us tremendously.
My travel tip (for long trips) is to buy a few items (they can be inexpensive) that your child has never seen before & then pull them out in the car when they are close to melting down. We traveled to FL recently & this helped us tremendously.
Definitely Dramamine! For my family, anyway, that's top priority. My daughter suffers from motion sickness – we learned this the hard way!
We could not arrive sane without the "trash bag" to keep the vehicle from being totally "trashed". Also a cooler with snacks and drinks.
Kid friendly CDs – and adjust the radio so it only plays in the back! The honey and I have great conversations while they are jamming away!
Kid friendly CDs – and adjust the radio so it only plays in the back! The honey and I have great conversations while they are jamming away!