Let’s just be honest here, traveling with kids is no joke. You will definitely arrive at your destination with a few new gray hairs, more if the trip takes longer than 6 hours. But I have listed a few of my go to traveling items for surviving long journeys with your children. That way, hopefully, you can arrive at your destination ready to make some wonderful memories!
Traveling must have #1
Activities, activities, activities!
When preparing for a long journey, I spend a day or two collecting activities for my children to do. I usually do this a couple weeks beforehand so that it gets done sooner rather than later. And then its also becomes one less thing I have to try and plan for the 2-3 days before we leave.
Some of my must have activities/supplies are…
- A pencil box filled with crayons, markers, pencils, tape, and children’s scissors (one box per child and labeled- cuts down on arguing!)
- Plain drawing paper
- Notebook
- Coloring books
- Activity books (you can find activity books at the dollar store or walmart)
- A drawing table if we are traveling by car
Traveling must have #2
Tech Devices!
I do not leave home without a few techy entertainment devices. After an hour or 2 of coloring and creating, a device works great for settling down for that first nap or just a little quiet time for the parents. These tech devices include…
- Comfortable, child-friendly headphones
- CD player, mp3 device
- DVD player and DVDs
- Children’s tablet (or tablet that the kids are able to use without accidentally going where they shouldn’t)
- Gaming device
We like to pack a selection of movies for the kids to choose from. Certainly quite a few more than is ever necessary. To pack the DVDs, we use a CD case that holds a lot of DVDs, while using up minimum space. I like to bring a wide variety, as well as making it a mix of shows, animated, and live action movies. Make sure all devices have been charged to full battery, you have extra batteries, and adapters for the devices that you bring. I pack all the tech devices and supplies in one bag and keep it by my seat so that small feet don’t accidentally step or kick any expensive equipment.
Travel must have #3
All things cozy!
I know me and my kids can’t take a long trip without some items of comfort. These include…
- Travel pillows
- Cozy blanket
- Beloved stuffed animal
Make sure these items are in a place your child can grab easily, but not where they are likely to be stepped on by dirty shoes!
Travel must have #4
Snacks!!!
Traveling is the one time where it is typically ok to eat much more frequently than you do at home. Even if our car ride is 3 or 4 hours, we have a bag of snacks and drinks. I’ve even packed snacks and drinks for a 1 hour car ride, and it was so worth it!
My traveling snack choices depend largely on where, how long, and type of trip we are going on. I certainly pack different food if we are going on a 3 hour car ride vs an 8 hour flight! So you will need to think about the logistics of your trip and decide which snacks will travel best. I have included all of our standard travel snacks…
- Granola bars
- Cut fruits (apples travel especially well)
- Cut veggies
- Snack sized bags of teddy grahams, gold fish, animal crackers, fruit snacks, etc
- Mini bags of chips
- Juice bottles (because they have a lid they are preferred over juice boxes/pouches for traveling)
- Mini water bottles
Travel tip!
Depending on the length of the trip, it is important to arrange the activities so your tech devices won’t die too early into the trip, and your child won’t get bored from doing all their activities in the first few hours. We usually start using the devices after the first 2-3 hours, depending on the trip. That way we start with activities, have a snack, spend about 2 or so hours on a device, have another snack, and repeat for the duration of the journey. So far it has been a system that has worked out well for our trips.
However, I try to limit the drinks to 1 every couple of hours so that we aren’t stopping 20 times to use the bathroom!
I hope these travel tips help reduce your stress when planning family trips and vacations with your children, and that you can enjoy traveling with your children!