Figuring out what to bring on a road trip can add stress to a vacation before it even starts! Even though the packing part can be a pain, I am a HUGE fan of road trips! My husband, not so much.
Probably one of the reasons my husband isn’t a huge fan of road trips is because he does most of the driving- but I’m the one that does that planning and packing so it’s a fair trade, right? 😉
As a result, I have gotten really good at fine tuning our list of road trip essentials for kids! So, if you have a road trip on the horizon this system is designed to help you figure out what to bring on a road trip with little kids!
How To Decide What to Bring on a Road Trip
When I sit down to determine what things to pack on a road trip, I like to first start with a blank sheet of paper. Making categories like this will guide you through the main scenarios that you need to make sure are covered. This process will also give you a check list! Start by writing out these sections on your page:
Write out each family members name
Write a section for items in the car
Write a section for items during meal and rest stops
Write a section for snacks
Organizing it in this way has proven to be priceless tri after trip! Since I started using this method, there has never been a time that I have forgotten anything from our list of road trip essentials for kids. And quite frankly, if we can keep our two little ones happy on a road trip, it makes the trip so much more enjoyable for us!
Road Trip Essentials for Kids
Since the last thing you want to do is find yourself snipping at your spouse because neither of you thought about how to entertain a toddler in a car for hours, I’ve got you covered!
Planning ahead for how to keep them entertained in the car, at rest stops and at food stops is really important. Being prepared will reduce the likelihood for meltdowns, in my personal experience.
How to Entertain a Toddler in the Car
Books
Books are always one of my favorite things to pack on a road trip because they are easy, don’t make noise and my kids absolutely love them! To make it special, let your children be the one to pick out a few of their favorite books to bring along.
Music
Singing different songs like ‘wheels on the bus and if you’re happy and you know it’ can only get you so far on a road trip! Make sure to either download a few children songs to your phone or grab a sing a long kids CD (that you can actually stand listening to) off of amazon.
Games
If you are looking for super-duper easy things to pack for a road trip that will keep your kids entertained, these games are it. These games basically require zero packing!
- I Spy with My Little Eye- This game is really versatile! Look for colors, certain objects or things that start with a letter.
- License plate game- You can adjust this game according to your child’s age but for my toddler we usually try and find a letter on a license plate.
- “I’m thinking of a character”- have each member of the family describe a character until someone guesses the character correctly. Whoever guesses correctly gets to think of the next character.
- Would you rather? – Talk about entertaining! Not only do my husband and I crack up playing this game, we love watching our daughter’s imagination at play.
Felt Books
These are the best invention ever! A felt board means fun for the kids and peace and quiet for the parents… literally I can’t see anything wrong with it! I usually find mine at the Target dollar shop for $3 but if you are a DIY’er, check out this felt book guide and make your own
Art
Arts and craft can get a little messy during the car so it is important to pick the right one! Otherwise you will be vacuuming glitter off the ceiling!
- Dry erasers are actually a really good distraction for kids! If you trust your little one enough, let them draw on the window with a dry erase marker. It wipes off easily and provides lots of fun!
- Dot markers and a blank piece of paper is a double win because it is fun and requires minimal clean up!
- Pipe cleaners and a bag of beads on a small tray with edges is a good fine motor skill activity for toddlers. Have your child make different patters using the multi colored beads to or mix it up to a counting game for added fun!
How to Entertain a Toddler at Rest Stops
Map out ahead of time some potential bathroom stops that also have a playground/park for the kids.
If your road trip is going to be longer than just a few hours, find a park along the way to let the kids stretch their legs and get their wiggles out! 15-20minutes of this and everyone will feel rejuvenated.
Side note: If you hit a stage of frustration and short tempers (toddlers or adults) along the way, take the extra time to stop and run out some energy at a park or check out my tips for how to stop a temper tantrum
In the absence of a park or open space for the kids to run around make sure and have these activities packed away in a separate bag you can pull out during rest stops:
- Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles! Bubbles are such a key item on my list of road trip essentials for kids because it is one item that delivers fun for a wide range of ages and you can find bubbles really inexpensive.
- A blow up ball that can be inflated and deflated quickly to free up car space. You can usually find these (especially in the summertime) for pretty cheap at any drugstore.
- Songs with movement are a lifesaver! They are entertaining and will help your kids burn off energy. Check out our favorite animal, animal toddler movement song!
Meal Stops
A restaurant stop in the middle of a road trip can go one of two ways…I take no chances and like to be prepared.
In a separate bag, set aside a new color book, crayons, as well as a few stickers. All of these items can be found at a dollar store!
Trust me, if you have a road trip that is 13 hours long spending a few extra dollars to make sure you have all the road trip essentials for kids will be the BEST $5 you have ever spent!
I’m a huge fan in changing up the activities several times throughout a road trip so we usually only use stickers during meal stops.
What To Bring On A Road Trip: SNACKS!!
Snacks are an absolute necessity for any road trip! If you are trying to keep it on the healthier side, here is our usual list of road trip snacks:
In a small cooler bag:
- String Cheese
- Berries and/or grapes
- Beef Jerky
- Baby Carrots
- Black Olives
In a separate bag:
- Almonds (or other mixed nuts)
- Goldfish
- Dried cranberries
- Popcorn
- Apples
- Bananas
As you can tell, we really try and eat somewhat healthy and always have water on hand during a road trip. It is really tempting to go “all in” and pack nothing but treats, however we have found limiting the junk food has helped all of our moods throughout the trip! Nothing like an afternoon sugar crash half way through a road trip to really brighten the mood 😉.
The few treats we do pack are gummy worms (my favorite!), a few pieces of chocolate in case nothing else works and we need to bribe my kids (it happens to us all!) and of course we always make sure to stop for ice cream!
Other road trip snack essentials:
Extra empty sandwich bags or reusable snack cups
Small garbage bag
Handwipes/ hand sanitizer
Napkins (extra napkins if you have 2 toddlers like me!)
Time to Drive!
Follow along with this list and you will know exactly what things to pack on a road trip and your road trip essentials for kids will be totally covered!
If you are not one usually to plan ahead trust me, it is far better to take the time to plan ahead than find yourself asking how to entertain a toddler when you are hours away from home, and hours away from your destination 😉.
When it comes to deciding what to bring on a road trip whose responsibility is it in your family? Share with me in the comments below!
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