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Family holidays are always great fun. Whether it’s a long weekend camping trip or a week-long holiday exploring a brand new place, there are always meaningful memories to be made. However, before you can truly relax, you first need to reach your chosen destination.
Travelling itself is often the trickiest thing about a trip away, especially when you have kids in tow. In this day and age, there’s no reason why your children should be bored in the back seat on long drives, however.
Here are just a few ways to keep kids occupied while travelling:
1. Games
Whether they’re card, dice or guessing-based, games are a fun and easy way to keep kids occupied while travelling to your family holiday destination.
Card decks are easy to carry around ,and are perfect for countless games for different ages. Plus, there are plenty of great card game options outside of a standard deck, such as UNO, Go Fish and Snap.
If card games aren’t your kid’s favourite, there are plenty of board games to pick from instead. You can even get magnetic travel versions, so the pieces don’t fly everywhere.
Another great tip if you’re looking to avoid stray pieces and cards, is to choose games that don’t require any equipment – ‘I Spy’ is a road trip favourite for a reason!
2. Books & magazines
Books are a great way to spark children’s imagination, as well as to pass time during a long journey. Stock up on a new favourite book, or bring an old, reliable title from home. You might also want to look into a Kindle. This e-reader gives you and your kids access to unlimited books in digital form, so you don’t have the hassle of carting a physical copy everywhere with you. It also comes with its own light, so you don’t have to worry if you’re travelling late in the afternoon, or at night.
For kids that suffer from motion sickness, an audiobook is a great way to encourage quiet time, while also keeping them entertained.
Magazines are a great alternative to books as they are cheaper, lighter and provide a variety of content and puzzles, which will keep your kids entertained for hours. You can get fun, educational book and magazines from experts like those at tuttletwins.com. Their kids’ resources encourage critical thinking, love of learning and more using engaging materials.
3. DIY craft packs & travel journals
A more creative solution to keep your kids’ boredom at bay is DIY craft packs. You can start with the basics, like some paper, crayons and pencils for travel sketches, so they can create masterpieces from the comfort of their car seats.
You could also compile a DIY craft pack for older children, consisting of perhaps a scrapbook, pens, and colouring pencils, so they can create and keep a travel journal, for example. Kids can write about, or draw the places they go to, the sites they see and the people they meet; no doubt it will become a treasured holiday or vacation keepsake for them to look back on in years to come.
4. Lego
There’s a reason why Lego is a classic toy. While the traditional coloured bricks have expanded over the years – with adult collector sets and those that involve building something specific, like a house or car – you can’t go wrong with a classic set to keep the kids occupied.
Most sets are themed to inspire your kids to build all sorts of masterpieces, from ocean life, to houses, and even landmarks and animals – there’s something for everyone!
A smaller kit means less pieces to lose in the cracks of the seat, however. You can also opt for a storage box, which is ideal for keeping your kids’ Lego masterpieces intact during long journeys, while also reducing the likelihood of any pieces going missing.
5. Activity kits
Activity kits are a great way to occupy your kids on a long car journey, keeping their minds engaged with a fun purpose.
Sticker activity books can keep younger children busy for hours. Filled with detailed scenes, like animal worlds and adventures on the road, there are tons of stickers for your kids to choose from to fill in the blanks.
For older children, craft-based activity kits can keep both minds and hands engaged. Origami kits can teach a new art form to enjoy and a cultural practice to appreciate, for example. Who knows, by the end of the journey, they may have even mastered making an animal or a plane!
These activity kits are budget-friendly, lightweight, and don’t take up much room, or leave a mess for you to clean up afterwards. Depending on where you’ll be going, you may even be able to find some new kits for your children to use on the journey home, perhaps even themed according to your chosen travel destination.
Wherever you’ll be travelling to, and however long you’ll be travelling for, bear in mind that, when it comes to travelling with kids, preparation is key! Spend a little time beforehand thinking about how you can keep your kids occupied, and you’ll be thanking yourself later.
And, don’t forget to think about what to pack too – from baby monitors to colouring books, you’ll be surprised at the range of essential travel items parents tend to forget when travelling with children.
What tactics do you use to keep your children occupied during a long journey? Share your top recommendations in the comment box below.
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