Help!! What do you pack for a long car trip includes 6 yr old?

[poochie]

Leaving next weekend for our trip to Ocean City Maryland. It is about a 9-10 hour drive which I am including a couple of stops just to stretch legs and eat.

What does everyone pack for these trips? We will have our 6yr granddaugther with us. Looking for advise as we have not driven anywhere longer than 1 - 2 hours since we were newly weds. Most of our trips we fly (WDW of course) and occasional a train. We have a mid size car rented thru Alamo. Just do not want to forget anything.

 

[dingleberry]

I have made multiple trips with my kids (ages ranging from 6 to 12) from N.H. to WDW and back. 20+ hours each way.

1. A pillow and blanket. Even if it is not night time, the kids seem to be less antsy when smothered in their blanket and pillow from home.

2. A cooler with cold drinks and some snacks.

3. A portable DVD player. They are pretty cheap now. Just think...she gets caught up in a couple disney movies, and 3+ hours have already gone by!

These are the 3 things that seem to keep my kids occupied.

Have a safe drive, and enjoy your vacation!

 

[poochie]

I have made multiple trips with my kids (ages ranging from 6 to 12) from N.H. to WDW and back. 20+ hours each way.

1. A pillow and blanket. Even if it is not night time, the kids seem to be less antsy when smothered in their blanket and pillow from home.

2. A cooler with cold drinks and some snacks.

3. A portable DVD player. They are pretty cheap now. Just think...she gets caught up in a couple disney movies, and 3+ hours have already gone by!

These are the 3 things that seem to keep my kids occupied.

Have a safe drive, and enjoy your vacation!

Items 1 and 2 were already on my list.

#3 stroke of genius. Already own one of these so just need to remember to charge it prior to our leaving.

Thank you

 

[Chelley00]

I fix our kids each their own travel bucket wih things from dollar stores, Target dollar spot etc: usually things like activity books, markers and pens (no crayons.. They melt!) small toys, stickers. I also include a new movie or two and a couple of snack they can have at will and a teeny bottle of water. We also take along a frisbee or ball to run off steam at rest areas.

 

[Alesia]

I agree with dingleberry's list and add:

4) DS or other personal video game device.

5) coloring book and crayons (but make sure you bring the crayons with you when you get out of the car so they don't melt.)

6) headphones for that DVD player.

7) an MP3 player, if she has one.

 

[emksmama]

How about kids books on CD? We don't have a portable DVD player and our girls have done three 8 hr car trips and a 22 hr car trip just fine. Books, washable markers, pencils (regular & colored), twistables crayons, sketch pads, mini mp3 players for their music, and a few snacks!
Check out momsminivan.com for awesome travel games too!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Everyone has given my best suggestions - activity books, DVDs, pillows, video games. I thought I'd add my solution for the melting crayons - colored pencils. We didn't want markers in the car, either, as they often end up on the carpet or seats with the cap off. ETA: I should have read the PP, lol, I see emksmama mentioned this, too.

Have fun! We used to take many car trips with our 3 kids as my DH is afraid to fly. Many long 20+ hour drives to Florida, one 3-week driving trip through the Southwest and southern California.

One of my kids' favorite memories from our many drives is the stops we made for our picnic lunches. We packed sandwiches and snacks, and found parks and places of interest along the route to eat. It gave them time to run off some energy, wind down from the stress of close proximity to their siblings and see the little things they miss while in the car. No matter how often we pointed out interesting sights out the window, they rarely saw it. Getting out of the car in a park was just the thing for young minds and they all talk about those moments more than any others.

 

[Butterbunkins]

Age appropriate books. By the age of four I was a big reader and it used to get me through all of car trips long or short. Getting lost in books makes the time go by fast. For a six year old I would suggest a bigger book with a lot of short stories rather than a bunch of smaller books. They are more likely to keep reading if it's just a flip of page.

 

[MidgeD79]

We use beach towels (Disney of course) instead of blankets and I also make a Disney pillowcase (using graphic from the creative community forum) with each childs name in it.

 

[dzorn]

Age appropriate books. By the age of four I was a big reader and it used to get me through all of car trips long or short. Getting lost in books makes the time go by fast. For a six year old I would suggest a bigger book with a lot of short stories rather than a bunch of smaller books. They are more likely to keep reading if it's just a flip of page.

Just remember for some people reading in the car will cause motion sickness. We have gone to books on tape. And a comfortable set of head phones in case you do not want to listen to dvd, mp3 player.

Also remember you can rent movies from and Redbox and return then to another. We always purchased 1-2 new movies that DD has not seen.


Denise in MI