Are you planning a long, summer road trip with your family? If so, you might be worried about the road trip boredom that can set in. Such boredom can make a long drive feel even longer, and make your nerves feel even shorter.
Instead of suffering, take a look at these 30 boredom busting road trip activities for kids. These activities are easy to enjoy in the car, don’t cost much, and can result in a more peaceful and entertaining trip. Here is how to get started.
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1. Give the children disposable cameras so they can document the journey. Invite them to take a photo every 30 minutes. Of course, they can only snap a pic if quiet and following directions!
2. Get some dollar store treats and wrap them up in gift wrap. Let the children open one gift every 30 minutes to an hour. Choose items that can serve as entertainment as well, such as crayons or sticker books.
3. Make a car ride eye spy game. Create a list of items for kids to look for and allow them to cross of the items as they see them. Examples: Purple car, Florida license plate, dog in the passenger seat, etc.
4. Make coloring boxes. Fill a shoe box with coloring books and crayons for easy coloring.
5. Make Lego boxes. Fill a shoe box with Legos for kids to enjoy. A cookie sheet is ideal for building on.
6. Have fun with magnets. Give children a cookie sheet and letter magnets to create words on.
7. Choose some family friendly sing a long CDs. Or, listen to a sing a long station on Pandora.
8. Window markers to decorate their windows with.
9. Don’t underestimate the power of books. Give each child a book bin (shoebox) to explore and read from.
10. Stock up on crossword puzzle books and workbooks from the local dollar store.
11. Give children a small voice recorder to sing into and listen to themselves with. They can even tell jokes or record their own radio show.
12. Try a dry erase board and markers for some coloring fun.
13. Have children make a list of all of the various license plates they see.
14. Have children collect brochures from each stop and make a scrapbook from them.
15. Download free games on your ipad and ipod devices. There are literally thousands!
16. Create baggies of pretzels or veggie sticks and small containers of ranch dip. Nothing keeps kids quiet like food.
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17. Make sensory bottles. Fill an empty water bottle with water, a little oil, and glitter. Replace the lid and let children shake them and watch the magic.
18. A little play dough and a cookie sheet can be fun. Kids will love making shapes and even “cookies.”
19. Cut various shapes out of felt. Let children arrange the shapes to make pictures on another piece of felt.
20. Older children may enjoy braiding colorful yarn or ribbon. They can make bracelets or even necklaces this way.
21. Give children a sticker to add to a sticker book for every 30 minutes you are in the car.
22. Make your own lunch bag puppets prior so you can put on a puppet show while traveling.
23. Let your child bring his or her favorite doll. Pack a shoebox of accessories for them to care for the doll during the trip.
24. Get a book of jokes and let children tell them to each other.
25. Give them a glue stick, magazine, scissors, and paper to make a scrapbook or collage.
26. A mini chalkboard and chalk is fun for tracking the number of minutes or hours in the car.
27. Let children make a paper chain. Use one link per 30 minutes in the car. Let them cut off one link every half hour to count down the end of the drive.
28. Take a stuffed animal on the trip. Take photos of it doing funny things as you drive or stop at rest stops.
29. Rent stories on CD from your local library. They should have a huge children’s selection!
30. Dried macaroni and ribbon is perfect for necklace making and won’t make a huge mess. Just keep the macaroni in a plastic container.
Did you ever think a family road trip could be so fun? Give these road trip games and activities a try and see how smooth your next road trip can go!
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