Clever Ways To Keep The Kids Busy In a Long Trip

Every family needs a vacation from time to time. It’s important to get out of your daily mundane routines, take the kids out of the house and have a bit of quality time and a lot of fun! And what better way to do that than to take a trip? The only setback that you might be faced with, especially if it’s a long drive or flight, is that the kids are likely to get bored and restless.

So what can you do to keep them busy? You’re going to have to get pretty creative! So to take your mind off thinking up of ideas, we’re going to provide you with a couple of options so that you can have a comfortable and stress-free trip!

ACTIVITY PACK

Activity packs alone should be able to take up a big chunk of time for the kids, because you can fill it with pretty much anything under the sun! You have the option to either make one yourself, you can also buy ready-made activity packs if you don’t find the time to do it yourself.

If you’re traveling by car, then it’s a good idea that you get organization compartments for the kids to keep the items from their packs in to avoid the mess getting out of hand. There are a variety of options for car organizers and the creators of Lusso Gear will show you some really cool varieties that just may be the answer to your needs.

Things like play-doh, balloons, snakes & ladders, paper so they can do origami or make aeroplanes, coloring books, the list can go on and on! See what your children love and if it’s small enough and compact enough to carry, add it to the activity pack. 

AUDIOBOOKS

This is an incredibly effective way to keep the kids busy, regardless of whether you’re traveling by plane or by car. You can download a couple of audiobooks, and either have it on the phone so they can use headphones, or you could just play it on the car’s sound system so that everyone can listen along. Depending on how old your kids are, you’ll find different options.

Try to pick audiobooks that are not super long because they’re probably going to space out if it goes on for too long. It won’t hurt for them to have the book along with the audio as well because it helps them to keep their focus. This will definitely kill a lot of time, and keep them calm. 

GAMES & TREATS

If you’re traveling by car, then look up a couple of games that you can all play together, like ‘I spy’ or the name game, where you say a word and then the next person has to think of a word that starts with the same letter it ends with, and so on.

You can go online and do a bit of research, because there are a ton of travel games that you can play that are actually a ton of fun and will have you laughing and bonding in no time! Take it to the next level by having a reward for whoever wins, and always have a bunch of treats with you so that you actually have a reward to offer!

When you buy the treats, make sure that they’re not the kind that will make too much of a mess or get too sticky and have a good amount of wet wipes on you in case things do get messy! For plane rides, you can get card games like Uno or just normal cards.

There are a lot of board games that have been changed into card games particularly for travel, and there are also board games that have travel versions, such as Scrabble. You could probably use these in the car as well because they are compact and easy to put away. Not to mention really addictive and fun as well!

If all else fails, you always have the technology to turn to! Prepare yourself by having your tablet charged, and download a couple of games that are appropriate for your children, and see if they can be played offline too, because you want to play it safe- this is especially important for the plane rides, because there’s no internet available.

There are a lot of really cool, educational options too, so look into that. This is something that you’re definitely going to have to prepare for in advance. If you have more than one child, you need to organize the time frames and the order they will be playing in so that there are no fights.

JOURNALS & PHOTOS

When you travel, you want to teach your kids the value of making memories and recording them as well, because they will really be valuable when they are older. Get each of your kids a notebook that will now only serve the purpose of being their travel journals, and get them pens that they will only use on this trip. You can even buy a couple of stickers and colors so they can really have fun with it.

Another aspect you want to include into the journal keeping is photography. You can either get them disposable cameras or the polaroid style cameras.

Yes, they can use their phones to take pictures as well, and you should encourage them to do that, but using actual cameras has a different feel to it, and it’s something they should definitely be exposed to. Then, once the photos are developed, they can make it a part of their journals!

All these ideas are not only great for keeping your children busy and preoccupied, so that they don’t get restless, but they also add a bit of substance to the trip. You’ll be teaching your children the value of communicating with one another, the importance of bonding, and that there is life beyond their phones and technology.

They’ll be learning new things even before they reach your holiday destination! So you’ve already set the mood for a great, unforgettable trip right from the moment you step out of the house.