Roadtrip Tips

Recently, my family (husband, myself, and 5-year-old son) went on a 13-hour roadtrip to Washington, D.C. From Illinois. Then, we came back after 3 days there. That may sound a little crazy to some people. It sounds crazy to me! However, it was for a good cause. My husband's cousin was getting married and we wanted to be there so we did the best we could and made it there and back in one piece.

I did my research ahead of time and planned the best I could. Roadtrips are hard. Especially with a little one. They're just so unpredictable. Are they going to sleep? Are they going to throw fits because they're so tired? Are they going to entertain themselves? Are they going to need you to entertain them? You never really know until you're on the road.

Let's start out with the packing of the car. I think the best piece of advice I can give you is to have everything you might need within reach. I even bought a 3 drawer organizer to help us with this. I kept snacks, travel gifts (more on that later), and things to entertain the adults in this. It was a great thing to have handy. My husband and I (whoever wasn't driving) sat in the back with our son so we kept the drawers in the passenger seat, facing the driver so that the driver or the person sitting in back could reach them.

The thing I find to be most helpful with my 5yo son is to bring travel gifts. I buy little toys and things that will entertain my son on our trip and then wrap them like presents (usually in tissue paper rather than wrapping paper to make it easier to open) and then number them. I let my son open them about 1 every 2 hours. Sometimes more often depending on how many gifts I end up buying.
Some ideas for travel gifts:
1. Playpack – there are so many different ones to choose from! They have everything from Star Wars to Hello Kitty to Minions to Inside Out.
2. Small Lego sets – we have one of those awesome travel trays so the Legos stay in one place, but if you don't have one of these awesome trays, bring along something else, like a cookie sheet to keep all the Legos in one place.
3. Coloring Books – I particularly like the Color Wonder books. That way, there is a guarantee of no mess (how often can you say that?).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!
5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.

Take breaks as often as you need them. I know there are some people out there that say to take a break every couple of hours. But I'm here to tell you that as long as you have gas in your tank and a sleeping child in the backseat, DO NOT STOP unless you have to. The ride will go so much smoother if you don't have a whiny child. We left at 5am and my son doesn't usually take naps, but sometimes, traveling just makes everyone tired!

Play games. You can play the license plate game or travel versions of regular games (battleship) or paper games (tic-tac-toe or hangman). There are so many options out there!

These are just a few tips to help you on your roadtrip. I hope they help you on your next adventure.