“You want to do what?”, was my reaction the first time my husband told me he wanted to drive 24hr down to Florida to visit my mom. At the time, we only had 2 kids, which should have been a piece of cake compared to the 4 now. My eldest was 4 at the time, and my son was 1 1/2. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! The only road trip with kids we’d gone on was with a 2 month old (who mostly slept) for an 8 hour road trip to Niagara Falls.
24 hours was 3 times that length! And no one would be sleeping the whole time! Let me tell you, it was a DISASTER!!! My son cried almost the whole way, making himself throw up in Georgia! It took me a week to recover when we got there. The worst part was knowing we had to go through it all over again on the way back home! Needless to say, the following time, we flew down LOL! But, we did try again when I was pregnant with baby #3 and we started getting better at taking road trips with kids. We’ve done it a few times now, and these are my tips and tricks to have as smooth a trip as possible.
Packing for the Trip.
Clothing
If you’re going a longer distance than you’ll be able to go in a day, you will obviously be sleeping at a hotel. My first tip is to pack a carry-on that you will only be taking out for hotel stays. That way when you stop late at night and you’re exhausted, you’ll only have to lug your children and one piece of luggage in. If you’re staying more than one night, I suggest having everyone’s outfits already selected. Fold them up together ( layout your shirts and fold in your pants/shorts, undies, and socks) for each day. If you have a baby, tuck diapers into each outfit as well. Doing so will ensure your luggage stays neat and tidy. Your mornings and nights will be so much easier. Don’t forget to take into account weather changes as you’ll be traveling as well.
Activities
If there’s anything to retain from this blog post, it’s this section! Our first trip may have failed due to the lack of activities I’d planned. You need to plan according to the amount of time you’ll be on the road. You definitely don’t need as many activities for a few-hour road trip. When we drove down this past November with 4 kids in tow, including a teething 8-month-old, is when I felt like I finally got it right.
I purchased cheap laptop pouches from Dollarama to keep each child’s activities in. That prevented them from ending up all over the car. I also got 2 cheap bins from there, one to keep those pouches inside, and the other to keep the snacks in. At the end of each day, I would tidy up and make sure everything was in its rightful place.
For the baby, I brought lots of things to chew on lol. Teething mitten, teething rings, silicone rainbow, fabric books, Pop-its, Squigz, silicone blocks, and magnetic tiles. She was definitely the hardest one to keep busy. I had to switch out her toys every ten minutes or so. The trick with her was to alternate between toys and snacks. Puffs were a big hit for her. I gave them to her snack cup which kept her very busy, along with her water bottle.
For the older kids, felt busy books, re-stickable sticker books, no-mess coloring books, writing tablet with backlight, coloring books and Crayola twistable, mini Etch-a-Sketch, magnetic tiles, Spot It game, Uno, Go-Fish cards, story dices, Pop-its, books, a case full of Legos, and one full of wooden train tracks. As much as I would like to say that was all I brought, I also brought our Nintendo Switch, and we have TVs in the car. I tried to keep any electronics for later in the day when the kids were restless. This game them a variety of things to do. They could play together or independently.
I made some lap boards, although you can purchase some (they are crazy expensive). But if you want to go the DIY route, this is what I did. I purchased metal cookie sheets from Dollarama and with scraps of fabric I had, sewed a pouch and filled it with foam balls. The kind you find in a beanbag chair. I then used a glue gun to stick it to the back of the sheets. Since they are made of metal, the kids could easily play on them with their magnetic tiles! The rim around the edge was great so their Legos, trains, and cards wouldn’t fall all over the car. They were also great to eat on.
Snacks
The second most important thing on a road trip with kids is the snacks! You can never have enough snacks in the car lol unless you don’t mind stopping every hour because someone is hungry. If you have space for a small cooler, packing some cut-up fruits, veggies, and cheese is a great idea for the first day. I try and have as many healthy snacks as possible. I love dry fruits and nuts. For the road trip, anything that was individually packaged worked best. Crackers, fruit cups, apple sauces, Rice Krispies. I also baked our favorite oatmeal-zucchini cookies. I always pack little plastic bowls or cups for loose snacks. And we can’t forget about the husband, I always pack lots of candy and junk for him lol.
Other Essentials
Here are some other things you might not think of to have on hand. We always have the insert of a potty with us. Older kids can let you know before they need to go to the bathroom, but not toddlers! When they need to go, they need to go NOW!!! Quickly pull over for a pee, and if it’s #2, line the potty with a diaper or bag for easy clean-up ;). I always have baby wipes and paper towels in the car for messes. Toilet paper and Kleenex as well. Don’t forget plastic bags or zip locks in case someone is sick. Bring some neck pillows and little blankets for the kids when they’re tired. And don’t forget reusable water bottles!
The Road Trip
One of my greatest tips for going on a road trip with kids is… drive while they sleep! If someone is napping…keep driving. We tried to drive as much as we could at night when the kids were asleep. We wake early in the morning and go eat the complimentary breakfast at the hotel lobby, go back up, pack up and leave. My husband and I then try and find a decent cup of coffee lol, gas up, and hit the road. We try and do a long stretch in the morning, usually stopping around lunchtime to get out, eat, and stretch. Getting the kids to run around somewhere at this time is a wonderful idea.
We try and drive till dinner time without stopping. After dinner, I get everyone ready for bed, and we drive till we stop for the night.
Hotels
Most hotels are made for families of 4. So when we added baby #4 to the mix and brought up our total to 6, we struggled to find places to stay…Until we discovered Homewood Suites by Hilton. It’s fast become our favorite place to stay. The rooms are always clean and there’s always a hot breakfast full of variety. The Suite with 2 Queen beds or Studio both sleep 6 and are so roomy. The rooms will have 2 Queen beds and a pull-out couch. They have a little kitchenette and a fridge. We are so glad we discovered this hotel chain.
It’s hard to pinpoint when and where you’ll be stopping for the night. Here’s how we book our hotels. We’ll usually stop driving around 10 or 11 at night. As co-pilot, I will usually check out the GPS after dinner and see around that time what area we will be in. I will then go on Booking.com, and select the surrounding area hotels that are available for that night. I will then book straight from my phone. After that, we drive up at the end of the night, quickly check in, get our room keys and bring the kids in for the night.
Aside from traveling with a teething baby to Florida and back, I feel like is was a smooth road trip this time around. It’s so exhausting to take a road trip with kids, but these are memories the kids will cherish forever. We felt so fortunate to be able to travel to the states once more and see Grandma.
I hope this blog post helps you plan your next road trip. Follow along on Instagram! You can find a Highlight named Travel for videos of my tips and tricks. Thank you for stopping by today!
Elisa
