Activities to entertain children during road trips and family vacations

July 5, 5:02 PMFrugal Family ExaminerMelissa Newby

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If you have a family vacation coming up, stock yourself well with activities for your children.  Children who are kept busy and entertained travel much better than children who get bored. Keeping children busy in trips doesn't need a lot of money.  It just takes a little planning ahead and a little creativity. 

New activities, games, and toys

Stock your car or carry-on bag with some never before seen goodies.  Before your trip, borrow or make small and quiet toys that you think will hold your child's attention.  Or, if you don't want to buy something new, grab a couple toys from your current supply and put them away several weeks before your trip.  When you pull them out on the trip, it will have been a while since your child played with them and it will be almost like getting a new toy. For older children, consider visiting the library or used book store for some new reading matter for the trip. Or buy them a guide book about your destination and have them help plan activities for your family vacation. 

Plan for breaks
Even the best entertained children are going to need a chance to stretch their legs and burn off some energy.  If you're driving, look for parks and playgrounds along your route and plan a rest stop with a picnic lunch and time to run.  If you're flying, consider scheduling your flights with a longer layover.  While it may sound initially counterintuative to extend your travel time, rest stops and breaks give everybody a chance to move around, get something to eat, and get back traveling a little more refreshed. 

Ration what you hand out

It's not a good feeling to be an hour into a 5 hour trip and have already handed out your last activity.  Manage the toys you hand out and save a couple especially interesting ones for when moods are starting to falter toward the end of the trip.  Plan for unexpected delays and keep a couple extras in reserve in case of a delayed flight or last minute traffic jam.  Even if your children are old enough to have packed their own activities, throw some extras in your bag too, in case they get bored with what they packed. 

 Wrap it up

Wrapped presents aren't just for birthdays.  Grab some toys from around the house and wrap them.  Use grocery bags, the comics, old art projects, or anything else you can think of as wrapping paper.  Get creative with your wrapping by using layers and layers of paper or taping all the seams.  The goal is the keep your children busy as long as possible with trying to unwrap the gift.  Mix in a couple new toys with the wrapped goodies to keep your child guessing about what's inside. 

Make project kits

If your children like crafts and art projects, consider assembling simple art kits.  A kit could include a small sketch pad and several colored pencils, or some colored paper and stickers.  Pack some dental floss and cereals with holes and make edible necklaces. Keep each kit small and include just what you need for one activity.  That makes it easy to grab a bag when your child wants something to do and to clean up when they're done. 

What's your favorite way to keep children entertained on trips?  Have you found a great way to ward off the cries of "I'm bored" or "Are we there yet?"  Share your ideas in the comments.