Road trips are excellent fun as the holiday can begin as soon as everyone is in the car. Keeping kids occupied throughout the journey can be a bit of a challenge if you’re going a long distance. That said, there are plenty of ways you can make it a fun experience from playing games and quizzes to planning stop-offs and storytelling.
Fun ideas for road trips:
- Get quizzical
- Games
- Out of the window
- Plan stop-offs
- Get them reading
- Or make up a story!
- Get snappy
- A puzzle game
- Give them a snack!
- Let them role play
1. Get quizzical
The initial part of a journey is a brilliant time to everyone to get excited about the holiday. A quiz-based games like Liar Liar is fast-paced and easy to play. The game comes with 3 statements on each card – one lie and two truths. Roll the dice to select your fact and read it aloud, seeing if you can persuade your opponents that you’re being entirely truthful whilst keeping a straight face!
2. Games
Games don’t need to be quiz-based and if you need some peace and quiet in the front, the kids can play their own games in the back. Great options include IQ Love a single player puzzle game with 120 logic challenges, Little Pack of Optical Illusions or May Contain Butts and Plop Trumps are good fun! For older children, there’s always classics like Pac-Man and Tetris along with the brilliant Spinning Zzzopa Ball. If parents are involved, why not play Smart Ass the fast paced trivia game.
3. Out the window
Often, there’s nothing more amusing than what’s on the other side of the car window. So encourage the children to enjoy what’s around them. Maybe make a game out of it!
4. Plan stop-offs
If you have a long journey, it’s worthwhile considering where you might stop off along the way. Taking a break from the car is an excellent way to boost energy levels. Places with green space are an excellent option and some may even have play areas as well as those essential facilities! You could take toys like a Smart Ball, Rainbow Dancer Ribbon Wand or Sonic Booma Boomerang with you too just in case.
5. Get them reading
Reading in the car is an option if there’s not too much looking down. Books like Gross FACTopia! are fantastic options as there are 400 crazily connected facts to marvel at. The kids will definitely want to share some of those like how high a pig can jump? The Science Myths Debunked is also good fun – an addictive book of the greatest untruths.
6. Or make up a story!
And if books aren’t amusing them or they don’t want to look down, use the close quarters to make up your own stories. You can go on for hours each adding a sentence to a story – make sure someone writes it down so you can track what nonsense you came up with.
7. Get snappy
Driving through beautiful scenery is a great time to explore your creativity. So, if you have a camera or phone to hand, get them to appreciate the great outdoors! If they don’t have a taste for photography, try and make a game out of it – write a list of things to take pictures of, and see how long it takes them. A nice activity if you get stuck in traffic.
8. A puzzle game
A long car journey is totally the perfect time to give the mind something to mull over – and no, that doesn’t mean contemplating what’s for dinner. Keep the children perplexed in the back with this Metal Puzzle Set – before you know it, they’ll want the journey to carry on just for extra puzzle time!
9. Give them a snack!
Snacks are an essential for car journeys, even if you have planned stops. So come prepared with snacks to save the day! Crackers, breadsticks and other healthier options like carrot batons are good options. Longer trips, it might even be worth taking some sandwiches and keeping them fresh in a cool box.
10. Let them role play
And what better to do when you’re in the car is to pretend you’re not there at all! Encourage the children to transport their minds out of the car and into their untamed imaginations! Prompt them with characters from their favourite films, and watch their adorable and comical impressions of iconic scenes.
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I thought I’d tell you a brilliant time-travel joke, but you didn’t like it.
