"Are We There Yet?" Entertainment For the Ride

Taking a long road trip with kids can prove to be a challenge.  If you're not equipped with a wide variety of entertainment, you might be in for a long ride!  Our kids have a six-year age span, so in order to ensure I am prepared for all of them, I spend about a month scouring dollar bins, Amazon, my Usborne stash, and finding forgotten treasures in our home. 

If you're heading on a long road trip, make a surprise bag for all of your children and keep it up front with you.  We have decided to share a surprise with our kids roughly every hour of our trip.  At first the kids are clock-watchers and love to remind us it is time for a surprise from the bag.  If they have had good behavior, I happily oblige.  As time goes on, though, they lose track of time a bit and I do my best to stretch it out.  If all goes well, I'll still have a few surprises left for the ride home!

So, what do I put in these bags?  Special treats, books, craft activities, activity books, and small toys to suit each of my kids.  No two bags are alike and the kids love to see what treasures I've found.  

Surprise Bag

I also have each of my kids assist me in packing a backpack.  They typically want to include a few of their favorite stuffed animals and books.  We also pack a notebook, pencil, and crayons, as well as a binder or folder filled with some road trip games, stickers, and maps.  I found many great printable pages for scavenger hunts, license plate games, and tic-tac-toe.  For our oldest son, I provide an outline of each state in the correct order.  We talk a bit about the capital and well-known cities and then I ask him to make some notes inside the state regarding what he sees.  This is a great way to keep track of our progress and he can keep the other kids updated on how many states we have left to go.  I purchased this road trip atlas for my older two to use during our travels as well. 

Last year I got lucky and found lap desks on clearance.  I picked one up for each of the kids, so they all have a flat surface with a light to work on their activities.

Lap Desks With a Light

I worked really hard to come up with an idea to keep my younger son busy.  He loves cars and I wanted to find a way he could play with them while on our trip.  I did it and he loved it!  Using a cookie sheet from The Dollar Tree, I created this road (and train track on the opposite side) so he could drive magnetic vehicles and trains as we were driving down the road.  It worked out pretty well and he is looking forward to getting it out again.  You could use this concept for anything from a castle to a jungle!

His other favorite activity was my sticker book stash I purchased from Usborne.  He has difficulty sticking with anything for long, but these did the trick and quickly became a favorite.  Several times throughout the trip he pleaded for his "homework."  I truly cannot recommend these enough!

The Coveted Sticker Book!

Of course the kids watch their fair share of DVD's.  You can pack your own or stop at a Redbox along the way, grab a movie, and exchange it in another city.  We do our best to take a break in between movies and not spend the whole time missing all of the scenery.  They are especially helpful, though, while our youngest naps.  Headphones are a blessing!  My husband and I take advantage of the quiet time and talk or turn on one of our favorite Pandora stations.  We need to have some fun, too!

If you're planning a long road trip, the time you spend prepping some fun entertainment for the kids will be well worth it.  Happy kids makes for a great day on the road!

Planning a Family Vacation: Finding Your Accommodations

You've made the decision to take a family vacation (good for you!), but where do you start?  Assuming you have already chosen your destination and set your budget, the first place to start is selecting your accommodations.  For some it may be a hotel and others it may be a less-traditional route such as a condo or vacation home rental.  Luckily, there are options for families of all sizes with a wide range of budgets.  Today I'll share a few tips for finding the perfect place to stay while you're away from home.

If you are choosing to stay in a hotel, may I first suggest finding a brand that suits your budget and sign up for their rewards program.  If you plan to do a lot of traveling, this can really work in your favor.  The points from those stays add up and a free night's stay is a wonderful perk and a way to save money over time.  Generally, hotel brand websites will guarantee the best price, so if you do find it cheaper on a website such as Hotels.com, Expedia, or Orbitz, you can send a quick email to get the rate and often a bonus discount as well.

My husband travels for his job and has chosen Hilton as his hotel brand of choice.  This works wonderfully for our family, since the majority of their hotels offer free breakfast.  We are partial to Homewood Suites, as it gives our large family the space we need for a reasonable price.  They also offer dinner Monday-Thursday, which is another way to save some money while on the road.  The Embassy Suites is also a great option, because they have a cook-to-order breakfast which gives us a full belly before hitting the road.

Once you sign up, be sure to watch for promotional emails which may offer bonus rewards such as double points.  Typically, you must take the time to sign up for the promotion on the website, but it only takes a few minutes and the return is well worth your time.  We have capitalized on the current double points promotion and will be using many free nights for our second big road trip of the summer.

If you would like to find a vacation rental, there are many great sites to check out.  We have stayed in many home rentals and love it!  My personal favorite is VRBO.  You can search your travel dates and specify how many bedrooms you need, location, pet policy, etc.  Their sister sites, Home Away and vacationrentals.com are also good options.  Searching through the housing options can get confusing after awhile, so I recommend setting up a favorites folder and adding the links for rentals you are interested in to the folder.  It will save you time in the long run.

You may also find local real estate companies who specialize in vacation rentals as well.  A quick Google search for your particular location will generally provide you with your options.  If you are interested in a North Carolina beach vacation, for example, you may want to check out RentABeach.  There are hundreds of homes to view listed by several real estate companies.

Finding accommodations can take some time, but once they are arranged the rest of the planning seems like smooth sailing.  Save yourself time by having your stops along the way to your destination planned out and creating favorites folders to keep everything in one place.  I am guilty of spending hours looking through options, but I love finding the perfect place and the time is well worth it!  If you are looking for help planning your family vacation, email me at minivanmemories@gmail.com.

Find the perfect spot