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I like car rides and prefer them to flights. When we travel within a country, we usually drive, and that car rides with kids might get out of control, so I put together 8 fun things to do on a long car ride with kids.
Our kids are nine, six, and two-year-old. If we go to Orlando, we usually drive and it takes about 14 hours to get there. We wrap our driving around kid’s sleeping schedules and plan stops at their active time.
Here are some fun things to do on a road trip with family.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Watch a movie
The kids are allowed to watch something for an hour. We used to download their favorite shows. Now we have wi-fi in our new car, but I would still download a few shows just in case there are problems with wi-fi.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Do Quiet Activities
Once the youngest falls asleep, older kids do some quiet activities or car ride games, such as
- reading,
- folding origami,
- sticker books
- sticker puzzles
- coloring
- Journaling
I got these amazing travel journals where kids can make notes and drawings about their trip. I think I am going to make one myself!
Get yourself a boogie board like this:
It will save you lots of wasted paper, and space. You can use it for numerous activities from tic tack toe, to coloring and practicing writing.
Washi tape
Washi tape is one of my favorite car trip activities for kids because it’s so versatile. You can use it to decorate pictures, make patterns, or even create Games. The best part is that it doesn’t require any special materials or equipment – just a roll of tape and some imagination.
If you’re looking for some ideas to get started, check out the Melissa and Doug Tape Activity Book. It includes step-by-step instructions for making all sorts of fun creations.
And if you want to go beyond the basics, there are tons of YouTube tutorials that will show you how to make even more elaborate designs. So next time you’re packing for a long car ride, be sure to include a roll of Washi tape – your kids.
Spot it
Spot It is the perfect car ride activity for kids of all ages. The compact game can be easily stored in a glove compartment or purse, making it perfect for on-the-go entertainment. To play, each child receives a stack of cards, with each card featuring several pictures or symbols. At the same time, each child turns over one card from their stack and looks at the image. The goal is to find the one picture that appears on both cards. Whoever finds the match first gets to keep the cards. Not only is Spot It a fun way to pass the time, but it also helps kids develop important matching and memory skills.
Pop-it
This activity seems like soothing everybody nerves systems. Of the one who plays and everyone’s around. Try it yourself.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Snack
We rarely snack at home, but especially for road trips, we pack
- fruit pouches,
- nuts,
- fresh fruits,
- beef jerky, and
- crackers
- and bottled water.
Older kids snack if they get hungry, but the baby is sleeping and we have to keep going.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Play Active Games
When the baby wakes up, we stop at a restaurant for lunch or at a park for a picnic and get toys out to play some active games afterward.
- Bubbles and balls work great,
- frisbee,
- volleyball,
- soccer.
We bring an inflatable ball because it doesn’t take up much space, and big enough so even our little one can play. Sometimes, we even do not need toys, we just
- dig dirt
- play tag or
- go to McDonald’s with a playground (if we find one).
Some times we would make a stop at a town and make a small thing, like horse riding, or visiting a family f
We play for about 2 hours until kids get tired and start asking to get in the car. In this point, they can sit still for an hour and we let them watch another movie.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Eat at a Restaurant
After stopping for supper, we have another playtime, which ends up with a bedtime routine.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Read books to your kids
We jump in the car, and I read books to kids. Last three trips we went to Universal Parks, so for the entire trip, we were reading and watching Harry Potter. We also were reading it while waiting in lines at the Parks. After books, the lights are out, and by 8:30 p.m. kids are asleep.
Now 11 hours of driving with brief breaks for the restroom.
8 Fun Things to do on a long car ride with kids. Listen to the radio
Kevin and I drive in turns and listen to the radio or audiobook. He drives during the day; I take a nap when the baby naps. And I am a night owl, so I drive at night till Kevin wakes up around 3 am. Kevin is an early bird, he likes to wake up with the sun and drives the rest of the trip.
Great teamwork!
Kids usually sleep till 7:30 a.m. We make another stop for breakfast, restroom, morning routine, and change of cloth, and head straight to an amusement park. Yep. We go straight to the Park and stay there till they close. Only then we head to a hotel and check-in.
Here are some car ride games/things to do on the long road trip
These are car ride games.
My favorite card game. I love it! It’s a hundred open questions such as “what is your favorite song and why?” Or “what the best memory of your childhood?” Those questions raise the best emotions in us. We all became closer and happier playing the game. It did two things: brought us in a good mood and let us open up and to know each other better.
Well, if “Our Moments” made us smile, this one made us laugh. We seriously laughed till we cried. It looks like a dollar coloring book, but the value is in the content and it gave us a belly ache. The game is simple, we just put missing words in blank spaces, but the trick is the person who chooses the word doesn’t see the text, then we read the whole story at the end, and it sounds crazy wrong, but funny. It’s perfect for 2nd graders since you have to choose the part of a speech. My son knows them by heart now.
3. Origami
My 5 and 8 years old would sit and fold it for an hour. I had to give them a plastic bag to keep all their creations in one place and the bag filled up quickly. This activity made them stay focused and quiet.
Another quiet activity that in addition brings impressive results. We even hang a few works on the wall, because they looked so good.
This game speaks for itself. We had a stack of cards with pictures and were looking around trying to spot a “man with a beard”, or “bicycle”… It was fun. The game was a bit competitive and my older son got mad that we ran out of cards and he didn’t get 10 points first. I think next time we will not keep the score…
I think the main thing to do on a long car ride is to enjoy it. So we do whatever it takes to make us happy.
How do you occupy your kids?
Here is another post you might like. How to travel with a toddler.
Madlibs and beef jerky; the best road trip combo! Great ideas! We may need to buy Our Moments!
Totally agree!
These are all great tips for traveling with kids! Thanks for sharing!
Your welcome:). Stick around for some more!
Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
Your welcome:). Glad you found it useful!
Going on a long road trip is almost exciting for my kids because they get to pick a few movies to watch! A long boring drive turns into a nice treat for them!
Wise momma here! Respect!
Thanks for the great tips! I will share with my sister-in-law.
Sure Candy! Thank you for sharing:)
Roadtrips are always better when you have things to keep the kids occupied! We always loved madlibs!
Oh my! So many parents love Mad libs! I thought I am the only one:))
I love going to the Dollar Tree and getting tons of fun activities for car trips!
Oh yes! One of my favorite activities is to get activities:))
These are great. We listen to music all the time. Or play I Spy With My Little Eye.
Music is soothing! It also makes them talk less🤪
I loved Madlibs!!! And we always used to play the eye spy game 🙂
We should try Eye spy:)
What a great resource! I need this for my grandkids!
Sure, Tricia! Feel free to share!
I love the origami ideas!
Glad to hear that!
When my boys were young and we had a long trip ahead of us, we would leave at night. They would usually sleep most of the way, so it was perfect for me.
Yes! Totally get that! Kids are sleeping, I am driving. What could be better?!
These are such fun ideas. Love the origami one. I get car sick unfortunately so I’ve never been able to read while being in a car. Although I do love road trips too 😹🤷♀️
Glad that nothing can stop you from doing what you like:)
We love doing scavenger hunt games while on road trips. So fun!
Yes! Once I had a task to find a red haired bicycle rider. Spent all three weeks trying to find one lol!
Those are some great tips! I was really impressed with my kids when we went on our last long road trip (3 weeks). They only pulled out devices a handful of times, instead opting for other travel games that we brought along to play together. They were 8 and 10 at the time. Nowadays… devices come out more often lol.
Ah! So nice that they were preferring games back then. But sometimes screen is a good option too.
Fun ideas! We had a 1.5 hour drive to our last competition, and discussed our favorite memories. It was such a nice experience!
Oh yes! I love the moments of closeness. So precious!
We love MadLibs, too! Once in a while we find “Yes and Know” quiz books at gas stations. They are filled with games and mental puzzles to keep kids (and adults) occupied. They come with a pen that has special ink that reveals the answers to the puzzles (similar to the mess-free kids’ coloring books). My brother and Ioved them when we were kids, and now my kids love them, too!
Oh! Thank you for the great ideas. Will search for those. We need fresh ideas!
Our Moments sounds like a great game. We play Would You Rather and that makes the kids laugh, the license plate game, yelling at animals out of the window like “hey cow!!” etc.
Ahaha! So fun! Love the idea of yelling at animals:)))
Great ideas! We also do some old school car games, looking out the window and enjoying the scenery!
Totally love those games!
Useful tips that we have used when our kids were little. So helpful!
Thank you!
These are wonderful ideas! We used to do long car trips with our kids. Snacks, frequent stops, car games, sing alongs all helped pass the time.
Sound like a great family time!