On the Road Again - Family Road Trips

Our family loves to travel!

We love exploring new places, camping, going to historical places of interest, and checking out the local restaurants.  

As a family of 6, we’ve taken our fair share of road trips. 

I’ve heard people say that they’re going to wait until their children are older before they start traveling.  I suppose that’s each family’s choice, but as I see it, you can either stay home and do nothing, or you can travel as a family and make memories that will last a lifetime.   Traveling can be enjoyable even with the smallest of children.  It certainly does take some extra prep, but it can be done.

Here’s a little checklist that may help you!

Destination - Consider where you‘ll be going.  What time of the year is it and what will the weather be like?  What kinds of things might you want to do while you‘re there?  How long will you stay?

Lodging - Perhaps you’re visiting friends or family, and have a place to stay already, but if not, then you‘ll need to choose your lodging.  Hotel, campground, rental home, etc.  

It can be difficult to find appropriate lodging for larger families, so the sooner you make plans the better.  

What would be most conducive to your family?  Are you looking for a place with a pool?  Is this place close to activities you might want to do?  If not, how far will the drive be?  How many beds will you need?  Will there be a room for a pack and play if you need one?  Is there a microwave and refrigerator in your room?  Maybe you want to save money by not eating out too much.  In that case, you might consider getting a place that has a small kitchenette so you can prepare meals.  You could also take along a crockpot.  We’ve done this many times and it works great!

Itinerary - I’ve learned over the years, that having some sort of plan is better than having none at all.   It can certainly be a fluid itinerary, but at least at this point you‘ll have an idea of what you want to do while you’re there.  

If you have older children, let them help you plan the vacation.  That’s the best part!  Getting everyone’s input and ideas for a family vacation can be so enjoyable!   It’s great when you can find something to do that interests everyone.  

Write it all out on paper as a tentative schedule.  If there are specific things you need to buy tickets for then go ahead and purchase your tickets.  This will be one less thing you have to think about while you’re on your trip.  Don’t forget to write this on your schedule in pen so you’ll arrive on time.   

Other ideas can be penciled in, but you‘ll be able to move them around a bit while your on vacation if you need to.   We’ve done this many times when activities are dependent on the weather. 

Remember to be flexible.  When traveling with children, you may need to adjust your expectations a little.  Seeing exhibits may take a little longer.  You’ll possibly need to allow for diaper changes and feedings.  Just give yourself some extra time at each activity, and then you’ll be able to enjoy your activity all the more.  

Expectations - Prepare your children in advance.   

Children ALWAYS do better when they’re prepared.  Honestly, you should prepare them in advance for anywhere you’re taking them.  Even the smallest child can understand the fact that you’re going to be leaving the house soon. 

As adults, we prepare ourselves for upcoming things to do or places to go.  Think how children must feel when they‘re right in the middle of playing, you take them by the hand and say, “Ok! Let’s go!”.   Most likely, your child will throw a fit.  How would you like someone to interrupt you and tell you it‘s time to leave right this instant?   Children do SO much better when we prepare them.  Just a simple, “We have a few more minutes, and then we’re going to the grocery store” is enough to help your child transition to the next thing.  Trust me.  Try it and you’ll see;)

Tell your children that the family is going on vacation.   Tell them where you‘re going and some of the things you‘ll be doing while you’re there.  The more you tell them about the trip, the more excited they will be about going. 

Note- If you have a child that likes to ask “Is it almost time for our trip?” OVER AND OVER, then you MIGHT want to wait until the day before you leave to tell them about the trip;)

Set expectations with your children - both before the vacation and before you do each activity on your vacation.  “This is what we’ll be doing and this is how we will behave.”  When you set expectations for your children it make it so much easier for them to behave and enjoy themselves.  In turn, YOU will have an enjoyable time as well.   

Packing the suitcase - Pack light!  Take ONLY what you will need.

When packing for the small children, I’ve found it’s easiest to put clothes for each day inside a gallon sized ziplock bag.   You can fit an entire outfit, underwear, and socks in that little bag!  Each day you can grab a bag and help your little one get ready for the day!

For older children, you can teach them how to make a list of items they’ll need.  Allow them to pack their suitcase - marking off each item as they place it in their suitcase.   When they’re finished, you can go back and double check to see if they’ve gotten everything they need and place your stamp of approval;)  At some point, they can do this on their own if you’ve taught them right!  Hey!  We SHOULD be working ourselves out of the mommy job.  We won’t always be able to do things for them, so we need to teach them how to do it right:).

Another tip - If you find yourself traveling quite a bit, it’s not a bad idea to keep your cosmetic bag stocked and ready to go. You won’t have to pack it every time and it will cut down on your prep time! 

For the car -  What in the world are we going to do in the car for —— hours?? 

Many of us have DVD players in our vehicles.  While that’s GREAT, most children won’t be occupied by movies for a long time.  And, do we really WANT them watching movies for a long period of time?

If you have instilled a love of reading in your children, then your older children will find this a lovely time of solitude to read their favorite books.

Younger children will need a little more help! 

My favorite thing to do is look for inexpensive things that I can add to a backpack.  You can find these types of items at various stores on clearance, in the dollar section at Target, at Dollar General, sometimes at Five Below, or at Dollar Tree.    You could watch for these items all year long and just keep them in a box to have on hand.   You can also use the things in this box to take to a restaurant to keep the little one happy while you wait for your food!  P.S. Don’t let your children see these what’s in the box!  That’s the beauty of it;)  

When packing for your trip, you can load up a backpack or bag with these items without your child knowing.   I like to have at least one item per hour of the trip.  Possibly, two per hour depending on the items.   

Items to include might be - coloring book and crayons, marker and felt picture to color, silly putty, a roll or two of scotch tape (yes, trust me, it will keep them entertained for quite awhile haha), reusable sticker book, window clings to decorate their window, new books to read, new dvd, new music or story cd, magic marker book, road trip bingo cards to play with other siblings or parent, lots of stickers and a notebook, and activity books.  

The options are endless, but the key is that they have NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE!!!   

You might also have some little SURPRISE snacks in the bag that you can give them every now and then - like bubble gum or fruit leather.  

This will keep them busy and make your road trip more enjoyable.  

Another good idea is to carry a potty chair in the car when you have little ones. They can’t always WAIT til the next rest stop. You can buy liners for potty chairs OR you can simply buy inexpensive diapers or pull-ups, cut them in half and line a plastic grocery bag.  Voila!   Sometimes you gotta get creative;)

Drinks and snacks - Fill your cooler with water bottles and some snacks.  

If you have time and you don’t want to stop for food, then you could pack a picnic lunch.  Many rest stops now have playground equipment.   You can have a quick lunch and let the kids play a bit before getting back on the road.  If you’re lucky, the fresh air and playing will have been enough for them to take a little nap when you start back down the road.

Something else we’ve done several times is stopped at a zoo.  Again, you can’t be in too big of a hurry if you’re going to do this.   But, we’ve always gotten the zoo pass in our home town, and there are several zoos that allow us to use the same pass!  I like to check the route for our trip and see if we‘ll be close to any of them.   You can literally stop and spend just an hour at the zoo if it’s free.  You don’t feel like you’ve wasted any money, you’ve made another little memory, and you’ve let those little ones get some energy out!

Most of all, loosen up a little and have fun! 

Look for new things to experience!

Expect some things to go wrong - because they will!  

Be flexible with your time!

Live in the moment and enjoy this time with your family!