We don’t take long trips. Most often our trips are just a couple hours one way. The longest trip we’ve taken was 3.5 hours away and that was only with 3 of our 4 kids!! I have always enjoyed vacations and family trips. Even as a young girl. I loved the adventure of it all. I even enjoyed my time in the car. The scenery, the car games with my parents and brother – I just loved it!!
Therefore, it stands to reason I would want my kids to love going on trips too!! And now that I have 4 kids of my own, I am finding out why my parents may or may not have enjoyed the trips we took. Or at least the car ride portion.
So, a couple weeks ago I set out to find some great DIY Travel Games and ideas to help occupy our kiddos on our next trip (or even a day of errands)!!
1. Do your kids like to draw or play with cars? I made these for my niece and nephew at Christmas. My niece loves to color and this was perfect for her! My nephew loves to play cars and now he has a small area to play on in the car! It’s a win-win for my brother and sister-in-law. So easy and cute too!! Follow the easy tutorial here.
2. And if they like to color, why not go ahead and make them this adorable travel coloring case from an oldDVD case? How clever are these?! What an upcycle!!! So functional and cute to boot! Plus, you can tuck away some blank pages in there for even more creativity!!!
3. If you’re an iPad family here is a site that gives you a TON of great learning apps for the kids!!! Keep them entertained for hours!!! And add this cute App Crayon™ for addedFUN!!!
4. I know these are for the house, but you could easily make them for the car too!!! “I Spy” bottles from old water bottles!! So fun and so easy too!! Make them with water or rice, like these, for the older kids!
5. These are some wonderful on-the-go bags for traveling. I know not all of them are games, but some good ideas! You could make a travel game bag for each kid if you like too!! More organization, but less arguing over who had what! And, if you look closely you can see some of the fun card games they put in the travel bag!!
6. DIY Travel Tic-Tac-Toe game! How cute is this thing?! Use an old Altoid’s tin and make your own mini-magnets, decorate the inside top lid and voila! You’ve got yourself a DIY Travel Tic-Tac-Toe game!!!
7. Story Stones – you can buy these stones already made or make your own! The idea is that you pull a stone out of the little sack and start a story with it. Then, periodically you pull another stone out that prompts you to continue the story using that stone. So fun!! What a great way to encourage their imagination! These kinda’ remind me of the old Mad Libs. Anybody else remember and love those?! Oh I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to know their parts of speech so we can do Mad Libs!! Good times. Good times.
8. The Trip Clip – is another great travel game. I just found these this week, but I am already totally in love with them!! You can even download activity pages for your kids to use. And once you’ve downloaded it, you can print as many copies as you like!! Some of their activities include: license plate game, battleship, travel bingo, alphabet game, word search, crossword puzzle, mazes and sudoku!! They also have grocery lists and packing lists so the kids can help and some coloring pages for younger ones!! What a great idea!! I think I’ll try to make some myself!
9. If you’re an “i” family these next two are just for you!! This teacher has compiled some of her favorite apps for Reading and Math that she uses in her classroom. I know, I know…who wants to do “work” while on vacation. But, if they’re FUN and EXCITING and on the iPad or Mom’s iPhone, they might just “play” with them!! Of course, I found these via Pinterest and just had to share!
10. And finally…65 FREE Apps for kids, also found on Pinterest!! Yes, I love Pinterest. (Note: If you’re not on there, you should be!! Simply leave a message for me and I’ll send you an invite! Then, you can be hooked just like every other person I know! No, but seriously, it’s a great site for finding and organizing your internet searches!!) Okay, back to the apps! This site compilesFREE apps they have actually downloaded and tested!! A great resource for all parents! Yeah, I know there are a TON of apps out there, but why spend money when you can get some for FREE?!?! My favorite motto is: “If it’s FREE, it’s for ME!” While that’s not true about everything and I am selective, who can pass up FREE education games for your kiddos?!
So there ya have it…my TOP 10!!!! What do ya think?!
What are your favorite Travel Games? Feel free to share in the comments or link to a post of your own!!!
Happy Traveling!!!
Blessings,
Annette
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