Kids Road Trip Essentials – Southern Curls & Pearls

We have been on lotssss of road trips lately. And with two toddlers, that is no small feat! If you’re wondering what to pack for young kids on a road trip or how to prepare for a long car ride with kids, I’ve got you covered! I love to have the car stocked with lots of different activities for my kids during road trips – it keeps them happy and makes the road trip go a lot smoother. We pull out the ipads only as a last resort!! So, here is a list of our favorite activities for keeping our kids entertained during long car rides: 

1. Magic Ink Books – I love these Magic Ink books because the markers ONLY work on the pages! Yes, they are truly magic. The bigger books like this one are best – our Target has them in the Spidey and Friends theme (which our kids are obsessed with right now). I bought four of them and they lasted our whole trip to the beach and back!
2. Sticker Doll Dressing Books – There are a few different types of doll sticker books on the market, but make sure you get this brand – it’s the best! They’re a fun, interactive way to keep kids entertained, and our girls love dressing up the dolls as we drive.
3. Snacks – Hear me out, we use snacks as entertainment in the car! You definitely want to make sure that your snacks are not presenting any choking hazards (so no hard or perfectly round items!), but our kids love to snack in the car. In particular, they love these snack spinners – they are almost like a game, because you press the spinner to get to a different snack. Our youngest Collins will “play” and eat for the longest time with this snack spinner in her hands!
4. Road Trip Bingo – Collins is still a little too young for this one, but Kennedy loves it and it keeps her entertained for hours! This fun, interactive game helps pass the time and makes spotting things along the way more exciting for older kids.
5. LCD Drawing Pad – These drawing pads are some of the best money we’ve ever spent! They come in a pack of two for less than $10, and we use these EVERY single time we’re in the car (even on short car rides). The girls really like to draw on it… or they like for me to draw a picture and have them guess what it is!
6. Magnetic Board – Our two-year-old really loves this magnetic board. It’s easy to play with in the car and there’s NO MESS! This one looks very similar – it would probably be a hit in our household.
7. Car Organizer – Finally, if you’re going to stock up on new activity books and coloring pads for the car, you will DEFINITELY need a place to store them all that can stay organized on your road trip! We have and love this one – it has plenty of pockets and organizers and fits perfectly between our kids’ car seats!

We are actually headed on another road trip TOMORROW. This time we are headed the opposite direction… to the mountains! Hopefully it will be a little cooler there because this girl needs a break from the heat!

xoxo