A couple weeks ago, our family went on a little holiday around our gorgeous province of Alberta and even went a little bit into Montana. Over about a week we drove 2070 kilometres (or 1286 miles).
In the weeks before, I tried to think of some simple ways to make the time in our vehicle a bit more fun for the kids.... and easier for the Mr. and me!
We have a portable dvd player with dual screens, so the kids each got a new dvd and a toy set from the Disneystore right before we left. (Our 2 year old has had issues with bad car sickness in the past year so the dvd players have been a must ever since anytime we travel in the vehicle.)
At Dollarama I picked up these containers for $2 each......
I filled one for both of my kids with various snacks & a few treats that they both like......
I used my glue gun to add a chipboard letter onto each lid to personalize them a bit.....
I also added some scrapbook paper onto one side, where the sticker label had been. It made them cuter and made it so I didn't have to bother removing all the sticker residue! Win win!
Since we were going to be seeing lots of lakes in the mountains and spending lots of time outside, I thought a new bottle of bubbles would be something good to have on hand!
And I was super stoked to find Angry Birds gummies at London Drugs, so I bought one of each character and saved them for our trip.
I also like having some extra activity stuff to pull out during those moments when kids need some extra distractions. I bought a bag for both of them from the party section at Walmart for 97 cents. Character stuff is always a hit with my kids!
I filled each bag with some goodies from either the dollar store or Michael's to keep them happy.
They each got:
-a colouring book & a bag of cool shaped crayons
-a notebook & a little story book
-one of those magnetic drawing toys
-a water marker colouring mat set (they were $2 at the dollar store and were their fave things by far!)
Hopefully that gives some ideas for the next time you travel with your little kids!
Great thoughts! We're expecting our first in January and so I'm always happy to find ideas to make life simpler down the road. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've had huge success with a covered cake pan. I tuck a variety of different magnets inside, and then pack up separate bags of new things, a handful of matchbox cars, when the magnets get hold. The cover means I can store it all in the pan and leave it in the car! My kiddos are a little younger (1 and almost 3).
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I love the totes for the snacks. That is such a great idea! I always go to the dollar store for surprise gifts and it works out great. I give them a new gift every 100 miles or so and they get so excited about it. Besides having the kids pack their own bags full of activities, I bring my iPad as well. They can play games, watch movies, read, and watch TV through the Dish Remote Access app. A co-worker at Dish told me about this app and with the Sling Adapter hooked up to my receiver, the kids can watch live TV wherever we can get a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. The kids love to be able to watch all their favorite shows on the road and it is such a lifesaver for us.
ReplyDeleteI love the containers for snacks. I always have mine in bags and it just seems to turn into a mess. This seems like it would be much neater.
ReplyDeleteI recently did a few posts on keeping kids busy on road trips if you ever need more ideas (takingtimetocreate.blogspot.com). My little guy is super busy, so I'm always looking for ways to keep him entertained-especially in the car.
Thanks so much for the ideas!
I liked all those things and your ideas.
ReplyDeleteLove the containers - great for snacks and another one for activities/toys =)
ReplyDeleteHope you had a fun trip too!
so great I have two little ones that will love these ideas thanks for sharing come see what I shared at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteGreat tips for traveling with the kiddos. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I love the bins you decorated with treats in them...so cute!
ReplyDeleteWow! These ideas are awesome! Thanks for sharing at the Pomp Party! Pinning to our Pomp Party board!
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ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I love the snack container, such a great idea :) Thanks so much for linking this up to our weekend Wonders party. Hope to see you back on Thursday :)
ReplyDeletehttp://thethriftinessmiss.blogspot.com