Road trips with babies can be fairly easy if you leave right around bedtime and pray they sleep the whole ride. We spent a lot of time in the car when Annabelle was under a year old and she usually did well for the first couple of hours. After 4-5 hours she hit her limit and needed a break from the car (or a little nursing session). We are taking our first long road trip with a toddler and here is how I’ve prepared for our survival.
My Road Trip Survival Kit is pretty easy to replicate if you are looking for ways to keep your little one(s) entertained with activities and snacks on an upcoming trip. Definitely give yourself time to shop around for different toys/games – the Target $1 bins were where I found most of my supplies! I collected food on various trips to the grocery store, always looking for items on sale. I would love to say how much I spent on everything for the trip, but since she eats a lot of organic items, the food wasn’t so cheap. You can make your kits any way you like!
{ Activity Survival Kit }
Annabelle loves coloring and stickers these days, so I found an activity book and princess sticker album just for her. The Minnie stationary kit is so much fun – she had a Princess kit when we flew last month and still plays with it! She picked out the green squishy ball and sunglasses, but promptly forgot about them by the time we were home. I will put the crayons and markers (which are stamp markers!) in the pink zipper bag. I will not give her all these goodies at once – but rather one thing at a time. When she tires of one things, I will move on to the next! I have my iPad loaded with Sesame Street and Elmo episodes in case of emergencies too.
{ Snack Survival Kit }
I chose to pack all of Annabelle’s favorite things to eat since I know we will need snacks to keep her stomach full at the beach. Since she is dairy free, it can be difficult to find snacks on the road. Annabelle loves Plum pouches and fruit bites, Annie’s cookies and bunny gummies, Horizon peanut butter crackers, Chex Mix, peanut butter, Kashi cereal bars, Veggie Stix, and a thermos water bottle. Most of the loose snacks can be put in a spill proof bowl.
I also carry a small cooler with extra water bottles, mini apple juice boxes and a container of hummus. We will most likely stop for a quick bite to eat (breakfast or lunch) before we make it to our final destination. Perhaps next time I will pack a picnic breakfast/lunch…
What kind of items would be in your Road Trip Survival Kit?
Our new trick is having a book in the car for even short car trips. LO is getting increasingly annoyed at being in the car but LOVES reading so it’s helped a lot.
It seems like you’re all set. Does Annabelle have any particular music she likes? That’s the only other thing I can think of. We have played a lullaby CD in the car for LO before and it has helped — not sure if that would still work now, or if it would help A.
Such great ideas! Those Annie’s cookies look so delicious haha!
What a great list! Survival kits are very important specially when you’re going to a place that kids wouldn’t appreciate much. Kids easily get bored, and by having this kit, they would surely be excited to go on a trip! Thank you for sharing.