15 Must-Have Items for a Family Road Trip With Kids
Keep kids of all ages happy and entertained while on the road with these gadgets, games and more.
Heading out on an adventure with kids is exciting and a test of patience (for both the old and the young!). Watch those long hours speed by with our favorite items for keeping everyone, from preschoolers to tweens, happy and entertained as you hit the open road.
This trunk carryall keeps you organized when running everyday errands and toting kids around to extra-curricular activities. And it takes all that accessible storage with you on the road. To corral all those last-minute additions that kids are throwing at you — beach balls, flippers, frisbees — or to hold all your picnic and quick-stop needs, this tote makes life just a little bit easier.
Food is an absolute necessity when traveling with kids. Fend off those hangry moments with a fully stocked cooler that can be easily stowed between seats. Cheese sticks, squeezable yogurts and fruit are healthier, but also delicious options, to throw in along with dry snacks, like pretzels, crackers and nuts.
Storage bags for all those snacks are a must. For those of us trying to be more mindful about our plastic consumption, invest in a few of these reusable silicone food bags. Available in snack, sandwich and half-gallon sizes, as well as a variety of fun colors and patterns, these bags are a smart addition to your cooler and can be used over and over again on your trip.
Encourage your kids to remember every moment of the trip with this smartly designed travel journal, which is full of fun graphics, clever prompts to get them writing and playful stickers and badges. They can even share their journeys with friends and grandparents by mailing back the included postcards.
Road trips often include a one-night stay at a hotel on the way to your end destination. Make your life simpler by having each kid pack a small backpack with overnight essentials. When you stop, everyone grabs his or her bag and you (thankfully!) don't have to unload the entire car.
Let's be honest, very few of us are going to tackle a road trip without a single screen. The Fire Kids Edition Tablet has a kid-proof case and a two-year worry-free guarantee. Let them listen to audiobooks and music and watch their favorite shows to give everyone some peace and quiet during this very enclosed family time moment.
When everyone needs a little break from each other and are ready to settle in with their tablets, grab these Bluetooth headphones so that your car is not bombarded with a combination of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a Harry Potter audiobook and BTS all at the same time. And you can enjoy a moment of silence … until they're ready for their next snack.
Mess-free markers are ingenious, allowing kids to color without parents ever worrying about getting markers on seats, clothes or the car. They only show color when used on the matching Color Wonder paper. Tuck this activity set up front with you and around hour five when the kids start getting stir crazy, hand it back for a new lease on your car life.
Classic road trip games, like I Spy, 20 Questions and The Alphabet Game, are the perfect way to involve the whole family while you're traveling. This Travel Scavenger Hunt Card Game is a great addition to your arsenal of pass-the-time games, letting players race to search for objects found on the cards.
Travel-sized versions of family-favorite games, like Sorry!, Battleship and Scrabble, are another fun and inexpensive way for kids to entertain themselves in the backseat. Specifically designed for a moving vehicle, the cases have spots to hold all the pieces while playing so you're less likely to lose anything.