Hitting the road just for a short ride with kids takes a decent amount of preparation, so planning a long family road trip? That requires focus, planning ... and lots and lots of snacks.
We asked moms for their best travel hacks. Here are just a few of their tried-and-true tactics to survive road trips with the family:
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Keep the car clean
Give kids a place for all their stuff
Use plastic tray tables with pockets/side storage to make a "desk" for their snacks, crafts, books, or tablets. If you have a tablet, Nintendo Switch, or other portable device, we find that headrest tablet/device mounts are perfect for shared visibility in the back of the car.
Bring a trashcan
Put a small trash can or keep plastic bags behind the car seats, in the pockets ... and remind the kids regularly to use them! Every stop you make, empty the trash into the public trash receptacles (i.e. at the gas station or McDonalds, when you take a potty break.
Baby wipes
Baby wipes can be magical cleaners for many kinds of messes, no matter your child's age! These can be used to wipe sticky messes off of hands, faces, car seats, and more. The possibilities are truly endless.
Don't forget the potty
Traveling with little ones? Pack a portable potty for side of the road needs. Bring zip-lock bags or grocery store plastic bags to contain the smell of dirty diapers when a trash can isn't convenient.
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Take the snacks
Pack extra
Because no matter what, you won't have enough.
Prepackage snacks
If you don't buy prepackaged, DIY before you get in the car. For instance, put chips in a plastic baggie rather than handing your kids back a full-sized bag. Do that and they'll either eat it all or spill at all — either way, you're better off portioning out for them! Some of our favorites are pretzels, small bags of chips, cut up fruits, assorted nuts, granola bars, fruit chews, gummy bears, string cheese, trail mix, etc. We like to keep our snacks inside of a little dollar store plastic bin, with a lid. Something we don't recommend is to pack snacks with lots of crumbs: goldfish, certain crackers, etc.
Bring cutlery and a roll of paper towels
Even if you don't pack food that needs to be cut or peeled, you might wish at some point for a knife, spoon or fork — so bring a plastic set along, just in case! And bring a roll of paper towels too ... do we need to explain why?
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Keep the kids entertained
Fully charge tablets and headphones before you leave home
Make sure tablets and headphones are fully charged. Download movies to them in advance, and make sure there's plenty of offline content available.
Don't forget the hotspot
Keep the kids occupied on their tablets or phones by enabling a WiFi hotspot on your phone for them to use. Or bring a portable hotspot (some libraries even allow you to borrow portable hotspots!). Not taking a hotspot? We haven't personally ever needed a hotspot -- we prefer to download books, movies, and offline content before we leave home. We also ensure that we bring books and activity pads to give the screens a break.
Prepare a travel tote for each child
Put together a small plastic bin for each child that includes everything they'll need on the road, plus a few surprises that they can keep within reach in the car. This makes for easy access and storage for the kids, so that you don't have to store everything with you in the front seats.
Play a family-friendly audiobook
Find a book or podcast you will all enjoy to wile away the hours. This also encourages my kiddos to take a nap! What could be more coma-inducing than a pleasant audiobook while gazing out the window at the countryside...
Get a travel app
We love the RoadTrippers app, which identifies quirky roadside attractions, scenic points, national parks, and more on your route. We also like travel activity books with games to play in the car -- think I Spy, trivia, word puzzles, etc.
Play games
Check out this list of 9 family road trip games for the best car trip ever!
Take stretch breaks
It can be tough for us grown-ups to sit still for long periods of time, so imagine how our littles feel when they haven't completely mastered the idea of "patience." Whenever we stop for gas or dinner (on long hauls), we make a point to get everyone out, take a potty break, go over to the nearest small grassy area, and stretch! Jumping jacks are a fun way to get your blood pumping and tire them out. Spinning in circles or quick sprints (in a safe area) also help with that!
The most important thing to pack? Patience. Give yourself (and your kids) some grace and expect things not to go entirely smoothly, no matter how much you've planned. Just remember: Often the best family road trip memories are made when the unexpected occurs!
Kristin Fouts is the publisher of Macaroni KID Hendricks, Ind.
