5 No-Prep Activities to Save a Road Trip
“Are we there yet?”
The dreaded question of any road trip. If you’ve been there, you know it’s typically the precursor to a road trip meltdown. If you haven’t been there, count your blessings and keep these activities in your arsenal to keep it that way.
No matter the age of your kids, all the snacks, toys and electronics can’t appease them forever. It is always good to be a step ahead with a backup plan for when spirits are low and patience is waning. Here are 5 no prep activities that you can pull out on a whim to curb the dreaded whining or squabbling from the backseat.
Songs
You’ll have to really read the room (or in the car in this case) before suggesting this one. A toddler singing “The Wheels on the Bus” on repeat may send the 9 year old over the edge. One way to get older kids on board is to encourage them to change the lyrics of a familiar favorite to their own version. For example “The Wheels on the Bus” may become “The Vulture in the Sky” or the “The Bees in the Hive.” They can be silly and creative all while shifting their focus to fun rather than the never-ending car ride.
If you want to listen to music rather than your kids singing, change up the playlist to pique interest. Check out soundtracks of favorite movies. There are instrumental versions of popular music on Pandora. You could always turn that into a “Guess the Song” game. Laurie Berkner and The Wiggles are our favorites for young children. My older kids grew up listening to them so they are still fans.
Alphabet Games
Another favorite of ours is simple alphabet games. We agree on a prompt and move through the alphabet creating new alliteration phrases.
We are currently on the following phrase:
“Hi, my name is _____ and I like ________”
We begin by deciding on the topic. For example, we may only focus on foods or animals. You could also add a challenge of a specific number of syllables. If we focus on foods, this phrase may sound something like “Hi, my name is Andy and I like avocados.” The next person may say “Hi, my name is Bethany and I like bagels.”
Memory- Add-on
Another version is an add-on game. One storyline from my childhood was that we are packing for a camping trip. We would move through the alphabet with items to pack. The catch was, we had to name each item from the previous turns.
If I was the first person I may say the following:
“I’m going camping and I am packing…apples.”
The next person might say, “I’m going camping and I’m packing apples and books.”
The third person might say, “I’m going camping and I’m packing apples, books and citronella candles.”
The game continues through the alphabet. It often becomes a group effort by the end as the list is difficult to remember. This one always brings lots of laughs and often silly responses.
Road Sign Game
Another alphabet themed game, but this one uses road signs. We look at the signs on the billboards and businesses off the highway as well as highway signs for each letter of the alphabet. We typically focus on words that begin with each letter but for younger children, just identifying the letter may be a challenge. We play this as a cooperative game trying to get through the alphabet together. You could make it a competitive game keeping track of who finds words for each letter first. If your kiddos are already squabbling a competition may only add fuel to that fire though so set up the play in your best interest.
I-Spy
The classic I Spy game may be the perfect addition to your road trip. Be sure to set parameters before playing. You don’t want someone choosing an item that is on the side of the highway and out of sight within seconds. You could focus on items within the car or on a specific page of a book. You could even change it up to be “I will spy…” and describe things you plan to see when you reach your destination. For example, I will spy something with pinchers that comes out at night (ghost crab). Or I will spy something green and very tall. It has pinecones and sometimes raccoons hide in it (pinetree).
One of our must haves to pack on long car trips is our “I-Spy” quilt handmade by Grandma. It serves a comfortable blanket as well as a gameboard. You can see all of the details of our I Spy Quilt here. Don’t have an I-Spy quilt? No problem. The key is to keep it simple and use what you have on hand.
There you have it, our 5 go-to, no-prep, save-the-road-trip activities! Hopefully these will create a little extended peace on the way to your destination. Be sure to save this post to easily reference in a pinch and share for others to keep on hand. They will thank you later!