We're going on a LONG trip soon. Not horribly long, but 12 hours in the car. When Jason & Rebekah were little and we would go on long trips I would pack a "grab bag" of presents to help pass the time. Every hour or hour and a half they would get a little something from the grab bag. The items were much anticipated and much enjoyed--small stuffed animals, card games, magazines, bubbles, all kinds of things. It got a little out of control as such things plus me are want to do, but it was enjoyed immensely, as you can imagine.
Well, now that we're about to embark on another long trip, I'd like to resurrect the grab bag, albeit in a more modest form. I'm going to stretch the "waiting periods" to two hours, and the items aren't going to be quite so, well, expensive.
There's where I'm stuck. I have no idea what might be fun to receive, is modest in cost, good for fun either in the car or on vacation, and won't just be useless clutter once we're back home. I need 10 things per child, so a total of 30 items. I can not use chewing gum, Julianna's not allowed to chew it with her braces so the rest of us stay away from it in a show of solidarity as well. I've learned in the past candy/snacks are okay, but not a great option because sometimes long trips can lead to upset stomachs, candy or fun snack foods don't help. The girls are pretty set on nail polish and lip balm. I'm really stuck. If you have an awesome idea tucked away, please share. I can use all the help I can get!
[Sidebar: We recently were turned on to a wonderful new card game, Sleeping Queens. I highly recommend it. We all enjoy playing it, it goes fast, anyone can win. It's awesome. Anyone know of any other fun new card games?]
I have 1 husband and 4 kids, 28, 20, 11 and 9...I'll be doing the mom thing forever, hence 4evermom.
7 comments:
So my girls LOVE yahtzee ... we play it almost every night. They love Uno as well. Both could be played in the car!
I'm all for nail polish and lip balm. They have all those little stickers and designs to decorate the nails too...
What about Mad Libs? And do you have a portable DVD player? What about old fashioned scrabble? Or Boggle? I always love word games. If your kids can write while the car is moving - what about some of the drawing books that teach kids how to sketch cartoon characters or people? My girls just took a class in that and spend LOTS of time doing that.
And we definitely need more games in our repertoire - so I'm hoping people pass along some good info!
Totally with you on Sleeping Queens. And I love Jill's ideas!
More expensive than your grab-bag guidelines but another great card game is Rat-a-Tat Cat, and all your kids are old enough, I think (math is involved, a step up from SQ but not a lot more). Will keep thinking about car entertainment and check back for more ideas!
Paper dolls are always a favourite with us, but Julianna may be too old for that? I would download and print them out, and then just throw them away as they began to litter the girls' bedrooms, so it wasn't expensive.
They might enjoy a simple, small cross stitch using large plastic needle and thick wool? $2 at the craft shop.
Small magnetic board games or miniature version of Connect 4?
We used to have a car 'bingo' game where they crossed off an item whenever they saw it eg black car, red car, police motorcycle, taxi etc..
You've probably already thought of these so I'm sorry I'm not much help.
Now my kids are a little younger but they love weird stuff. Flashlights, fun notebooks and specialty pens, and funky little pillows designed for riding in the car. I was gonna say Mad Libs (that is still a favorite of mine) but I didn't know if your kiddos get car sick from reading. Ummm...
Go to a dollar store and walk up and down the aisles. Maybe even a travel mug? Kids get excited about funny stuff.
Good luck! Twelve hours is a Loooooooooonnnnnnnggggg ride.
Embrodiery thread for making friendship bracelets. You can print designs/instructions online and make them as easy or as hard as you want. A little masking tape on the back of the front seat will keep them in place while working on them.
I also print out the license plate game - check off the plates you see on your trip. Good luck!
I like the game book, pencil/pens ideas. My kids also love sketch pads, card games...
ahem... are you still playing "It's summer so leave me alone"? ;-)
Hope it's going well for you and I especially hope everyone is healthy enough to do the summer things you look forward to!
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