As soon as summer arrives the girls and I hit the open road. We make several road trips each summer to see our family and friends. This weekend we traveled home to see Nana (their grandma). The girls were so excited they started packing two days in advance. Of course all they packed were pajamas and stuffed animals, but hey they were motivated!
On a typical trip home, or an outing anywhere, I pack up individual activity bags for each of my girls. This time I decided to go with one basket of activities. This will save me from having to reload two different bags and keeping track of what items belong in each bag.
I re-purposed a broken picnic basket I had set aside for the trash. (A small child in my care put their foot through the top while using it as a step stool. No names are given to protect the identity of the evil doer). I simply removed the hinges holding the top to the basket- viola! A perfectly usable basket!
My mom has a low tech household, which is fine because we do to. So, I packed activities they could do with grandma: side walk chalk, bubbles, card games, story books, and crayons and coloring books. I even packed our calming bottles just in case we needed to get through a tantrum while at Nana’s (thankfully they were really, really well behaved).
This basket was especially helpful during our drive! I left it in my passenger seat so any time the girls wanted a new book I could easily reach for one and pass it back to them.
The basket idea was a big hit for the girls and worked great for me!
What kind of activities do you keep on hand while traveling with kids?
The Whatever Mom is a full time wife and twin mama living on coffee and wine. She enjoys the pure rush of cleaning the potty between loads of laundry. It is her dream that moms everywhere accept and embrace the Whatever Mom philosophy which can be found here.
Find more from Roxanne at Hudson Valley Parent and at Masshole Mommy
My mom packed us activity bags for our road trips when I was younger and I LOVED them! Kept us busy for the 3 and 4 day road trips we took!
This is a neat idea. The boys only have toys at Mema’s so packing side walk chalk and other outdoor activities they could do would be a great idea. I would definitely pack a separate for the car that would include coloring books, travel printable games, reading books and snacks.
This would be perfect to take along to Mema’s when the boys visited. Not only would it keep them occupied during the ride but also during the visit. I have a activity basket that I keep in the car with snacks, coloring books, crayons, stickers, reading books and travel printable games.
Great ideas for traveling anywhere, even the cabin or the beach! Thanks for sharing!
This is so fantastic! We do something similar!
What a great idea! My kids don’t have grandparents anymore but if they did I would love to do this!
Smart Idea. We’ve always had something in the back of the car to entertain kids at all times.
These little baskets are the cutest! You are so organised 🙂
This is perfect! Activity bags and baskets will definitely be around my household when I finally have kids of my own. 🙂 Love how you repurposed the broken basket as well!
Cool idea, I probably should have this permanently in my car. the only time my kids bring with them an activity bag is when we go to church.
I actually have a caddy in between their car seats, but they can’t reach it. (I thought I was being efficient lol). Easier for me to send things back to them, or hand off a new activity when I’m at a stop.
This is such a cute idea. Typically on a road trip to grandmas my little one usually falls asleep because I like to do it during his nap time. I wonder how long that will last!