Kids’ Road Trip Essentials Checklist
-
Activities
-
Books, magazines, and comics
-
Games, such as the license plate game or travel bingo
-
Sketchbook, washable markers, and colored pencils
-
Pre-stamped blank postcards (find them at the post office), which your kids can decorate, or postcards bought on the road; have your children write to friends, relatives, even pets
-
Doodling doodads: a small dry-erase board, Etch A Sketch, Magna Doodle
-
Pipe cleaners, easy origami, and other scissor-less craft supplies
-
Portable DVD player and DVDs; don’t forget headphones!
-
Tape recorder: Let the kids produce a vacation broadcast
-
Books on tape for the whole family, such as the Harry Potter series or “The Chronicles of Narnia”
-
Scrapbook envelope—entrust your children with the responsibility of collecting postcards, ticket stubs, and brochures for a scrapbook
-
Food
-
Individually packaged, crumb-free snacks such as bite-sized goldfish crackers
-
Hard-to-bruise fruits such as apples and berries; or try fruit roll-ups or fruit leathers
-
Trail mix, which will leave kids feeling full longer (and keep fingers greaseless)
-
Reusable bottles filled with water
-
Miscellaneous
-
An emergency kit. In a click-shut plastic bin, stock jumper cables, a first-aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries, road flares or reflective triangles, a fleece blanket, bottled water, and a few protein bars.
-
Garbage bags to collect trash
-
Extra diapers and wipes, if necessary
-
Change of clothes, in case of accidental spills
-
A blanket for spur-of-the-moment picnics at rest areas—and naps
-
Jump ropes and balls, so energetic little travelers can tire themselves out at rest stops!