Long road trip coming up! Suggestions to keep the kids happy?!

We are going to Seattle in two weeks, which will be about a 15 hour car ride. My daughter is 3.5 and my boys are just over 2 years old. I was at the store the other day looking for little gadgets that I thought might keep them busy, but I didn't find anything that looked good. I thought I'd come on here and pick the brains of the pros! For those of you that have taken long road trips, what wonderful things did you find worked really well? What didn't you do that you wish you had? Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

Portable dvd players with new movies usually provide us with hours of quiet. Dry erase books are nice too. The kids clean up easy with wipes. Lots of snacks. We found they liked to snack on a box of dry cereal. Suckers. Viewmasters. Have fun!

 

Scotch tape (seriously), just toss it back to them w/o the dispenser.
Magnetic Play boards/sets
Flash cards (new ones they haven't seen before)
Borrow some CDs from the library
Magnadoodle
DVD player (use as a last resort to regain your sanity and the peace)


ETA:
Seattle is a great town. If you're looking for a lot of kid-friendly things to do, they offer a Go Seattle Card, which offers admission to tons of Seattle-area attractions for a single ($35) price and is good for all of them for a week or ten days. Seattle Children's Museum, Science Center, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Aquarium would be my top picks with kids 3-7. I don't know that this would really be worth it at the preschool age, but for 5-15 year olds I think this is a great deal (especially for locals!).

If you're looking for more at-your-own pace sight seeing then hit the Arboretum (it will be BEAUTIFUL in a few weeks), Greenlake, Pike Place Market, and Snoqualmie Falls (more of a day trip from Seattle).

 

We also have portable DVD players for long road trips. My girls could watch DVDs for hours if I let them. I tend to try to entertain them in the car with other things during the first few hours of the trip and then save the DVD movies towards the end of the trip when they are really getting cranky.

I have a few childrens CDs we play in the car. Sometimes they like to sing along with those. They also really like to draw, and love the Fisher Price Travel Doodle Pro. I also keep a bag of little toys (just a few things I picked up at the party store), things that they have not seen before, and that seems to keep them entertained.

Have a good trip!

 

I also agree with the doodle Pro (travel size) or Aqua Doodle Travel. We also had little drawing pads/crayons, books, search and find pictures, fun kids CDs, snacks, small toys ( Disney figurines), ViewMasters , window clings (if they can reach the window- lots of fun!!), Magnetic dolls/toys(for your older one). trinkets ( kid binoculars, flash cards, slinkies, gloves, wallet with stuff in it)/books that are new

Enjoy and we also try to drive AT NIGHT/NAPTIME with lots of stops.

 

We are going on an 8 hour car ride next week with my girls (2 years old) We got them new musical books, aqua doodle pros, tot computers, and baby dolls plus lots of snacks. We already have DVD players in the truck and plan to take alot of movies. Not something I'm happy about, but if it keep them entertained in a car the whole trip, its worth letting them have extra TV time.

 

Coloring books and washable crayons
magna doodle (It's been mentioned before in pp but believe me they work)
kid music cd's
new books
hot wheels cars
LOTS of healthy snacks (cheerios, kix, raisens, cheese stix, etc....)
STOP frequently. Take your meals in a restaraunt. GET out of the car. Sit down, have a meal, change diapers, stretch legs, etc...
It will make the ride a little longer but it can be a sanity and a tummy saver for parents and kids.
Enjoy your destination. I live near Seattle and LOVE this city. We just went to the aquarium last week. It's just the right size for smaller kids. Not as overwhelming as some of the really big ones. My little ones LOVED it. The Pac Sci Center may be a little much for your kids. Better for the slightly older, school aged crowd. We're planning a trip to the Children's museum soon. I've heard it's great for all ages. Seattle is a pretty walk friendly place. It's a little hilly but beautiful. If you've never been here before, take the ferry somewhere. All of my kids get a kick out of it. They like to play on the deck outside, the back is the best as the wind isn't so in your face. HAVE FUN

 

I wanted to add to expect to stop a lot. Letting the kids burn off some energy by running around for 10-20 minutes will make everyone happier. I usually plan 2-3 hours extra for the trip time to allow for stops.

 

QUOTE(KCMichigan @ Apr 8 2008, 05:08 AM) [snapback]710891[/snapback]
wallet with stuff in it)



LOVE this suggestion, thanks! I will be making a trip to the thrift store before our upcoming road trip (not nearly 15 hours) to scope out some fun stuff and now WALLETS are officially on the list.

 

Be careful with the wallets though...we did that and now Ben has serious attachment issues with his wallet. He carries that thing around with him WHEREVER he goes!!! I am NOT kidding, he even sleeps with it.

We are leaving this week for a long road trip too. I always pack pipe cleaners and cheerios. Not only is a great fine motor activity, it keeps them BUSY stringing the cheerios onto the pipe cleaner. We also pack lots of small stickers and small notepads. I will definitely add a roll of tape to each pack too. That is classic.

 

I don't have tips on what to take in the car but I do have one for parking in Seattle.

I was just there a few weeks ago visiting my brother, SIL and the kids. We went into Seattle to the Aquarium and ended up parking under the viaduct. The longest you could pay to park where I was was 2 hours and I didn't get out there fast enough (10 minutes late) to get a new parking sticker and got a ticket. Needless to say my Brother's family parked someplace where it was all day parking but didn't feel the need to share that with me since we were meeting at the Aquarium and not following him.

SweetpeaG..if you can give out any parking idea's for inside the city help them too.

ETA: after rereading what I just said I guess it isn't really a tip but more of a warning.

 

Mine totally love tape as well! Sticky notes are also a big hit. Actually any kind of paper keeps them occupied for ages -- junk mail is great! Have a good trip.

 

Hey, we drive an 10 hour trip every year from Iowa to Oklahoma.

I pack a magna doodle
a new coloring book with NEW crayons (put them in a ziplock baggie)
I go through their favorite hand size toys and put them in an ice cream pail. I don't get it out right away, but when a meltdown occurs.

Buy some really cheap cards, and let them play with them (be prepared to pitch them when done! LOL)

Buy the take and toss bowls and fill them with snacks they love. Have a cooler filled with cups of water, milk, or whatever drink they like.

Our last trip, instead of stopping at restaurants, I packed the cooler with sandwiches and we stopped at a rest area and enjoyed the fresh air, ran around with the dog and saved a LOT of money!

We also have a DVD player.

Also on this last trip, I ended up sitting next to one of the boys the whole trip down and back since he was 'loving' the dog too tight (squeezing the dog to the point that the dog was blue! )

Oh, and as mentioned, at this age, expect to stop a LOT!

We used to drive all our long trips overnight, we'd start before supper and stop to eat, change jammies, etc, then we'd stop one more time around 8 or 9 and then set up for sleeping (go with the natural light) and we'd drive all night. The people on the other end watched dd when we got there. We'd have a good 4 hour nap! I've not been able to do that with the boys, neither dh or I get enough sleep to drive all night

Enjoy your trip!