22 Boredom Busting Ideas for stress-free family car journeys

If you’re about to take a long road trip with young kids, you’ll need our great ideas for road trip games and activities for long car journeys. According to recent research, the most stressful minute when travelling with children on a family holiday is 1 hour and 16 minutes into the car journey! I can well believe this! If you’re looking to make travelling with kids stress-free and want to start the beginning of your long-awaited holiday on a more positive note, then take a look at some boredom busting travel ideas I’ve been using to keep my kids entertained on a family car journey.

Annually, we drive 13 hours to my parent’s house in Ireland! Here’s our best screen free ideas that help our 4 kids survive a long journey without screen time. They all take little time and little planning to get ready and help keep kids busy on long trips or day trips in a car, plane or even a train ride.

• A Good Story audio book for stress free family car journeys!

  Preferably one that lasts over an hour. I’d highly recommended Roald Dahl’s Complete Collection (a perfect Christmas Present idea!) or David Walliams Complete Collection  and Winnie the Pooh! (Eeyore really is one of the funniest storybook characters in my opinion and I share his cynicism on long journeys!)

• Foam maps and puzzles 

  

  We love foam puzzles for in the car or on a plane – somehow the pieces don’t become lost because they’re foam, they don’t break apart like conventional puzzles and they’re light to pack. See the above link for an example but they’re are so many to choose from. These cube puzzles are brilliant! No small pieces to lose!

• These Talking Table Cards are great as conversation starter for log journeys for kids.
• Water wow is perfect mess free drawing for a long road trip!
• These are our favourite sticker books – they keep kids busy for hours!
• Eye Spy Cards or Books

  You can make these really easily or buy them here. They are great for family travel. Essentially, this is a card where you list all the things they might be able to spot on a journey. Oh yes, I know there’s iPads and DVD players but these are a cheaper, educational option and oh so much fun to make!

• For younger kids, try making Busy Bags

  Here are some of my favourite busy bags and you can find more ideas on my Busy Bag article here…..Click here for 5 amazing, FREE Busy Bag activities that you can print for your journey TODAY! Save time…just download, print, and play!

   Snacks! 

  Obviously, snacks are a must! We find these snack pots are ingenious to stem the mess! And to save your car try our no mess snack suggestions…..
• Pretzels
• Hula Hoops (the least messy crisps around!)
• Marshmallows
• Mini Breadsticks
• Raisins
• Ice Gems
• Mini rice cakes

  Colouring Books

  These are a must when travelling with kids. To save little lids being lost, we love these pens which keep the lids together. Wrap-around Pens.  There is so much choice in colouring books, these are our favourites: Holiday Books

  And….while we’re talking about colouring.… A Mini padded tray is super useful for little ones to colour on.

• Try wrapping a few inexpensive toys and letting them open one every few hours. Turns a long journey into a mini-Christmas!
• Music is essential! Sometimes the radio just doesn’t cut it. Try making your own playlist of all your family’s favourite tunes! 
  There are some great quizzes on Spotify – our kids like playing ‘Guess the Movie Soundtrack’ or ‘Guess which advert the song from?’
• Try these fun Earth Day Worksheets to keep them busy in the car!
• Preschoolers will love these Playdough Shape Cards

• Sewing Cards and Cross Stitch kits

  You can buy these suitable for a variety of age groups. I often pick these up in the Pound Shop or you can buy these ones.

  

Window Stickers and Squidgy Toys

These squidgy toys are great for sticking on car windows which can keep toddlers and little kids entertained in the car. And kids have lots of fun with window stickers that peel off!

Activities for Family Car Journeys

• Aquadoodle

  Aquadoodle is a brilliant mess-free travel activity! You can use it with only water which means it can travel pretty much anywhere! Cars, buses, planes………… The makers of Aquadoodle have even created special travel size packs.  

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    Bring a Calculator!

     I’ve no idea why but my kiddos love a calculator! It can keep them busy for hours! And……if you’re really at a loss and want to avoid eye-spy, these travel games for family car journeys are a better option!!

1. Shopping Memory Game: Each person starts with “I went to the shop and I bought…” they have to say an item in alphabetical order (first person A, second person B etc…) and then add each person’s item to the list as they go.
2. Geography game: Start with the name of a place; the next player has to think of a name beginning with the last letter of the first name, and so on.
3. If you’re looking for more simple games and activities for the car for the whole family – check out this post!

Travel Activities for Older Children

• Play “would you rather”family car journeys with kid friendly questions like, “Would you rather be a a snake with legs or a half zebra-half man?” is generally good for a giggle. You can buy the Would you Rather Book for ideas!

• Play Mad Libs – lots of fun for adults and kids.
• Try our favourite travel games for kids.
• This Teen travel book is brilliant for kids to complete on a road trip!
• Kids can learn a new craft on a long road trip, try a Knitting kit or Macrame Kit or even Origami kit for the car.that can help keep teenagers busy.