Guide for Holiday Travel with Children

Traveling with children can feel like an adventure in itself! Whether it’s a road trip to visit family or a getaway, keeping kids entertained and comfortable is key to a smooth journey. Here are some strategies we recommend for making travel with little ones a bit easier—and a lot more fun!

In-Car Activities 

Offering a variety of activities can help your child stay entertained and reduce boredom during long car rides.

Here are some of our favorite options:

1. Stickers

   Random Sticker Fun: Give your child peel-off stickers and let them place them on paper however they like.

   Sticker by Number: Great for younger children to work on counting and fine motor skills. Shop here.

   Sticker Picture Creation: Kids can create their own picture using stickers (with or without a template).

   Ocean: https://amzn.to/4eEfvXC

   Zoo Animals: https://amzn.to/3V1Ygc2

   Insects: https://amzn.to/4fTQvN5

   Pets: https://amzn.to/3AEhddT

   Sticker Match Activity (See halloween activity post) 

2. Coloring 

   Reusable coloring books with water markers: https://amzn.to/4fTREUX

   Crayola Mess Free Clear Markers with Book: https://amzn.to/4eBEpaj

3. Fidget Tools

   Busy Boards: https://amzn.to/3OdAeab

   Poke-A-Dot Books: https://amzn.to/3AOtKLI

   Magnetic Wand Maze: https://amzn.to/3CJHDeC

   Pop-its: https://amzn.to/4fUDwuB

4. Traveling Bingo

   Car color search 

   Landmark/Item search

   I spy 

5. Dance Parties (in car seats) 

   Offer intermittent wiggle breaks for a “dance party” 

   You can use a child’s preferred song or familiar ones such as chicken dance or macarena 

   Tip: You can use pencil pouches or small pouches in a larger bag to keep your activities separated. Check out our after school decompression guide with a “go bag” for other ideas. 

Snacks 

Offering your child snacks during road trips will keep them occupied and prevent them from potentially being hangry. Here are 5 snack options we recommend for car trips. Keep in mind, these are not the only options. Feel free to get creative with yours! 

1. Pouches with cap 

2. Fruit snacks or fruit bar 

3. Pretzels or crackers in non-spill container with

4. Bars/Granola bars 

5. Yogurt Melts

6. Build your own trail mix (before leaving for the trip)

Tip: Inevitably, kids will be messy and there will be some spills. You can try to minimize this by the type of snack offered, quantity of food offered, and container the food is offered in. Offer a variety of snack options that your child does not have direct access to but can ask for and are aware of. Try to dose out the snacks so they are not all eaten at once. Also, always have a designated trash bag to make clean up easier. 

 Rest-Stop Activities 

When kids are sitting in the car, they can have lots of stored up energy. Use rest-stop or gas station breaks as a chance to allow them to get some energy out. Here are some activities you can do with your child. Once again, feel free to get creative. 

1. Relay Race

   If there is a greenspace available, have a designated spot approximately 10-15 feet away that you and your child alternate running back and forth from. You can also do hops, skips, and other variations such as animal walks.

2. Jumping Contest 

   See how many jumps your child can do in a row or see how many they can do on each foot 

3. Stretch Break

   Have you child reach up tall, touch their toes, stand like a starfish, and wiggle out their muscles. If you have time you can follow a video for demonstrations of stretches. We love “Cosmic Kids Yoga” on YouTube 

4. Scavenger Hunt 

   Create a list of items to find together (Ex: red car, trash can, cloud, grass, sidewalk, door etc.)

Tip: During these movement breaks, safety is key. Make sure to keep an eye on your child at all times. Especially be aware of your surroundings in regard to terrain and other vehicles and individuals. 

Additional Tips 

• Some children benefit from using age-appropriate  weighted lap pads or stuffed animals while riding in the car to provide a calming sensory input. Here are some products we recommend. 

  • Weighted Lap Animal: https://amzn.to/3CyiHXA

  • Weighted Lap Pad: https://amzn.to/3On1eUt

• Some children benefit from using noise canceling headphones during car rides to minimize the overstimulation that car rides, especially with siblings or music, may provide. Here are some that we recommend. 

  • Loop Ear Plugs: https://amzn.to/3ADAmwB

  • Noise Canceling Headphones: https://amzn.to/4hXWUZq

• Some children benefit from listening to their own music on car rides. Here are some age appropriate music devices or headphones we recommend. 

  • Bluetooth headphones where you can play music from your phone to the headphones: https://amzn.to/4fxCRiR

  • Tonies Starter Kit: https://amzn.to/4hZwy9J

  • Tonies Headphones:: https://amzn.to/4fWFcUj

  • Tonies Carrying Case: https://amzn.to/4hZwy9J

• Some children seek out additional oral input during long car rides. Here are some oral regulation/chew tools we recommend 

  • Chew Tube: https://amzn.to/4hY34su

Check out our amazon list for a total list of products we recommend for traveling with children.