planning a road trip - Stuff Parents Need

Thanks to AutoTrader.com for partnering with me on today’s post and for providing some GREAT ideas for traveling with kids!

Are you traveling this holiday season? We are going to be traveling by plane, but we are also going to be traveling quite a bit by car, as well! I did not take the steps I normally take to prepare our car for travel over Thanksgiving, and let me tell you, I paid the price. Here’s a direct quote from my personal Facebook page on Thanksgiving morning this year:

“Hour 3 of my seat being kicked and unceasing whining by this kid behind me.”

I’m already getting geared up for our travels later this month, and I most definitely won’t be overlooking the car travel prep again this time (live and learn!). I’ve got some ideas that we use effectively that might help you out on your next road trip, as well as some super cool Mom Hacks that the folks at AutoTrader.com have to offer. Let’s dig in to some car travel tips!

1. Clean out the car before you leave!

I know it feels like your car is going to get junked up on your trip, so why get it clean now? I have some tips coming up to help the car stay clean, but trust me, if you are going to be stuck inside a small space for a long time, you will feel much more relaxed if that space is nice and clean! So bust out your vacuum and get everything picked up before you head out of town.

2. For peace of mind, have your car serviced

Get your tires checked, your oil changed and if it’s time, do the whole tune up. Breaking down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere is only funny in the movies, friends. Do everything you can to make sure that it won’t be your family experiencing car trouble when you are hundreds of miles away from home.

3. Pack more snacks than you think you could possibly need

Somehow, you always need all of them. Just trust me. Having ample snacks on hand will also help you cut down on the number of times the kids beg to stop for food and drink, too.

4. Have some new toys on hand

No need to spend a lot of money on this one. But a brand new coloring book or a new pack of cards can be so much fun. Additionally, you can surprise your kids with toys they already have but don’t play with much. A road trip is a great time to get re-acquainted with those items.

5. Use the clock as a tool

Lots of snacks and fun new toys are awesome, but not if your kids blow through them all in the first 15 minutes of the trip. When we travel, we use the clock as a tool to space out the new stuff. So for example, one new snack item is revealed per hour, and one new toy options is offered every half hour.

6. Divide the trip into pie slices

This is especially helpful for kids who can’t yet tell time. Help them understand how long a trip is by turning the hours into pie slices. For example, when we went to Disney World, the trip was 10 hours long (bless us), so we turned that into 20 pie slices. Every half hour we would tell the kids that we ate another slice of the pie, and remind them about how many slices remained. It helped them have a better understanding of how long we had been traveling and how much more traveling we had to do.

7. Keep Your Car Clean!

AutoTrader.com has 7 totally awesome and easy hacks you can use on car trips that will help keep supplies orderly and food and drink from spilling all over the place. From DVD covers to plastic wrap, take a moment to check out these clever ideas that will help your next road trip run smoothly!

8. Rest Stops Are Awesome!

Don’t overlook the official rest stops on your travels. These are, in my opinion, the very best places to stop because they have large swatches of land where your kids can RUN. They also have picnic tables, so if the weather is cooperative, you could have a meal there and enjoy yourselves more than you might crammed in a booth at a fast food joint.

9. Don’t forget some medicine!

I don’t know why, but my kids seem to be quite fond of getting sick when we are traveling. Fevers come out of nowhere and stomach bugs make a very unwelcome appearance. Be prepared for those unfortunate moments with the types of medicine your kids take when they aren’t well. Better to not need it and have it than the other way around.

I hope those tips help you as you prepare for your next road trip! And if you are looking for a new vehicle, don’t forget to check out the great offerings at AutoTrader.com!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Mom Hacks road trip survival kit, valued at $75 and including the following awesome items: