Vacation Time
One of my favorite quotes from Modern Family comes from an episode when the whole family takes a trip to Hawaii. Phil says to his wife, “Relax, Claire, we’re on vacation.” To which Claire aptly replies, “I’m a mom traveling with her kids. It’s not a vacation, it’s a business trip.”
It’s just one of those things that is so true, and yet you never realize it until you are shuffling your kids through the airport, or are entering hour three of a fourteen-hour road trip. Just because the family is going on vacation doesn’t mean that Mom gets to relax much, if at all.
The kids still need to be looked after, fed, kept occupied so they don’t annoy anyone else on the plane, kept occupied so they don’t kill each other in the back seat, and unless you are traveling with a babysitter, the kids’ bedtime means you are confined to “home base” as well.
Travel has been made easier with all the tablets available; you can download educational games, music, e-books, and even movies to keep your kids entertained. But if you don’t want them glued to a screen the whole trip, make sure you prepare some travel packs for each child. I recommend packing a small backpack for each child, that way they can carry their own items. Each pack should include a variety of games and activities, such as, but not limited to the following:
- crayons and activity books
- Mad Libs
- Rubik’s Cube (or other one-piece puzzles)
- road games like car BINGO
- flash cards
- books
- I Spy games
- a disposable camera
- Silly Puddy (less messy than Play Doh but just as fun)
- snacks
- one or two special toys your child chooses to bring
If you want more ideas for travel activities, check out the link below. Now, these travel packs aren’t going to relieve you of all your Mom duties, but hopefully they will keep your kids quiet enough for you to relax a little. After all, you are on vacation.
Road Trip Activities for Kids
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