YES! It’s time, time to cash out those vacation hours.
Packing for the road trip is a great way to build anticipation for your family, and this is key to making sure the trip is fun for everyone.
Talk it up and start planning early.
Build Anticipation
Start by making a list and post it in the kitchen with a map or pictures of the destination. Ask everyone to add anything they want to add to the packing list. This is going to help lift the burden off mom to do all the list making, and it is going to get everyone excited and thinking about the trip.
Make categories on the list to help everyone brainstorm.
When the trip gets closer lay out kids outfits and talk to them about each destination and what you will be doing in each outfit.
When you ask the kids to get their warm clothes, remind them that you will be sleeping in a tent, or watching an outdoor movie. Tell them they will need their fanciest outfit for Tia’s concert.
No Suitcases
When you are packing the car use totes instead of suitcases for clothing. This is going to keep the car much more organized and makes it easier to pack things around the totes.
The best way to use this system is to pack by day, not by person. So if you have a 3 day trip pack 3 bags with 1 outfit and 1 set of pajamas for each person. Add toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrush and essential toiletries in your day 1 bag.
When you arrive, late at night, at your destination you can confidently grab just ONE TOTE from the car and sleep comfortably!
I like these totes for our trips. They fit well in our large passenger van and they are the right size for 1 outfit and 1 pajama set for each person in our family of 6.
Keep the baby bag really really well packed with extra outfits for the kids in case of a bad spill or an accident. This will minimize the digging into the luggage and messing up any organization you have done.
Keep the Van Clean
The first thing to add to the car for a family road trip is a kitchen sized trash can. Find a great spot in the van and put a full sized trash can with a bag, and a few in the bottom of the can. There is nothing like a clean car, and 2 hours into the road trip, your car will likely be nothing like a clean car!
Make sure you have a large trash can in the front and a small one in each seat. Having their own trash can in the back keeps things from being thrown on the floor (about 80% of the time in my experience).
Keep a big trash can will make it easy to clean as you go and only one place where there is trash. This will be easy to get rid of at a rest stop or gas station.
Consider a car vacuum. I have a cordless one and a corded one. The benefit of the cordless one is you can use it to clean out the tent, the Air BnB, while you are driving or in your friend’s car. It looks just like a water bottle and fits great in the baby bag.
The corded one holds more before needing to be emptied, and comes with a super convenient bag that stores under the driver’s seat in my van.
So, packing smart, having a designated trash can, and having a vacuum will keep the car as clean as it can be while you are spending so much time in it. This can really reduce the stress!
Sleeping
Take it from me, do not try to save space by packing light on the sleeping gear. If you are not sleeping in a Hotel, pack more than you think you will need to sleep comfortably. In my family that means more than six pillows. Yes, its bulky, yes it takes up a TON of space, but it is really going to make the trip a lot better for everyone.
If you are camping, car camping, hostelling, or staying in an unconventional accommodation make sure that you have blankets, pillows, and white noise for everyone. Of course, don’t forget anything that is particular to your family. My husband loves to sleep with earplugs and misses them if I do not remember to throw a few in the bag.
This will also help you and your kids fall asleep faster. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sticking to the regular sleep and nap schedule when possible to make the transition back home easier. You know your kids, so plan to make sure everyone gets enough sleep. They will probably wake up at their normal time no matter how late they stayed up, so keep that in mind.
Record Keeping
I am a big advocate of a family journal, and they are great for road trips. This post explains family journals in more detail, but in short it is a notebook that is available to all family members to record thoughts, frustrations, or memories.
Bring your family journal on the trip and remind everyone to write down some things in the journal. If you have some pre writers you can ask everyone for their highs and lows on the ride home and record them in your journal.
Grab souvenirs, they do not have to be kitchy or bulky, I like “Do Not Disturb” door hangers or ticket stubs. I keep them on a key ring and its a cool memento.
Take pictures, but don’t stop there.
Make a family yearbook. If you use Google Photos, you can make an album and add photos while you are chillin in the driveway because all the kids fell asleep while you were driving home. At the end of the year print all the pictures and put them in a simple album.
This is the cheapest way to make a great family yearbook. Wrap it up and give it as a gift, then take time to flip through the pictures and laugh about the year you had!
I like to consider how I will be keeping a record of this trip while I am packing. I think it is important to mark any adventures your family shares to help connect everyone and build a strong family culture.
Staying on Schedule
How long should we drive in a day?
When you are planning your trip try to plan for about 8 hours of driving a day. You can do 10 or 12 or even more if you have 2 drivers, but if you have kids in car seats, it will be better to give them a break.
How long can kids ride in car seats?
It is recommended that kids do not stay in their car seats for more than 2 hours. This is more important the younger your children are, newborns are at most risk being strapped in the car seat, with some suggesting stopping even more than that.
The concern is that an infant or child could slouch down and restrict their breathing in a way that could cause harm or even death.
I know that I have been guilty of keeping everyone strapped in their seats for the ease of it, but as I become more and more aware of these safety concerns, I am changing my ways!
So take frequent breaks and get all the kids out of their seats.
Bathroom Breaks
I think everyone should keep a potty in the car. This is so helpful for kids who are newly potty trained, or who need to use the bathroom frequently. In a pinch, even the grown ups can use it.
I keep a small potty from Walmart in our car, but we have also used this one. If the situation dictates, I will put a diaper or puppy pad in the potty and just wrap it up in a bag to dispose of later.
If you have older kids, or a more flexible schedule try to schedule bathroom breaks every 1.5 hours, and bring a frisbee or ball to play around outside when you stop.
Make it fun
Life is a journey not a destination. – Ralf Waldo Emmerson
Make sure you plan some car ride activities that will involve the whole family, something that everyone is excited to do!
You could try
- Tic Tac Toe
- Mad Libs
- Audio Books
- Cat’s Cradle
- Special Sweet Treat
- Water Wow Books
- Twenty Questions
- Maze and Dot to Dot Books
One family I know wrote numbers on brown bags, one for each hour. They put special prizes and activities in each bag to help the kids mark the time and keep them occupied.
I am so glad you are taking a big trip! I know your family will love it and it is really worth it!
If you are looking for how to budget for these trips, you can check out this post and free printable!
