As a kid, road tripping was very much the norm. We were a family of five, and driving somewhere always made more sense financially. Not only that, but living far away from family meant that traveling more often was a must. My mom had to get creative to make these long road trips work. Now that we’re a family of five as well, I’m in the same boat. There’s a lot of really great products out there now that make it MUCH easier.
Did anyone else have the small box TV strapped on top of the center console?? That, combined with a handful of VHS got us through many long car trips. Now, cars come with DVD players, or there are tablets that strap to the back of the headrest in two seconds…. Genius! I have a number of fun travel game ideas that I’ll try to post about someday. We don’t do any of those things in the car anymore, ever since we discovered that the boys get car sick easily. Such a bummer because there’s a lot of really great ideas out there!
Before kids, I didn’t mind the long drive. I actually enjoyed the chance to listen to a good audiobook! After kids? It’s a challenge, to say the least. So many hours of crying and whining and millions of stops to empty those tiny bladders. After 6 years of countless long road trips, I’ve come up with a number of things that make the trip a little more manageable. Here is our long car ride packing list…
- Packing Cubes to organize luggage – This isn’t specific to the drive, but it’s life-changing enough to be worth mentioning. Before Disney last year, I saw a random tip about using gallon ziplock bags for separating outfits by the day. You can put everything for that day into one bag… Pants, Shirts, underwear, socks, bows, etc and just grab and go. I loved this idea so much, but I was never on top of my packing enough to do this. Instead, I would pack clothes by category and/or by child. After that trip, I got these reusable packing cubes which have been absolutely amazing! If you’re going to someone’s house that has drawers or cabinets available, I just move these bags from my suitcase into the drawers and am unpacked in two seconds. If you don’t have drawers to use, these are even easy to use when living out of a suitcase. They’re color-coordinated and somewhat see-through, which makes it easy to grab what you’re looking for.
- Clorox Wipes – I’m admittedly a germaphobe, so these are on my list for obvious reasons.
- Wet Ones – Same as above, but this wipe is one I can use on our hands and faces.
- Trash Bags – I highly recommend having an accessible trash bag at all times on a road trip. All the snacks!!
- Puke Bags – As I mentioned earlier, my kids get car sick SO easily! The drive from Maryland to Ohio is especially terrible because of all the twists and turns and ups and downs. But honestly, they sometimes get hit with it even on a short 45 minute car ride. Totally depends on traffic, distance, and terrain. Last year, the pediatrician told me it was okay to give them some Benadryl before long car rides to help with the motion sickness, and it has worked WONDERS. She says it works similarly to Dramamine which I sometimes take myself…. Obviously don’t do this without a doctor’s permission! I just wanted to share what worked for us if you’re dealing with a similar circumstance.
- Disposable Changing Pads – Road trips aside, these things are awesome. Again, with the germs…. These are such a good way of having a solid layer to lay down between the germs and the baby, no matter the situation. We have changed many diapers in the trunk of the car, or on the seats, and it works great for public restrooms as well. I throw these into shower gifts or new baby gifts all the time because we’ve loved them so much. We constantly have a handful in our car.
- Arm & Hammer Diaper Bags – These are another go-to item for life, not just road trips. I put a roll of these in all diaper bags and purses haha. They are for dirty diapers, which we use them for, but we also use them as little trash bags everywhere we go. I’ve also pulled them out as a backup if one of my kids is looking a little green.
- Travel Potty – This is a random one, and I’m sure some people will think it’s crazy, but this little thing has been such a life saver with young kids. Especially ones that are potty training!! When they first start potty training, they literally have to pee every two seconds. This makes it easy to pull over for a quick stop, instead of unloading the car each time. We just set it up in the trunk or on the floor of the car. These disposable bags go with it. If you have boys, don’t forget that an empty clorox wipes container or empty drink container could also be used…. Dumb and Dumber anyone?? If I’m being totally honest, I keep this in our trunk at all times. We’ve been caught without access to a bathroom so many times, I can’t even count.
- Disposable Toilet Seat Covers – If the idea of a travel potty grosses you out, I would at least suggest stocking up on these. I’ve seen way too many nasty toilets on these road trips, I can’t even handle it. Laying down toilet paper gets so annoying because the moment I put the kid up there, it all shifts over. This one seems to provide a good amount of coverage.
- Headphones – If you do have some sort of tablet or DVD player in your car, headphones are a great idea. It’s not always possible to get the kids to wear them, but when they do, Joe and I can listen to our own book on tape which makes the drive go MUCH faster. Feel free to borrow your kids’ headphones if you need to block out any crying.
- Neck Pillow – This is another one that some might find funny… I can’t get the picture to upload of Johnny using this, but it totally looks like it’s choking him. Spoiler alert…. it’s not haha. I just have always HATED when my kids fall asleep with their chin to their chest, head dangling down. It looks so hard to breathe. It might be because my kids have freakishly large heads, but this neck pillow is something I now bring along every trip. One of my boys will wear it even sometimes when awake. The other one doesn’t love it, but I slip it on him after he falls asleep, and he seems to be more comfortable and sleep longer. It doesn’t always stay put, but I adjust it as-needed while they nap.
- Travel Blanket – This will seem obvious to most people, but it’s something we just recently figured out. Again, with carsickness, we tend to err on the side of keeping the car decently cool. You can honestly use any blanket, or even a towel which we’ve had easily accessible when driving to the beach. I just liked having a blanket designated for the car that folds up in a little carrying case. I’ve been stuck without blankets many times before, but now we’ll always remember!
- Ipad/Tablet Holder and Car Organizer – We’ve been through many iPad holders in the car… The issue is that once the kids can reach the seat in front of them, they kick everything. I still think they’ve been so worthwhile. I linked one that I came across with good reviews, but I haven’t tried this specific one. I just bought this one for our drive coming up because I’m only wanting the actual stand part on the headrest. We’ve tried using the organizers before, but again with the kicking, stuff gets kicked out and annoys me.
Eventually, I’ll try to do a post with fun car activities to entertain kids! For now, this was just my checklist for our upcoming road trip. Hopefully there were some items that could be helpful for yours as well. Happy Travels!