TRAVELS & Places to go Road Trip Boredom Busters Do your holidays include a trip through the woods to grandmother’s house? The family road trip can be a time to bond and learn about each other’s interests and points of view — or an ordeal that makes you want to scream every time you hear “Are we there yet?” from your kids. A road trip can be a fun, educational, and sane experience with just a little planning, creativity, and preparation. Sure, electronic games, apps, and portable DVD players are great distractions. But don’t overlook these family-friendly games and activities that can keep everyone happy as the miles go by. Can-Do Cards - Don’t underestimate the power of a deck of cards. It presents endless possibilities for all ages and can provide hours of entertainment and concentration. If your kids are sick of the standard Go Fish, Crazy Eights, and Rummy games, buy — or borrow from your local library — a kids’ card games book for new ideas. Or buy a deck of quiz or trivia cards to keep their brains busy. Contest Craze - Hold an official family spelling bee or trivia contest using index cards to write down words or questions. Winners can earn trinkets, stickers, activity or coloring books, trading cards, 26 November 2021| PB Parenting |
food treats, money (the younger the child, the smaller the amount), or extra minutes of hotel pool time or stay-up-late time. Good Ol’ Games - Use the fallback road-trip games — 20 Questions, the License Plate Game, and I Spy. Try the Alphabet Game - Pick a topic (for instance, animals) and a letter (A), then have everyone name animals that begin with that letter, like aardvark, antelope, ape. The best thing about this game is that kids can pick a topic of interest — cars, TV characters, countries, cities, foods, names, etc. — and there are 26 possibilities (one for each letter) for every topic. Make the games into marathons, awarding special treats or trinkets to whoever wins each round. Then have lightning rounds or finals for extra-special awards. Journal Jotting - Buy cheap but sturdy journals (or use plain notebooks or create your own from construction paper, hole puncher, and yarn) and have kids write down and describe what they see along the way. Have them collect something small (a stone, a seashell, a flower, etc.) or buy a supersmall trinket from rest stops (buttons, stickers, postcards, etc.) to glue into their journal, describing each stop and each location or landmark they pass.
