If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that in July last year we moved our little family to start a new life in France. It feels like a lifetime ago, yet no time at all. I haven’t really had time to decompress properly, as I went straight into launching, travelling for events and writing my book. Now the book is almost out and my business model has moved away from launching, I want to make more effort to travel back to the UK regularly. This will mean a scenic European road trips with a VERY lively 4 year old. Not something which fills me with much joy, but if we want to make regular return trips, it would definitely be more economical than flying. Or going by taxi and train as I do if I’m travelling alone. Sadly, we live in the sticks 2 hours from the nearest airport, so any journey we do involves a bit of a drive to civilisation! In addition to popping to Kwik Fit to make sure you car is good to go, there are a few other preparations you can make.
I want to be VERY prepared for the long journey, so I had a brainstorm and came up with my own action plan. Maybe these things will help you if you’re planning a road trip with your kids.
- Download films and apps – Be super prepared and load stacks of games and movies when your still at home on your wifi. Then make sure the devices are fully charged and you have a back up charger with you on the journey.
- Stock up on snacks – We all know that convenience food can be pricey and it’s not always easy to stop when your kids demand their third snack in an hour. So make sure you prepare and keep snacks handy in the car.
- Regular breaks for fun! Let’s face it sitting in a car for hours on end is boring, even for us adults. By preparing your route you’ll be able to schedule regular ‘fun’ breaks as you pass through interesting places.
- Keep games and books handy – A handy bag filled with books and games will be your road trip best friend.
- Pack every outfit in a zip locked bag – There will probably be an occasion (or 7!) when your kid spills their drink everywhere and you don’t want to be crazily digging through their case trying to find what you need at the side of the road. Packing daily outfits in bags, makes this retrieval process so much quicker and easier.
- Hourly surprises – If your journey is going to be a long one, then consider packing some treats that you can present to your kids every hour. Even a trip to the Pound Shop to pick up a few colouring pads and crayons will be enough to keep kids interested and occupied.
- Think of comfort & ease – Turn a slippy flip-up back seat table into a kid friendly activity/lunch table with a pizza box and some stick on velcro.
- Create a treasure hunt – Take a few minutes before you leave to write down a list of things your kids can try to spot out of the window. I know Ava loves checking this off a list, so she will love this.
- Good old eye spy game – Sometimes the old ones are the best! If your kid is too young to play ‘proper’ eye spy, try playing it with colours – ‘Something red’ etc.
- Research your route and talk about geographical areas.
- Chat about foods to look forward too. When you get to your destination
- Create a car pass the parcel... Just like the children’s game, wrap small gifts and treats into a parcel. Every hour you can unwrap a layer and get a new gift/distraction.
- Choose destination tv, music to be preloaded before your trip to help everyone learn about the areas they are travelling through.
- Have a location themed picnic. French baguettes in 1 hour. Tapas at 3 pm
- Travel journal. Get your kids to complete a travel journal.
I can’t wait to start going on our road trips and I’m sure, if we’re prepared, they will go smoothly. Do you have any tips for stress-free road trips?
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.