Staying Sane on your roadtrip

Summer time means road trips. Whether it's a short drive to Grandma's house, or a longer drive to your vacation destination, at some point this summer chances are good you are going to hit the road. Chances are also good at that some point, if you have little people (or if you are like me, and not a good sitter in the car) you are going to hear (or say) the familiar, “Are we there yet?!”

Part of surviving and staying sane in the car is preparation. After you've given your vehicle the once over, a few minutes of inside prep can make for a much smoother drive!! Here are a few of the Disney Magic Mommy's suggestions that have worked well for us over the years for both kids and adults!  

Pack a few snack and drinks.

When people get hungry, they get grouchy. Prevent that with some snacks and drinks. Treat yourself to favorites you you don't usually buy, to make it more special. With kids, something that can be eaten slower is better. A treat of M&Ms vanishes much faster than a unicorn lollipop!  Our kids think the coolest thing ever is to stop off at a gas station and get their own bag of chips and drink, something they don't usually get to do at home. Sometimes something a little out of the ordinary is extra special, and gets you to that next stop. 

Don't forget the charged up tablets or DVDs for the player


Nothing stinks so much as getting down the road and realizing the tablets aren’t charged and there's no DVD for the player. Don't do that to yourself. Double check before you go! Grab headphones and then you'll be able to hear without the pups in Paw Patrol yipping every few seconds while you're trying to call out map directions.



Surprises


I bet every mom packs a few surprises for their kid, new books, or crayons and paper, small toys or a brand new DVD. As a kid I always looked forward to those new trinkets, and now, my kids do too. If you show ahead of time, not only can you find cute things inexpensively, but you could also make it all into a theme. Going to the beach? Get ocean themed coloring books, stickers and shells to look at from the dollar store, Finding Dory for the DVD player, etc.

Games


Every summer Target puts the old fashioned backseat bingo games in their dollar spot. You could also print off all kinds of neat games for the car, like some of these:

imom.com

or this one, frommomsminivan.com
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Comforts for quiet time


It's important to have something familiar too, a favorite soft toy to snuggle, and a light weight blanket. Since children have thinner skin, they get cooler faster, and sometimes when the crankies hit, nothing is more soothing than your usual snuggle buddy.


Music
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Kids love music, and whether it's a CD of kids songs, or a kids audio book, loading those up onto an old phone or mp3 player is going to hold their attention for at least a little while. Did you know kids audio books can also be pretty inexpensive? Check these out!  

Adult to do's


Mr. Disney Magic does all the driving on trips, and so he gets to choose the music. But if you aren't a music person, a great audio book is fantastic. For the passenger, how about catching up on some of those magazine's that have been piling up near the sofa? I usually take along a loom to do some loom knitting for hats and scarves for a local homeless shelter. There are tons of puzzle books too, just don't forget to talk to the driver, to help them stay alert, and be an extra pair of eyes on the road!




Do you have some other great things that adults and kids can do in the car to keep busy? Comment below, please!!

Part of this weeks blog hop at
 http://www.apinchofjoy.com/2017/05/busy-monday-268/
http://www.clairejustineoxox.com/2017/05/bank-holiday-monday-creative-mondays.html
http://epicmommyadventures.com/2017/05/turn-it-up-tuesday-188/
http://www.dizzybusyandhungry.com/wined-wednesday-192/#comment-192951
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