Helpful tips for long family road trips

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Updated: September 9, 2011 2:21PM

Planning a family road trip to take advantage of the last gasps of summer vacation? Be sure to bring along these easy-to-make games and activities that may not put an end to the “are we there yet?” requests, but are sure to keep everyone happy and entertained (at least until the next pit stop).

Bubble Wrap
Bingo

This game is “pop”-ular with both older and younger children who love the challenge of finding the items as well as perfecting the art of popping bubbles.

You Need:

Bubble Wrap (the kind with large bubbles), paper, scissors
double-sided tape or glue, pencils, markers, crayons or stickers

Instructions:

Cut a piece of bubble wrap so that it fits over the paper.

Using the bubble wrap as your guide, draw images (or use stickers) to illustrate different items you might see on a road trip.

Once the original is finished, make color copies, so you’ll have multiples for all your passengers.

Glue or tape bubble wrap to paper.

To Play:

Kids pop the bubbles as they spot each item.

Thank you to folks at www.ohdeedoh.com for sharing this creative craft.

License Plate
Boggle

This fast-paced game is a great way to pass the time while strengthening phonetic awareness and spelling skills.

You Need:

Pencil (one for each player)

License Plate Boggle Boards (download at www.pioneerlocal.com/mommy)

Set Up Board:

Players take turns calling out the letters they see on nearby license plates (do not include numbers).

Players fill in the License Plate Boggle Board from left to right and top to bottom using the called out letters.

Don’t forget: All “Q’s” should be changed to “Qu’s” on the board.

When all 16 squares are filled in, the game is ready to be played.

To Play:

Set a timer or make one person the timekeeper, allotting three minutes per round.

Players write down as many words as they can find using letters from the grid.

Words can be made in any direction, but letters must touch.

The person with the most points after the three minutes wins.

Scoring is as follows:

Fewer than 3 letters = no score

3- or 4-letter words = 1 point

5-letter words = 2 points

6-letter words = 3 points

7-letter words = 4 points

8 or more letters = 10 points

Car Poker

You Need:

One Deck of Cards (remove face cards except Queens)

Set Up:

Establish categories for each suite, for example:

Hearts = Red Car

Diamonds = Sports Car

Spades = Pickup Truck

Clubs = Mini Van

Queens = A Full House (any type of vehicle with 3 or more passengers)

To Play:

Shuffle cards and place facedown in a pile.

Each player draws a card from the top of the deck at the same time, and then holds it until it has been “spotted.” A card is “spotted” when the category is seen a specific number of times. For example, if a player draws the “4 of hearts,” it is “spotted” after the player spots 4 red cars. Queens are the only exception because they can be any type of vehicle as long as there are at least three passengers.

Once a card is “spotted” the player keeps the card and draws another one.

Game play continues until all the cards are gone.

The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

U.S. Map Game

Sue Kirchner knows a thing or two about family fun. The Palatine mom and founder of www.ChocolateCakeClub.com is dedicated to helping families have more “chocolate cake moments.” On road trips Kirchner likes to bring along blank maps, which she quickly turns into a fun geography game for her kids.

You Need:

Crayons, markers or colored pencils

Blank U.S. maps (one for each passenger)

Note: You can download blank maps at www.eduplace.com. The site has a number of maps including ones that have state names, capitals or are completely blank for an extra challenge.

To Play:

Players work together to color the states on their maps that correspond with the different license plates they see on the road. For example, if a player sees an Indiana plate, Indiana is colored on the map. The big challenge? See if you can spot plates for all 50 states before arriving at your destination.

Travel Journals

Travel journals are a great way to help your kids record and collect special memories, mementos and photos from your trip. Journals can be made out of out of old notebooks, date books or cardstock and paper. To learn more visit www.pioneerlocal.com/video and watch our “Make Your Own Travel Journal” video.

Have a money-saving tip you want to share? E-mail us at Beth@engelmanriggs.com and you might be featured in an upcoming article.