Activities
- Books, magazines, and comics
- Games, such as the license plate game or travel bingo
- Sketchbook, washable markers, and colored pencils
- Pre-stamped blank postcards (find them at the post office), which your kids can decorate, or postcards bought on the road; have your children write to friends, relatives, even pets
- Doodling doodads: a small dry-erase board, Etch A Sketch, Magna Doodle
- Pipe cleaners, easy origami, and other scissor-less craft supplies
- Portable DVD player and DVDs; don't forget headphones!
- Tape recorder: Let the kids produce a vacation broadcast
- Books on tape for the whole family, such as the Harry Potter series or "The Chronicles of Narnia"
- Scrapbook envelope -- entrust your children with the responsibility of collecting postcards, ticket stubs, and brochures for a scrapbook
Food
- Individually packaged, crumb-free snacks such as bite-sized goldfish crackers
- Hard-to-bruise fruits such as apples and berries; or try fruit roll-ups or fruit leathers
- Trail mix, which will leave kids feeling full longer (and keep fingers greaseless)
- Reusable bottles filled with water
Miscellaneous
- First-aid items, such as Neosporin, bandages, anti-bacterial wipes, Tylenol, sunscreen, and Dramamine
- Garbage bags to collect trash
- Extra diapers and wipes, if necessary
- Change of clothes, in case of accidental spills
- A blanket for spur-of-the-moment picnics at rest areas -- and naps
- Jump ropes and balls, so energetic little travelers can tire themselves out at rest stops!
