Car Trip Tips for Toddlers

When Larry said he wanted to accompany me to my cousin's out of state wedding, I was panic-stricken. Gone were the dreams of a short, relaxing plane ride (not to mention a night or two of kid-free fun), instead replaced by visions of two toddlers screaming for 10 straight hours in a car. My own personal idea of hell.

So like I do when faced with any problem, I went to the internet. I searched "Toddler Busy Bags," and "Toddler Car Trips" and "Toddler Games for Road Trips." I found a lot of ideas and thought I'd consolidate them here.

Cookie Sheet and Magnetic Cups

The best tip I found was to buy a cookie sheet at the Dollar Store to use as a tray and desk while on the trip. These small trays are the perfect size for car seat. I also bought some tupperware cups at the Dollar Store and put a magnet on the bottom so the boys could have a place to store the parts of their game or activity. The cookie sheets also made great lunch trays!

Alphabet Magnets

While I thought these were magnetized, they ended up not being so. But I found them in magnet form for $2 at Meijer--while on our trip. I miss Meijer....

Shape Magnets

These shapes from Target were okay (hard for a toddler to pick up), but I ended up finding even better wooden ones at the Dollar Store.

Discovery Bottle

I filled a clear plastic bottle with rice and small objects (many of which I got on the Michael's clearance rack) and used hot glue to secure the cap. I took a picture of the items before placing them in the bottle and printed a picture of them so the boys knew what they were looking for. 

Busy Boppy

I'd been struggling with what to do with our two Boppy pillows. This idea came to me when I saw "Dress Me" boards and pillows. I went to the local thrift store and bought a belt, a small child's fleece (zipper), and a pair of paints (black buttons). Then I found at home an old bib (velcro) and a pair of shorts (snaps). Finally, I ordered two types of buckles on Amazon, which I sewed onto ribbon. All of this I sewed onto old Boppy covers. I ended up leaving these at home because they didn't fit in the car, but they are a good idea for shorter trips. 

Stickers and Notebooks

You should only consider the stickers if your toddler has mastered the art of peeling them off the paper! Otherwise, it can be a lengthy endeavor.

 Lace Ups

I purchased all the materials at Michael's to make Lace Ups on my own, when I found these for $5.99 at Ross next store. I returned all the materials to Michael's!

Bead Lacing

The boys enjoyed this one. The vacuum cleaner at the Car Wash did not.

Felt Fishing

I found felt animal shapes online and then made my own versions using a bag of scrap felt I had. I cut out both a front and a back, gluing a magnet between the two pieces of felt. My dad cut a wooden dowel and drilled a hole in the end, which I threaded with twine tied to a more powerful magnet ring, which I found on Amazon or Ebay.  

Measuring Cups

My twins love measuring cups. I got these at the Dollar Store and then gave them a bag of pom poms.

Duplo Towers

Sasha Claus, the very best donor of toys, books, and clothes, gave me a box of Duplos just before the trip, so this activity was perfect. I printed the cards of the internet and then made sure I had enough of each color block to make each pattern.

 Popsicle Color Matching

I cut two Popsicle shapes per color from felt, gluing just the outer edges of the arc together (leaving the bottom of the shape unglued). Then I colored Popsicle sticks with matching colors. The boys complete the Popsicle by matching the correct color stick with the same color felt.

Finger Puppets

 

Again, two pieces of felt glued just along the outsides, and open at the bottom. I found the animal puppets online, making my own versions. The eyes are done with a fine point Sharpie. If you are intimidated by the animals, you cannot mess up monster puppets! I used googly eyes on those.

Dry Erase Boards and Crayons

I didn't even know they made dry erase crayons! The twins loved these. The boards came from the Dollar Store. For an eraser, I dried out a couple wet wipes.

Road Map

 

I looked everywhere for a place mat with a road system on it. When I couldn't find it, I decided to make my own, and give the boys a new Matchbox car with it. A place mat would have been much better.

 Felt Scenes

I really wanted to make a quiet book with felt scenes, but I ran out of time. Found these at Michael's on clearance. Might be good for older kids, but for my boys, the felt just didn't stick enough. We hadpieces all over the car.

Puzzles

As long as you have a cookie sheet, small puzzles are do-able in the car.

Coloring Books

 The cookie sheets made great desks. It was harder to manage the crayons.

Dress Up Dolls

 I got the Melissa and Doug Joey figure after reading great reviews on Amazon. 

Wooly Willy

I would have been lost without the Dollar Store.

Magna Doodle Boards

I found these in the Target Bargain Bins ($3). One was completely missing the magnet in the wand, so Wooly Willy stepped up to help.  

Egg Carton Count

This one came to me a couple of days before the trip. Fill an egg carton with buttons and have the boys count the number of buttons in each cup.

Color Match Wheel

 

 

Colored a paper plate on the edges and then colored clothespins to match. Grayden loved this one. I gave them this project and the egg carton project early in the trip, because I was quite confident the Styrofoam would not make it there and back. I was right.

Presents

I also bought items at the Dollar Store to give as gifts throughout the trip. Calculators, harmonicas, doctor kits, stuffed animals, and more. I wrapped most of them, to add to the surprise and to add to the amount of time it would entertain them. I saved half of the games and activities for the trip home, but stored everything we were using one-way in a basket in the backseat.

How did they work? I really have no idea. I drove 16 hours of the 20 hour round trip, and times I wasn't driving I was soothing our overly tired boys on the way home. The games seemed to entertain Grayden quite a bit on the trip north, and he constantly asked for them during the vacation. I think the activities would have been even more helpful if I had been able to ride in the backseat with them and guide them through the instructions. If only I could do it all.

I must say the MVP of the trip was the DVD player that my brother-in-law, Bryan, gave me two Christmases ago. It has a screen for each seat, and played non-stop on our journey. I found some $5 videos of Dora, Backyardagins, Blues Clues, and more, and the DVDs were enjoyed far more than all the crafts combined. I have no problem with a little TV on a long road trip!