How to save your sanity on your next ROAD TRIP
Road Trippin’ party of six!
Here we go…
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Traveling has always been a passion of mine but having a family of six can make it more challenging not to mention expensive!
There have been many times we have taken trips that could have been costly, but we are always looking to save money. One way to save big is travel expense! Driving to your destination can save a bundle, however, can be daunting with children. Initially, this was our go to method of transport and once I perfected it, we began to look forward to that part of our trip! In this post I am sharing my tried-and-true road trip methods! Put to the test by my own four children, read on to see how we made this option a reality!
-How I figured out Road Tripping was in our future
-Making the most of your stops
-Keeping the kids busy
-The BIGGEST secret: Timing is EVERYTHING!
-Always have a plan B
How I figured out Road Tripping was in our future
After getting married in 2007, my husband and I traveled regularly. With two incomes and zero dependents it was easy.
When we had our first son, I quit my job to stay home and soon after we welcomed our daughter into our world as well. With all these big adjustments traveling was difficult, but still happened occasionally as the babies could still fly for free. As we added a third and fourth child, I got caught up trying to make it one day to the next and traveling at all seemed almost impossible.
My husband began traveling regularly for work, and so badly I wanted to tag along. But with the expense of flights for the five of us plus the challenge of finding a hotel to accommodate us was daunting on one income.
The next summer we decided we would try to road trip to visit some friends in Minnesota. A fourteen-hour drive with four children six and under. Sounds awful I know, but I desperately wanted to go, so I got to work. I spent some time prior to our trip preparing and it made all the difference! We all enjoyed the car ride, who would have known! This would be the beginning of many road trips!
Making the most of your stops
As we drove it dawned on me, we all are sitting in the car, then we get out and sit at a restaurant, WHY? So, we decided to change things.
1. PACK A COOLER! By packing a cooler (We love this YETI from Amazon), not only can you save money and eat healthier food, but you can also skip the food stop. Instead, feed your kids in the car when they are hungry and stop at a rest stop or park where kids can run around and play! They need to burn energy, so pack a ball or frisbee so they can entertain themselves.
2. When we do need gas/food, we use the iexit app. It tells you exactly what you can find at each exit that you are approaching along with the time and distance to each.
Keeping the kids busy
Before you go spend some time creating a Busy Basket for each of your kiddos! (Get the tutorial at the bottom of this page!) It takes some prep work, but you will not regret it! Each basket is different as they have differing abilities/interests but hit your local dollar store and see what they have! At Dollar Tree, I found rectangular baskets that fit well on seats between kids! I filled them with a variety of workbooks, activity books, puzzles, reading material, car bingo, games, crayons etc. The key is to buy a cookie sheet from dollar tree and use it as a table. They can color, eat, or stick magnets to it and because it has a lip, nothing falls off! Two of the best activities that all my kids loved, making fruit loop bracelets on pipe cleaners and building with marshmallows and toothpicks!
The secret to these baskets; a ticket is awarded for each completed activity. After 5 tickets they get to pick a prize from the prize basket! Again, hit the Dollar Tree and fill a basket with candy, toys, playdoh, etc. and allow them to pick! Once one gets a prize, it is contagious! If you want a fun twist on this, wrap them up so kids get a surprise!
The BIGGEST secret: Timing is EVERYTHING!
Quite possibly the best piece of advice I can offer is to leave early in the morning! We do this and get in five or six hours of driving before the kids even woke up! Making a long trip possible in one day!
The night before leaving, we pack the car, set up the kid’s seats, and my husband goes to bed early. I stay up with kids for a bit then put them to bed about regular time (maybe a little later). We get up at 3 am, toss everyone in the car and head out. I go back to sleep while he drives, and we stop for breakfast once everyone is up and antsy. We usually get about five hours of driving in! After breakfast, kids are anxious to work on the Busy Baskets and I take the wheel to give my husband a chance to sleep.
This takes a bit of planning and preparation, but it makes a world of difference!
Always have a plan B
You can prep and plan forever, but somehow something always manages to go wrong. Always have a plan B, it could quite possibly save your sanity!
1. Pack a Car Sick Bag. My daughter got car sick, and this bag was a savior! We had no idea she got motion sickness! This is great to keep in your car at all times! Again, hit the Dollar Tree for some rubber gloves, Lysol wipes, bottled water, granola bar, hand sanitizer and pack it in a gallon zip lock. It’s also good to keep Dramamine and Sea Bands on hand, both sold on Amazon and they worked surprisingly well!
2. A portable DVD player can be a great addition on longer trips! It is fun to plan a movie, let the kids vote and begin the movie at nap time, that way it’s quiet for baby to sleep! I even give them a bag of popcorn and a candy; this is a family favorite! We have tried several but love this DVD player from Amazon!
3. iPad, tablets, and phones are always a great plan B. Kids love these and we don’t typically let them have them in the car but will do periodic “Screen Breaks” where they have an hour or half hour to play games. For the little guys, we love the Amazon Fire Tablet! Has a larger screen than the kid’s version and its pretty inexpensive!
After a few long trips, I have gotten it down to a science! It’s all about preparation, if you put in the time, the trip will be much more enjoyable for everyone! The Busy Baskets initially take some time to create but can be restocked and reused again and again. Hope this inspires you to take a ROAD TRIP!
Busy Basket
This guy is working hard on his fine motor skills and getting a pick from the prize basket!
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