5 Affordable Screen-Free Road Trip Activities For Kids
With summer rapidly approaching, it won’t be long until more and more families are piling into their cars and setting off for their vacations. But when you have children, travelling can be tough! And finding the right road trip activities for kids can make all the difference between a fun vacation and a… well… not so fun one.
So today, I’ll be talking about five different ways to entertain your little ones during a road trip. And don’t worry, all my ideas are screen-free and affordable as well!
1. Activity/Coloring Pages
The first activity on this list could keep your kids busy for hours at a time all on its own! And it is… to give your children some activity or coloring pages.
There are plenty of ways to obtain these pages; ranging from making your own on Canva, to purchasing premade ones on Etsy and printing them out, to purchasing a coloring or activity book from the store.
But regardless of which option you choose, this is a very affordable activity. And it’s one that can work for multiple age groups, as long as you choose age-appropriate printables or books to give your kiddos.
And after you obtain the pages themselves, all you have to do is find something for your child to draw with and something for them to place the paper on while they complete the pages. (Particularly if you’re using printables, because they won’t be in a sturdy book format.)
2. Sing-alongs
This second activity is probably best to try out early on in the road trip, when everyone’s energy levels are still high and everyone’s mood is still cheery. And it is, to do a family sing-along!
This is especially fun with younger kids, because they’re more likely to enjoy singing alongside their parents. But if you have older children, you could always just play some music and listen as a family. You could even allow your kids to take turns choosing what to listen to, so things stay fair and everyone feels seen!
And if you’re planning ahead, you could sit down with everyone and create a playlist before you go. That way, there’s less chances for disagreements when you’re on the road.
3. Card Games
When my kids were young, one of their absolute favorite things to do on a trip was to play card games with each other in the back seat. Old Maid, Poker, Go Fish, Uno, you name it… They had a blast playing these games with each other, and I had a set of different card decks that was only allowed in the car. To make the activity even more special to them.
And if you only have one kiddo, you could still consider playing some card games with them. As well as teaching them some single player options, like solitaire!
Obviously this is one of those road trip activities for kids that isn’t always suitable for very young children, as they might not grasp the rules. But for kids around the age of six and up, card games can provide hours worth of entertainment.
4. Books
Now, when energy levels are dwindling and you find that the car needs some quiet time… books can be a great way to achieve that. And reading time is great, because your kids can enjoy it regardless of age!
Because, if some of your children are too young to read on their own, you could always read aloud to the whole bunch! Or you could have your older kids read to the younger ones as a way to bond. And if all else fails, you could turn on an audio book of some kind for the whole family to enjoy.
The only downside to this activity is that needs to be done before dark, since you don’t want your child straining their eyes to read when there isn’t much light. So you have to time this activity correctly!
5. Story Telling
The last of our road trip activities for kids is some good, old fashioned story telling! This is a similar activity to books, and should be saved for when energy levels are low. But you can do this in the dark, so that’s an added bonus.
And the story telling could be anything you want. You could make up stories to tell your kids, host a family story telling competition where everyone gets to come up with something, or even tell your children stories about your own life that they haven’t heard before. My girls especially liked it when I would tell them stories about how they acted as babies.
This is a great bonding activity, and a fantastic way to entertain your kids while you drive.
Conclusion
Just because you’re looking forward to the destination doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a road trip with your kids, and in fact, sometimes the drive is the most memorable part. For better or for worse. So be sure to enjoy it as much as you can!
And if you’d like to consume more parenting related content, be sure to check out some of my other articles. Such as this one on “The Top 3 Rules Of The Playground”.
