How to Road Trip with Kiddos without Technology

I am the road trip queen.

That sounds braggy, and I'm sorry about that, but truth is truth.

We've always tried to get our girls used to spending time in the car. The closest we've ever lived to family has been two hours away, we've driven to seven states, we do day trips, we've taken weekend excursions, and we've made the 14 hour drive to Disneyland twice. And most of the time, there is little or no technology use. No phones, no movies, no iPads.

I mostly choose not to let my girls watch movies because I know they looove to. And if they really, really like watching shows and I let them do it the entire time, I have nothing left in my arsenal when they start getting bored and cranky. Basically, I limit technology in the car because I hate meltdowns and I need that really desirable distraction when the going gets tough.

Let me be clear on a few things first. Most importantly, I am in no way anti-technology. We watch a movie or TV almost daily at my house. It's a part of life. Maybe you're better at that than I am, but it's just how we roll at the Sebastian casa. Second, I am not judging, degrading, belittling, disparaging, or looking down on you if your kiddo watches 83 episodes of Paw Patrol while playing Fruit Ninja while taking selfies while calling her BFF while you're road tripping. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. The purpose of traveling with kids is to get from Point A to Point B with as little screaming, drama, and bloodshed as possible. I so get that.

But if you feel like you could use a bit of inspiration and want some new ideas for your next plane, train, or automobile adventure, keep on reading and take a look into my road trip caddy.

This Rubbermaid organizer is what houses all of our travel toys. It fits nicely between the girls' two car seats and fold ups to almost nothing when not in use. (Similar here.) Additionally, these Snapware totes are key to keeping all of the little things contained. They fit perfectly on the girls' laps, have deep enough sides to keep everything inside, and have a handled snap-on lid so that when we stop, all of the beads/stickers/putty is right where it should be.

I try and use the "one activity per hour of travel" guideline when packing for a trip. You can use your discretion about whether or not that means total hours traveled there and back or if you'll reuse everything on the trip home. I tend to have a few surprise things hidden away in the back of the car for the return journey to keep the girls entertained for longer. And generally, when we do have to pull out the tablet, it's on the ride home because emotions run high and patience runs low. I'm not one to suffer needlessly.

The most important part of my travel toy stash is that everything is available for the girls to use while we are traveling but is put away and not played with at all once we get home. No exceptions. This is important because it keeps the toys exciting, new, and undamaged for the next time we go out. We don't have the resources to constantly keep buying new things for each adventure. Once it's in the road trip bag, it stays in the road trip bag.

I switch toys out from time to time, but here's a detailed list of everything that's currently inside:

We have the standard coloring books and doodle pads. I like to find ones that have activities inside rather than only coloring pages. I try and change out the drawing tools that we use--crayons, colored pencils, Twistables, markers, highlighters--we've done them all.

Elles loves to play with these binoculars to try and discover what's on far away billboards or to see up high in the mountains or to check out what the people in the next car are up to. In fact, every time she's at a friend's house who has some, it's the first thing she asks to play with.

My girls are too young to actually show an interest in this Melissa & Doug license plate game, but we bring it anyway because Pembers likes to flip over the tiles over and over again.

Will it keep her entertained for 45 minutes? Yes. Does it sound like your windshield is being shattered by rocks every time she turns a block over? Yes.

A year or two ago I would have been way too chicken to bring pony beads in the car. Now, they are one of my go-to distractions. This is why having the lap storage totes are an absolute must!

Okay, so these Color Alive books technically involve technology. But they're so cool and they require so actual coloring, so I don't mind. Who doesn't like pretending they have a dragon sitting next to them in the car?

Playfoam! Again, another instance where you'll want to have some kind of lap surface to shape, mold, and deconstruct. I love this stuff because while it looks messy, it's not! The girls love feeling like they can make a mess, but you can clean it up in two seconds.

Y'all already know my love for Water Wow! These things are truly amazing.

I compiled an "I Spy" booklet from here. And the sight words packet came from here. The magnifying glasses mostly get used to examine objects around the car. ("Holy cow, Mom--my hand is so huge!")

What are these things called? Off-brand Magna Doodle? A little tip for you--the best way to get these is after a holiday when stocking stuffers/basket fillers go on clearance. I always see them in the small gift section.

Thank you, Target Dollar Spot for these road trip bingo games. If you don't check the Dollar Spot for travel toys every time you go into Target, that's a life change you need to make right now.

Dry erase activity books. I also bring a bit of Magic Eraser with us because some of the dry erase markers have a hard time coming off the pages.

Play-Doh! Yep, I'm crazy. Again, use the lap bins and you'll be fine.

A variety of DIY sticker packs, coloring pages, and stand up figurines. Use a 50% off coupon at JoAnn's to get them for $0.50 apiece!

Silly Putty is practically a necessity. If not for the kids, but for me. If things aren't going well, I just pull out some of this and stress-ball my way through the situation!

I made these dry erase sheets by laminating a piece of cardstock. They work brilliantly. And if you don't want to worry about the mess of dry erase markers, these crayons are the answers to your prayers. I was skeptical of them at first, but they're amazing. Also, clipboards? You need them.

My five year old loves these Color Wonder pages. My two year old is frustrated by them to no end. When you color on the pages, it takes a second for the ink to show up, and she evidently doesn't have time for that business. Also, if you decide to get some, try to buy the ones that have hidden pictures when you color over them. It's more incentive to keep coloring.

I found these water ring toys for $0.50 and the girls couldn't have been more delighted that they were holiday themed. When you're young, you don't care about tacky.

When I brought out these window markers on our last trip, Elles and Pembers stared at me in stunned silence and said, "Wait, what? We can draw on the windows?!" Best mom ever moment. Even if your littles are too small to reach the windows from their car seats, it can be a welcome distraction during a pit stop and a great way to get them back into the car to hit the road again.

Each girl has a crayon roll that has a paper pad and a chalk mat. I don't know why, but if given a variety of coloring mediums, they can draw for hours. You could totally make one of these, right? (I couldn't... that's what Etsy is for.)

The girls also know that if they it is a big responsibility to be allowed to play with the messier things like beads, Silly Putty, and sometimes even Legos. They know that if they throw or intentionally drop their lap bin and make a huge mess, that privilege is revoked.

Most of these items are in the big organizer and it sits between the two car seats car so the girls can reach whatever they want to play with. Again, I usually keep a few things up front with me so I can pull out something new in case of emergencies.

I've compiled these treasures from Craigslist, yard sales, the dollar store, Amazon Warehouse Deals, thrift stores, and store sales. Try for places like Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's where you can use a 50% off coupon for stuff. I love, love, love scouring stores after a holiday and I always manage to find something to tuck away. Always keep your eye out!

I'd love to go into further detail about how we use some of these products and give some away, so be on the lookout for more posts!

#travelwithkids