This series of travel posts are long overdue. Back in May I put together a bunch of DIY’s and activities for traveling with kids. In early June I was one of two moms taking five children (ages 8, 7, 5, 2, and 2) on a TWENTY hour road trip (one way) all in one vehicle. Anticipating that trip was my motivation for doing this list of DIY Travel Entertainment for Kids.
I am happy to report we survived the trip and I am here to tell the tale. My goal was to keep them busy without a ton of screen time. The kids did do many of the activities prepped and mostly enjoyed them. However, with two families merging and so many different personalities screen time was an activity we definitely used and I would NEVER advocate a trip such as this without it. Seriously, how did our parents survive!?
All of these are super simple to put together, inexpensive, and space sensitive.
For more ideas check out my other posts from that trip below.
DIY Dollar Tree Travel Racetrack for Kids
Tips for Travel with Toddlers and Early Grade-schoolers
DIY Dollar Tree Travel Tray and Supplies Caddy for Kids
Purchases
Some items I simply purchased from Amazon, Dollar Tree, & Usbourne or they were leftover items from other projects. Then I just put them together for the trip and handed them out when the kids clearly needed something different to do.
You will see a section below for all of the kids, for the 2 year old boys, for the 5 year old boy, and for the 7 & 8 year old girls.
For all the kids
A ‘Wonders of the USA’ book and flashlight for each family. We got to hit Mount Rushmore on our trip back and since it is highlighted in this book it seemed like an appropriate activity. I used to be an Usbourne Consultant so you will see several of their offerings in my posts. I love the Usbourne books as they are both fun and educational. We saved this for a travel late day and the flashlights were a super big hit for the little guys. The older kids enjoyed the reading for awhile, especially about Mount Rushmore, and then they wanted to play with the flashlights as well.
Dollar Tree Basketball Hoops + Bulk Stess Balls (I had left over from my Advent Calendar Daily Gifting last Christmas) + Suction Cups = Car Basketball.
Glow sticks from the Dollar Tree because every kid (and adult too) loves Glow Sticks.
Invisible Ink Pens with Light and Top Secret Notebooks that I had left over from my daughter’s 7th Birthday.
Tattoos + Disposable Washcloths = Tattoo Parlor on the go. Superhero Tattoos were purchased on Amazon and I still had a few left from my daughter’s 6th Birthday. Note: the disposable washcloths work great for diaper changes when there is bad diaper rash.
Dollar Tree sticky notes for making window art.
Toy pullback cars from the Dollar Tree.
The genius Co-Mom brought a bag full of toys from the Dollar Tree. The kids could earn points to buy them for above and beyond behavior. She called it the ‘Store’ and each kid had a card on a binder ring with their name and velcro for adding the velcro points. The kids had such a fun time with this. The moms enjoyed them working really hard to do extra nice things for others in the car. I wish I had snapped a photo of her creation.
Super Hero Capes and Masks I had on hand from my daughter’s 6th birthday. These were given to the 5 year old and both 2 year olds when the girls got their makeup (see below).
For the 7&8 year old girls
Makeup Bags I had purchased in bulk for lash giveaways + items picked up at the Dollar Tree = Happy Girls.
Dollar Tree foldable brush + Dollar Tree keychain comb + Dollar Tree ponytail holders + Dollar Tree barrettes clipped to ribbon + Colored Hair Extensions (off Amazon) all on a binder ring = Hair Travel Kit
For the 5 year old boy
An Usbourne mini sticker book with a Dollar Tree toy.
Also, a super hero bracelet for his cape I forgot to take a photo of.
For the Toddlers
A fine motor skills mess using mostly scrap pieces from other projects. Materials used: ribbon, cut up plastic folder, velcro dots, wasabi tape, and some binder rings.
Lego Boxes from Dollar Tree + Puff Balls in coordinating colors = Color Matching for Toddlers
DIY Activities
The rest of these DIY’s are things I also created or put together for the trip.
You will see a section below for all of the kids, for the older 3, and for the toddlers.
All Kids
Clear Contact Paper + Construction Paper Suns + Tissue Paper = Stained Glass Suns for the car windows. I tucked some yarn, hole punch, and scissors in the Travel Binder (details below) to be able to hang them on the go. I had some extra contact paper so I did some sphere looking things as well in case some of the kids really enjoyed this activity.
Printed full size and cut out. I then stuck to contact paper and reapplied the backing until use. Then take along a piece of contact paper for the back as well. Once Tissue Paper applied as wanted add the other piece of contact paper on the back to close it inside. Then cut out and hang.
Craft Sticks with velcro dots for building. I used these velcro dots there are tons and they stick well.
5, 7, & 8 Year Old
Lunch Box Games picked up from the Dollar Tree. Some I laminated for reuse but the others were just to hand out as needed.
Usborne Wipe Clean Cards punched and put on a binder ring. Also a few of the laminated lunch box notes.
I got these printables from 123homeschool4me and they are great for the older kids. I laminated the Bingo so it could be reused with dry erase markers = Dry Erase Bingo.
‘How to Draw’ books from Usbourne + Kitty notebooks with blank paper inside = Art Class on the Go
Toddlers
These were born as I didn’t find much in the way of printables for toddlers and travel. I knew they would want something like the older kids so I created some. Details on each with printables follows. They are all laminated. I don’t own a laminator so I used these from Amazon. They are thicker and better than other peel and sticks I have used.
Toddler Car Bingo with matching velcro cards to be handed out when the older kids got Dry Erase Bingo.
I printed at a 5×7 size. Be sure to print 2 to make the matching cards. Both were laminated.
I created some Animal Shapes in Canva with Circles on them + Garage Sale Sticker Dots = Fine Motor Skills Animals.
Printed full size and just cut out.
Lace Animals
Chicken Canva Creation + Laminating Sheets + Punched Holes + A Shoelace = Chicken Lacing Card
Printed full size and laminated. Then holes punched.
Dog Canva Creation + Laminating Sheets + Punched Holes + A Shoelace = Dog Lacing Card
Printed full size and laminated. Then holes punched.
Velcro Animals
Kitty Canva Creation + Laminating Sheets + Eyes, Ears, and Nose Laminated Parts + Velcro Dots = Kitty Velcro Animal
I would recommend printing these larger than I did as the parts ended up pretty small. I would suggest printing full size. Be sure to print 2 to make the matching parts. These were also laminated.
Pig Canva Creation + Laminating Sheets + Eyes, ears, and nose laminated parts + velcro dots = Pig Velcro Animal
I would recommend printing these larger than I did as the parts ended up pretty small. I would suggest printing full size. Be sure to print 2 to make the matching parts. These were also laminated.
Organizing and stashing all of the activities
The purchased items were bagged by activity and added to the store bag that co-mom created.
I organized all of the DIY’s into a binder and put the binder in a plastic basket with handles picked up from the Dollar Tree.
We kept the basket behind the driver’s seat so the passenger could easily reach it.
The binder was a great condensed simple way to store everything. I added some scissors, a hole punch, yarn, tape, stickers, extra paper and envelopes in there as well.
A few snapshots from the trip
A few snapshots of my kiddos using some of the activities on a family drive.
~ Your Turn to Create ~
I would love to hear if you gain inspiration from these travel posts and put together your own travel activities.
HAPPY
TRAVELING!
