This ‘Affordable And Fun Road Trip Ideas To Keep Kids BUSY!’ post is sponsored.  As always, all opinions are my own.

We’re headed to Florida for a spring break family vacation!  The total distance we’re traveling this time is almost 1,700 miles and, according to google maps, will take us just over 24 hours to get there.  We are SO excited (and, as I said before, nervous).  This time, we’ll be traveling with 11 of us in our vehicle.  This number includes our children, who range in age from 3 to almost 20 but also both our foster kiddos, who are 6 months and 2 years old.  My parents will also be along for the ride.  In a separate vehicle, my brother and his family are also heading down with us.     

Planning Ahead — Fun Activities And Breaks

We’ll be taking off at 5am in the morning and won’t need to arrive until 11:30am the following day.  So we’re buffering in about 6 hours of time for potty breaks, rest stop stretches, diaper changes, and feedings.  Think it’ll be enough!?  We will be on a time crunch as we need to make it to the airport by noon to pick up our son who can’t stay the entire time (thanks to college classes).

As I was prepping for this trip, I started two ‘activity’ bins.  One for our middles (who are 10, 12, and 14) and another for the toddlers (who are 2 and 3).  I ransacked their toy boxes about two months ago and set aside some of their toys so they’d be ‘new again’ on the trip.  But I also hunted down some extra activities, games, and things to help us keep the boredom at bay. 

Here’s my list of affordable and fun road trip ideas we’re packing to help keep our kids busy on this LONG road trip!

1. Doodle Boards:  We absolutely LOVE our KOKODI doodle boards.  They’re the perfect choice for young kids to explore and express their creativity as well as teens and adults to draw, create, and work.  — Buy them on Amazon
   
   As sleek as writing on paper but completely reusable again and again, these tablets come with a stylus and cord to help prevent it from getting lost.  
   
   Super easy to use, there’s an erase button on the front as well as lock button on the back (to help prevent your masterpiece or note from being accidentally deleted).  These are truly great for quiet, take-along entertainment as they offer an easy way to color on the go without lugging a bunch of gear and supplies.
2. Road Trip Bingo:  I found some great road trip bingo ideas on Pinterest for a variety of ages.  Simply print, place in a clear sheet protector, and add a dry-erase marker.  This way, the kids can take turns using the different cards I printed and the toddlers can’t destroy them!
3. Balloons:  I know this sounds extremely lame.  But it’s amazing how a cheap balloon that I can blow up and then throw away when finished can be so entertaining.  They are perfect for bumping around in the air at rest stops/leg stretch breaks.  However, because we have such a large van, I’m going to keep them handy to bump around the vehicle towards the back too (unless it becomes too distracting for my husband as he’s driving.  But I really think we’ll be able to keep it back enough to not bother him, yet entertain the kids.)
4. Snacks:  I have a big bag packed full of cleaner snacks that we can break out as needed.  Nobody will get hangry on this road trip!  Some of the snacks I’m bringing include:
   • Animal Crackers
   • Twizzlers
   • Apple Slices
   • Raisins
   • Trail Mix
   • Dried Fuit
   • Pretzles
   • String Cheese
   • Granola Bars
   • GoGurts (I WILL be helping the toddlers with these just to be safe.)
   • Applesauce Pouches
5. Talking Flashcards:  There’s no reason we can’t mix a little education and fun together!  I found the coolest little talking flashcards sets over on Amazon for the toddlers.  This set provides a fun way for children to understand and associate the words into their vocabulary.   — Buy it on Amazon.
   I love how KOKODI’s reading talking flash cards machine works with neither an electronic screen nor internet required.  That means it can be used any time, anywhere.  
   Portable and easy to use, simply insert the card into the slot to practice the words they want to learn.  This handheld device will read the word to you as well as make the animal noises associated with the animal on the cards.
   
6. Books:  I have a variety of board books ready for the littles.  This includes those ‘pop’ button books, touch and feel books, and Spot ‘flap’ style books.  For the big kids, I have MadLibs (and then each tween/teen is also packing a chapter book of choice).
7. Audio Entertainment/Books:  On our last road trip, my husband actually drove 13 hours straight through by himself because we popped in ‘The Goose Girl‘ and it was so interesting he didn’t get tired enough to need a break or nap!  We will, once again, have an audio book on deck.
8. Travel Games:  I have also stocked up on easy-to-play while traveling games.  This includes:  Shut The Box, Pop It handheld games (that are popular on Amazon), and travel chess.
9. 20 Questions:  There are some classics that will never go out of style!  That list includes the game 20 Questions.  The possibilities are endless as you can do animals, food, places, people, and more.  Almost all ages can play along!
10. DVD Player:  As a last resort, our (new to us) van did come with a DVD player.  We really prefer to limit screen time, though, so I don’t anticipate watching more than one movie.  But I am glad it’s an option just in case we need it.

A Little More About Our Trip

My parents rented a really cool mansion house that can hold almost 30 people!  So the house itself will have a lot of things to keep us busy once we arrive.  It has a really neat game room with a mini bowling alley and arcade games.  There’s also a playroom with a foam block pit, bridges, slides, and Fruit Ninja game.  Upstairs, there’s a game room with a pool table, wall Scrabble, Xbox, and more.  There is also an exercise room, private pool, foosball table, private movie theater, and additional games.  Then, on the resort property, we will have access to the resort pool, water slide, and lazy river.  There’s playgrounds, courts, and a variety of other activities too.  

The ‘extras’ we have planned include: visiting Wild Florida, Pirate Dinner Theater, checking out a local beach for the day, and a Disney after-hours party.  Phew!  Throughout our stay, we have built in a few resort days to help rest and reset too.  Then, after a week of fun and adventure, we’ll be making the 24+ hour trek back home.  We did keep the schedule going home a bit looser so if we want to stop at a hotel for a night, we have time on the way home.

So, any tips or tricks you want to share with me?  Anything I haven’t considered?  Are we crazy!?  LOL

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Miranda

I’m a city girl turned country by my awesome husband and we have three busy boys and two darling daughters. I love spending time with my family, reading Karen Kingsbury novels, and catching up with friends while our kiddos have play dates. I’m blessed beyond measure and can’t wait to see what God has in store.
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