Whenever I travel with my kids I like to bring along a few things to keep them entertained in case of bad weather or those times when we are “relaxing”in between activities. Even though we drove to Tennessee, I tried to keep our fun stuff minimal- it should take up the least amount of real estate in our bag and also be highly engaging, ideally for all of us. Here’s what we brought:
I have been eager for some sunny outdoor time, and these two items were perfect for my kids. The chalk allows them to be creative outside, and though there are 20 colors, the box is really small. The Throw N’ Stick game will let my 4 year old play catch a bit more easily and the novelty of the velcro is fun for my 7 year old- and me! The strap on the back of the blue circle mitt allow you to attach one to your non-throwing hand while you throw the ball to your partner. Your partner tries to catch the ball in their mitt and return it to you! We bought 2 packs so we could all play together.
We like to have some games on hand, and these are all so fun!
- Spot it: There are several ways to play this game, all details included in the instructions. There are 30 unique cards, each with images on them. In the game we play most often, players match an image from their card to the draw card quickest. Winner takes the draw card until they’re all gone. Even my 4 year old can play this one, and it helps with counting and sorting skills! Here is a link to the basic game (not the Dory version).
- Appletters: Is a fun spelling game similar to Scrabble. Each player gets some letter tiles and the rest are piled in the middle of the playing surface. The first player lays a word, and the rest of the game is building words off that word. It’s perfect for my 7 year old to play and I feel good that she’s reinforcing her spelling skills.
- Uno: It’s a classic! Both my kids play this but my 4 year old struggles a little with the strategy so she usually has a partner. The adults have been known to play after kid-bedtime as well.
- Charades for Kids: This is a much-loved game in our home! An individual from a team of 2 or more players take turns choosing a card and acting out the item on that card. If their team correctly guesses it before the timer runs out they get a point! I love this version of Charades because each card has 3 different items that can be acted out, in order of easiest to hardest. We let my 4 year old do the easy ones, and she can recognize some of the words now that we have played a lot, so she can sometimes choose a card and start acting out without any help.
- Don’t Tip the Waiter: This is like a quieter, smaller Jenga, and my kids think it’s hilarious. When playing this game, 1 or more platers try to stack the pieces on the waiter’s hands without them falling over. All of the 13 small wooden pieces plus the large wooden waiter pieces store in a small 6×6 box (win).
I like to bring some quiet solo activities, too, and these absolutely made the cut. I was absolutely not leaving home without my younger kid’s workbook. Since she hasn’t been in preschool since October, we have been working our way through this workbook, and it’s great. Despite my desire to complete the pages from front-to-back, she gets to choose a few to do each day. She’s happy to do them because she can choose and also because we just do a few, and I feel good that she’s learning and developing new skills.
The coloring book was a gift and we couldn’t love it more. Each page features an empowering and affirming message, and the images are really fun to color in. They’re not super “girly” images; they show kids doing all kinds of things- playing, experimenting, exercising, etc.
The mermaid painting book is fun- with deep rich colors and a built-in storage for a paintbrush, this is perfect for a quiet moment. The paint is built into the ink on the page, so minimal mess, too. I did stash an extra brush in our bag so my kids can each take a page and paint together if they want.
I will add that we also brought some video games and an iPad for our kids. Sometimes you just need a screen! So long as we’re sort of balanced in what we’re doing, it’s all good!
Please note that none of the links above are affiliate links. These are products that we love and purchased or were gifted by friends!