Long Drive with a Tween

[Cruise Envy]

For our June 2013 cruise, we have a 7.5 hr drive with our 12 year old. He's a great traveler, but I'm trying to make this trip special for him. He'll have his kindle fire for the trip.

 

Anyone have any ideas for a great "care package" for the car to surprise him with? I'm trying to contemplate entertainment/snack ideas to make the long trip (probably his longest ever) more bearable for all of us.

 

Thanks in advance!

[luvsviola]

I am a HS orchestra director, and we do long trips regularly. Our kids love...

 

Movies--esp new ones they haven't seen--there are ways to get DVDs you already own loaded on your kindle if you google it

Magazines

Candy

Snacks

Bottled pop

Books on mp3

 

Following where we are on an atlas. Our "nerdy" kiddos really enjoy having the atlas and tracking our progress. Granted, we are the orchestra, so our kids are often a bit eccentric, but usually 2 or 3 will bring big atlases and they get passed around like crazy.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

My son will play with his I-phone for hours on end. But because you probably would like to interact with him- I would get the book Freaky Facts.http://www.amazon.com/Freaky-Facts-Pocket-Pals/dp/1741821215/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363064089&sr=8-1&keywords=freaky+facts it's fun for your son to read aloud in the car.

[Essiesmom]

There are loads of games, too. Angry Birds for onwe, and I like Jewels Legend, and Jewels Star. EM

[Cruise Envy]

Thanks all -- he's a bit of a nerd too! Honestly I think a trip like this was easier when he was 5 or 6!

[MnMomW3Boys]

Thanks all -- he's a bit of a nerd too! Honestly I think a trip like this was easier when he was 5 or 6!

 

My 10 and 12 year old boys bring movies, their iPods and they get to pick their own snacks out at Target before we hit the road (that's their favorite part). The best advice I can give on a road trip is to leave at the crack of dawn, we typically leave at 4 or 5 am, that way the kids sleep the first 3 or 4 hours and by the time they have breakfast and wake up you have a good chunk of the trip done. We are on Spring Break this week and drove from Minnesota to Georgia (about 15 hours) and the kids did amazing....but they did ask if we could please FLY to Florida in the fall for the cruise :D !!

[KatieCharlotte]

I wish we could drive to a port in only 7.5 hours. Our drive was 20 hours. We've also driven that far to Disney, and we've made several 11 hour trips to visit grandparents.

 

We have an inexpensive movie system that we only install for rides longer than about five hours. Our son, whose almost as old as yours now, also enjoys tracking our progress and being in charge of the GPS. For family interaction and gross humor, he has Mad Libs (they have Star Wars and other themes) and a "Would you Rather?" book. This time, he had the special privilege of playing games on dad's old smart phone. He also loves eating, so snacks are essential. He's fond of those packaged peanut butter crackers, which are easy for travel. He also likes to bring along whatever candy and gum he has. My husband and I, who are also a "bit nerdy" :) like books on tape, which is a good option for people who love reading but get car sick.

 

I don't know where you're cruising or what excursions you're planning, but you might think of something related to that. Before our cruise, I found a book at the library about Mayan ruins that mentioned sporting events where they fought to the death. Ruins suddenly became a lot more interesting to my kids.

[Warm Breezes]

For our June 2013 cruise, we have a 7.5 hr drive with our 12 year old. He's a great traveler, but I'm trying to make this trip special for him. He'll have his kindle fire for the trip.

 

Anyone have any ideas for a great "care package" for the car to surprise him with? I'm trying to contemplate entertainment/snack ideas to make the long trip (probably his longest ever) more bearable for all of us.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I had to lol at your idea of a long trip. Our shortest travel to a port by car is 14 hours (NY) and our longest is 24 hours (FLL) I consider 7.5 hours a short trip :D. Both my kids have done the 24 hour and the 16 hour trip a few times. I get them itunes money to download their own music, videos, tv shows, etc. When they were younger I looked up travel games on line and printed off games like travel bingo. I bring a variety of snacks (granola bars, gold fish crackers, cookies,chips, fruit, fruit snacks) and drinks in a cooler (if room...if not it is fast food drive thru). Individual packets work best. My kids both take a travel bag with their own stuff. I get them a journal to record the trip, puzzle books, books, and travel games, etc. We can do 24 hours easy so I'm sure 7.5 hours will be a snap...

[Onessa]

We have a 6 hour trip (each way) to visit grandparents which my DD has been doing since she was just a few weeks old. We like to do group activities so none of us get bored -- Hasbro "Catch Phrase" with slightly modified rules for road play is a favorite as is Fundex "A to Z" electronic.

 

For "Catch Phrase" we have one person at a time (not the driver :)) hod the game and give the clues -- they keep the score (whoever guesses first). Our "Catch Phrase" has a really loud timer, so I stuck a wad of electrical tape over the speaker to tone it down.

 

We have all of the Harry Potter books on CD and for long road trips will still load one up.

 

Snackage is key -- a good combination of stuff. A small cooler (we have a six pack cooler that plugs into the car's aux port) with apple slices and string cheese and stuff.

[higgib]

Reading everyone's helpful replies made me think about how reliant we now are on technology. I remember long car trips when I was a child, squished on the back seat with my sister and brother, and many cries of 'Are we there yet?'!

When we got a bit older, probably around your son's age, we started doing car quizzes, I think you'd call it a scavenger hunt?

We'd make lists of things we may see from the car, and give a points value to each object. Eg. 1 point for common things, such as a supermarket logo on a lorry, up to 10 points for a yellow convertible VW Beetle! You can also include landmarks you will pass en route, and animals/wildlife/trees/plants etc. The first person to spot the object 'claims' it and gets the points. Be as creative as you like, and remember, this still works long after the Ipods, kindles, and so on have run out of charge. :D Don't forget a prize and consolation prizes when you have arrived at your destination.

[Cruise Envy]

My 10 and 12 year old boys bring movies, their iPods and they get to pick their own snacks out at Target before we hit the road (that's their favorite part). The best advice I can give on a road trip is to leave at the crack of dawn, we typically leave at 4 or 5 am, that way the kids sleep the first 3 or 4 hours and by the time they have breakfast and wake up you have a good chunk of the trip done. We are on Spring Break this week and drove from Minnesota to Georgia (about 15 hours) and the kids did amazing....but they did ask if we could please FLY to Florida in the fall for the cruise :D !!

 

I wish we could go early -- he is in boy scout camp that week, so we are picking him up early on Friday (noon) and headed to Florida.

[Cruise Envy]

We have an inexpensive movie system that we only install for rides longer than about five hours. Our son, whose almost as old as yours now, also enjoys tracking our progress and being in charge of the GPS. For family interaction and gross humor, he has Mad Libs (they have Star Wars and other themes) and a "Would you Rather?" book. This time, he had the special privilege of playing games on dad's old smart phone. He also loves eating, so snacks are essential. He's fond of those packaged peanut butter crackers, which are easy for travel. He also likes to bring along whatever candy and gum he has. My husband and I, who are also a "bit nerdy" :) like books on tape, which is a good option for people who love reading but get car sick.

 

I don't know where you're cruising or what excursions you're planning, but you might think of something related to that. Before our cruise, I found a book at the library about Mayan ruins that mentioned sporting events where they fought to the death. Ruins suddenly became a lot more interesting to my kids.

 

We are cruising to Half Moon Cay and Nassau. The book idea is a great one, not sure if I can find him a good book on the Bahamas, but I will look!

[Cruise Envy]

I had to lol at your idea of a long trip. Our shortest travel to a port by car is 14 hours (NY) and our longest is 24 hours (FLL) I consider 7.5 hours a short trip :D. ...

 

Yeah, snack food is going to be IMPORTANT on this trip. I had thought about travel bingo, and have bookmarked the Facts book an earlier poster mentioned. Really, he is a good traveler, but it's a long trip for all of us, so I am trying to be sure I make it as easy as possible.

[Cruise Envy]

Reading everyone's helpful replies made me think about how reliant we now are on technology. I remember long car trips when I was a child, squished on the back seat with my sister and brother, and many cries of 'Are we there yet?'!

When we got a bit older, probably around your son's age, we started doing car quizzes, I think you'd call it a scavenger hunt?

We'd make lists of things we may see from the car, and give a points value to each object. Eg. 1 point for common things, such as a supermarket logo on a lorry, up to 10 points for a yellow convertible VW Beetle! You can also include landmarks you will pass en route, and animals/wildlife/trees/plants etc. The first person to spot the object 'claims' it and gets the points. Be as creative as you like, and remember, this still works long after the Ipods, kindles, and so on have run out of charge. :D Don't forget a prize and consolation prizes when you have arrived at your destination.

 

I wonder if I could get him interested in car quizzes... he would be the only person playing. We do play "Punch Buggy" and license plate bingo. My family still laughs over my excitement of finding Hawaii & California on the outer banks of NC!

[Warm Breezes]

I wonder if I could get him interested in car quizzes... he would be the only person playing. We do play "Punch Buggy" and license plate bingo. My family still laughs over my excitement of finding Hawaii & California on the outer banks of NC!

 

We play a game in the car making up stories. Each person says one word and then it goes to the next person. We can come up with some funny ones.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

My 12 year old loves the Alphabet game. You pick a subject like food or movie titles. The first person does A, the next person B and so on.

 

Also on a related note... we play a game in restaurants called "Look at the Table". Then you have to close your eyes and the other person moves something on the table. It's fun and really kills time before the meal comes out. I "invented" the game when my son was 7 and he still loves it.

[crusinmama06]

It seems long but it will fly by. Our longest was 2 days from PA to Miami with a 2 year old for our NCL Norway cruise. That seemed FOREVER! ;)

 

Who knew that Florida was such a long state? Lol

 

We regularly drive 5 hours to our cruise ports and we don't pack anything more than IPods for the kids.

 

On the longer trips to Massachusetts - they throw in their Nintendo DSs but those are 10 hour drives.

 

Girls are probably different than boys though that they can probably talk for 7 hours straight ;)

[Colorado Kat]

Our entire family (adults & kids) would love listening to the Harry Potter Books on Tape (gasp) and CD. You can also load them onto ipods/itunes.

[Roadrage00]

We travel with our two younger kids (5 & 7) on 10 - 12 hour trips.. and honestly, what makes it easiest for us is if we break it down.

 

Instead of a 7.5 hour trip - find a city / town about 3-4 hours out, and let him pick a place to stop for lunch/dinner. That way he can just focus on the first half of the trip (and he gets to pick where to eat).

 

Hope this helps!

[cruzinlisa]

It seems long but it will fly by. Our longest was 2 days from PA to Miami with a 2 year old for our NCL Norway cruise. That seemed FOREVER! ;)

 

Who knew that Florida was such a long state? Lol

 

We regularly drive 5 hours to our cruise ports and we don't pack anything more than IPods for the kids.

 

On the longer trips to Massachusetts - they throw in their Nintendo DSs but those are 10 hour drives.

 

Girls are probably different than boys though that they can probably talk for 7 hours straight ;)

 

You have not met my husband- he can talk for 77 hours straight. LOL

 

So, any suggestions on long trips with little ones? Our DD is 2. Such a fun age. ;) I never know what she will be like from one day to the next. We have a DVD player and I have gotten some DVDs of some of her favorite shows (Dora, Calliou, Mickey Mouse). I cannot wait until she is old enough to like more interesting movies. :D

[Onessa]

So, any suggestions on long trips with little ones? Our DD is 2. Such a fun age. ;) I never know what she will be like from one day to the next. We have a DVD player and I have gotten some DVDs of some of her favorite shows (Dora, Calliou, Mickey Mouse). I cannot wait until she is old enough to like more interesting movies. :D

My best suggestion, bring grandma -- when my DD was that age my mother was still with us and the most sucessful road trips were ones when she came with. She had this hardsided suitcase (I think they were considered a cosmetic case) with all sorts of "crap" in it. Little stuff inside of boxes, multiple boxes with in a bigger box, mundane stuff (nail clippers), weird stuff, and a couple of new small toys. DGM and DD would spend hours looking at each of the little things in the case -- I'd have gone mad after the first 15 minutes but DGM and DD were two peas in a pod and would study each thing minutely and talk about it and play with it (and DD didn't even mind getting her finger nails clipped when the clipper was one of the things that came out of the case!

 

The up side of the car trip is you can bring lots of different things. Crayons, audio books, paper books, paper, links, duplos, movies, etc; and then just keep rotating through each as his/her attention ebbs and flows.

[Athankfulheart]

Normally I expect anyone over the age of about 8 to pack their own bag of "stuf" for long car trips. We don't have portable electronics beyond a DVD player in our van. For our next family cruise we will leave home on Jan 2nd so we are giving them new backpacks filled with "trip stuff" in lieu of gifts/stockings. I've been putting away things here and there in hopes that by the time that December draws near, all I will need to buy are the backpacks. So far I have stashed nicer kids meal toys ( game types) and cruise/ocean related DVDs. I plan on coloring books & Twistables for the younger kids and madlibs and puzzle books for older. Maybe a new novel for each. Snacks and drink mix to add to bottles of water. Im also working on a playlist for the whole family. I will be adding things like flipflops, lanyards (hoping to make these), water bottles, post-its and other ship life necessities along the way. I've already got travel toothbrushes and small deoderants stashed. We are planning one toiletry kit per cabin to reduce luggage so most other things would be shared. We will also bring a couple of balls and frisbees and maybe some sidewalk chalk for rest stops.

[crusinmama06]

You have not met my husband- he can talk for 77 hours straight. LOL

 

So, any suggestions on long trips with little ones? Our DD is 2. Such a fun age. ;) I never know what she will be like from one day to the next. We have a DVD player and I have gotten some DVDs of some of her favorite shows (Dora, Calliou, Mickey Mouse). I cannot wait until she is old enough to like more interesting movies. :D

 

Oh I remember those days! I can quote word for word every Wiggles DVD ever made! :)

 

The portable DVD player was great for that age. I also liked the magna doodle pads. They could draw and draw for hours with no mess

http://www.fisher-price.com/us/products/thumbnail.asp?catid=magna&from=ToysByType&catname=Magna+Doodle®&type=assistant&lMinAge=3.00&lMaxAge=7.00

 

I also liked to go and get a bag of NEW inexpensive surprise toys that they could "unwrap" every 100 miles (they counted down on the navigation). It wasn't anything extravagant - just something to hold their attention for the next 100 miles.

[sminfiddle]

Thanks all -- he's a bit of a nerd too! Honestly I think a trip like this was easier when he was 5 or 6!

 

Nerds were the majority of our little cruise group. I got these insulated cups from ThinkGeek dot com and revealed them in the cabin ... The "Doctor Who" fans thought they were cool.