Planning for a long road trip can be a bit daunting for some and it’s no surprise that we are tempted to call it a day and just pop in the movies. Now let me just say I have nothing against movies on the road. It’s actually fun to plan which movies to surprise them with here and there, especially when night time arrives and sleepiness has not set in. However, for me, a big part of road trip fun is the memories of reading good books in the car, looking for license plates from the 50 states and telling silly jokes. I have to admit, I actually like planning for this. So here are 10 more activities we tried so far this summer! I hope this inspires your road trip planning fun!
Activity #1: Moana/Paw Patrol Invisible Ink (Magic Pen) Coloring Book
Price: $3 each (5 Below Store also available online).
Hit or Miss: Major Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: 2+ hours
Pros: Mess free, super fun and engaging!
Cons and Considerations: None found.
I actually hesitated in getting these but I’m so glad I got these! The coloring book comes with an invisible ink “magic” marker that magically brings out the color in each page as they color over it. I cannot believe how much they enjoyed this activity. Each child completely colored each and every single page! I don’t think they’ve ever done that before. Each child, used it several times in the trip and they enjoyed showing each other their “revealed” artwork. This was worth the $3 for a couple of hours of fun.

Moana Invisible Ink (Magic Pen) Coloring Book
Activity #2: Travel Connect Four
Price: $5 (Walmart)
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 8 and up (This is the recommended age on the product box.)
How Long They Played: 20 minutes
Pros: Great game for two.
Cons and Considerations: Pieces can easily get lost. I suggest bringing a small plastic ziplock bag to keep these in and then put away for a future trip rather than leave out with regular toys.
I was surprised that our 7 year old and toddler were the ones that ended up playing with this. They didn’t play for long but really enjoyed it when they did. I’ll put this on the worth a try category. For our upcoming trip, I found a $1 version of the game to try since most of our pieces went missing after the trip (I should have put it away and saved it for future use). Let’s see how this cheaper version turns out, it will fit perfectly in a ziplock bag.
Activity #3: Dry Erase Activity Board
Price: $1 (Dollar Tree) for dry erase board $1 for assorted colors of dry erase markers with felt eraser
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: 30 minutes
Pros: Great solo activity. A variety of boards available based on interest.
Cons and Considerations: The kids kept losing the caps to the markers.
This was a good activity that also doesn’t take up much space. The challenge was actually all the times they dropped their markers and misplaced the caps for them (working on a solution for this for our next trip). Each child found something on the board they enjoyed and it can definitely be used for a future trip. There were several to choose from at our local
store.
Activity #4: Magnetic train set.
Price: $3 and up for various trains.
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2-5 years old
How Long They Played: 10-20 minutes
Cons and Considerations: None found.
Pros: Great solo activity. We already play with this at home. so it wasn’t an extra expense. The cookie tray was a great play surface for the car.
The biggest pro to this activity surprisingly was that it was a familiar toy. Look around the house for smaller toys that they may enjoy on the trip. I used pencil zipper pouches for various toys for our toddler and I knew that many would likely be a miss but he is our only toddler right now and is also a boy versus when traveling with our girls when they were toddlers…very different. Even if he is engaged for a few minutes at a time, it’s worth the effort.
Activity #5: Scratch Off Art
Price: $1 (Dollar Tree)
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 3-11 years (Recommendation on package).
How Long They Played: 15-20 minutes
Pros: Great solo activity. Inexpensive.
Cons and Considerations: I wasn’t sure if our toddler would do well with this activity but after a little help and demonstration, he was off and determined to reveal the colors beneath. He point on the wood stick was not a problem for us but definitely an activity to oversee if you think they might get into mischief.
Activity 6: Wooly Willy
Price: $1 (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 3-11 years (Recommendation on package).
How Long They Played: 15-20 minutes
Pros: Great solo activity, silly and fun! It doesn’t take up much space and fits perfectly in the activity box.
Cons and Considerations: Once the wand get lost…the fun is over so try to get the kids to place the wand back in the little opening that holds it.
Wooly Willy (and its other variations) is a fun toy that features a magnetic wand that allows the kiddos to move the metal filings under the clear plastic cover to form silly hairstyles, beards, mustaches and more on the cartoon face. Our toddler had the Wooly Willy and the girls had a more girly version (but I used the original as a child). They love forming the silly hair-do’s and I heard lots of giggling. This is great for the road!
Activity 7: Silly Xylophone
Price: $1 (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2-5 years
How Long They Played: 15-20 minutes
Pros: Great solo activity, silly and fun! It doesn’t take up much space and fits perfectly in the activity box….and not too loud.
Cons and Considerations: If you have a low tolerance for noise…this may not be the the best choice but it kept him busy for a while it was worth the noise.
Activity 8: Writing/Drawing Notebooks/Pens/Pencils/How to Draw Books
Price: $3
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: Depending on the child anywhere from 20-60 minutes
Pros: Great solo activity, fits nicely in activity box. Can be used by each child in multiple ways.
Cons and Considerations: None found.
This is always a good one to add to the activity box. I included a few “How to Draw” books which made it really fun for them. We always have crayons, markers, pencils, pens, etc. for them to use. Some used it for writing and others for drawing. This is likely to get used by any child.
Activity 9: Library Books
Price: $0
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: All Ages
How Long They Played: Depending on the child anywhere from 20 minutes – 2 hours
Pros: Great solo activity, fits nicely in activity box. Great variety available for every interest.
Cons and Considerations: None found…just don’t loose them.
I love to bring along library books. Depending on where we are going, we might pick up books related to our road trip. Since this last road trip was to Washington D.C. The girls had plenty of books on different presidents and leaders whose monuments we would be visiting. We also had options for books on the states we would be driving through and staying in.
Activity 10: DYI Coloring Cup and Coloring Book
Price: $1 (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss: Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: Depending on the child anywhere from 20 minutes – 1 hour
Pros: Great solo activity, fits nicely in activity box. Multi-Use.
Cons and Considerations: The cup is not super strong and probably not great for washing (water can easily get in) but great for holding their materials as shown in the picture below.
This was a great find! They were really excited when they found it in their activity box for the roadtrip. It brought three different papers inside for them to choose from and color, as well as a blank one for their own design. It took them a while to do and then quickly began to use it to hold their markers for coloring in a coloring book they got from our classroom treasure box. It was a win-win!
I was AMAZED at how long they were engaged in activities, talking and giggling without asking for movies. When movie time arrived, it was a great choice for relaxing. Everyone put all their activities away, got cozy, and relaxed until they fell asleep on the road. I’m already planning our next road trip and will definitely be repeating some of the activities from these two posts and have found some new great ideas as well. I would love to hear your road trip activity ideas below or email me at bernice@diapursity.com.
Happy Road Tripping!