Road trips are the best way to travel if you want to get the most sightseeing accomplished on your vacation. You can see and experience the towns and history at your own pace.
Remember when a road trip meant divided car seat territories and cranked necks from boring landscapes? Today kids have tablets and video games and in-car DVD players – they don’t know what “bored” really is.
On your next road trip as a family, I challenge you to turn off the electronic gadgets and play some road games you remember as a child. Playing these games can help create lasting memories for the kids, bring you closer together as a family, and help you enjoy the small details of your trip.
These are my favorite road trip games from when I was a kid. Please, in the comments, tell me what your favorite games where!
1. Sign Alphabet
As you drive past signs on the highway or see cars, try to find the letters of the alphabet. The person that “collects” all the letters to Z wins! Every player keeps track of their own progress. So as you pass a sign that says “Landmark” you can say “A!” Make it more challenging by saying you cannot use the same sign twice.
2. License plate BINGO
Create a printout of all the states in the USA. Then, as you pass cars, mark off which states you see. The first person to get three in a row wins! You can even go super low-tech and just take a piece of notebook paper and write 25 states down in a grid. And make it educational: put the state bird or flag beneath the name of the state!
3. Packing my suitcase game
This is a game that stretches your memory. The first person says one item they will pack in their suitcase. The 2nd person repeats that item and adds an item to it. This goes on just like this through everyone in the car. The first person to forget an item is “out” and the last person able to say all the items wins! You can make variations – list items alphabetically or numerically (1 apple, 2 shoes, etc).
4. Storytelling
Depending on the creativity of the travelers, this game can last a short time or even a few hours or more! One person starts the story, then the next person continues it. Everyone takes turns and laughs at how ridiculous the story becomes! You can make this really challenging by saying everyone must use a certain color or object or place in every scene they create.
5. I- Spy
You cannot forget this game! I loved playing “I spy” as a little girl. Remember how it goes? “I spy with my little eyes, something BLUE!” then everyone has to guess what that person “sees.” The first person to guess gets to pick and be the spy.
There are so many other games, but these are my 5 favorite ones. I love how they encourage family members to talk to each other and interact with what they see. The beauty of a road trip is the ability to experience life as it is, without rushing. Take a camera with you to capture the reactions to these silly games – you won’t want to forget how much fun you had!
What are some of your favorite road trip games?
Annie Shultz is a Kansas mom blogger. She loves traveling and cannot wait to take her 3 small children (her oldest is 5 years old) to the historic 13 colonies. She blogs at MamaDweeb and has fun coming up with creative activities for families to bond over.
