[jujubee]

~Portable DVD players are the obvious choice, but some (including me!) don’t own them.

~I let my DD pack her own “car bag” this year. I gave her one backpack and let her put any toys in it she wanted. Some were totally impractical for the car (blocks), but I didn’t intervene. Packing her own bag made her feel like a big girl, and she never once complained that I forgot her favorite animal, or whatever.

~I packed her a “secret surprise goody bag” for the car. Hid it under my seat, so she didn’t have any idea where things were coming from. I included new coloring books, pack of crayons, pens, stickers, $1-store books, and other little $1-store surprises. I was able to pull these out randomly when the boredom set in, and it was fun for her to get a new surprise every 60-miles or so.

~Car bingo! We bought a set of these this year and DD played with this for hours! You can also make your own reusable ones: Draw them up or print them online. Slip into a clear page protector and use crayons or dry-erase markers to mark the items. This will clean up, and make them reusable.

~Don’t forget to pack the snacks, and a pack of wet wipes!