Travelling with kids can be fun, exciting and at times extremely challenging. Be prepared for your next journey with this boredom busting list of free travel activities provided by mum of 2, Julia, from KidsTravel2, specialists in children’s luggage, kids travel games & family travel accessories.
1. Wobbly map
Pencils at the ready – this is one for the car. Give the children a piece of paper and a crayon (or pencil). Get them to hold it to the paper and as the car moves and turns they will be creating their very own wobbly map. Just a bit of fun but they love it.
2. Who am I?
Ask your child to choose a character from a favourite children’s book, nursery rhyme or television programme. They keep it a secret and the other passengers have to ask 10 questions which can only be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to try to guess the identity of the mystery character.
3. Ready, steady, get arty
I find things like the coloured pipe cleaners you buy in crafty type shops great for keeping my children entertained in the car as they are re-usable, take up no space in a bag, and can be used to invent new games. We play games like a competition to see who can make a cat, for example, in a given time frame. Then we have a laugh looking at what each of us has made.
4. I name that tune
We play this with our 3 year old and he loves it. We take it in turns to hum a favourite tune – it
could be a nursery rhyme, a tune from a children’s TV programme or a song that you all know as a family. It’s a game that everyone can play and enjoy.
5. I went to the shop and I bought….
Children love memory games. Start with “I went to the shop and I bought…” and choose something, like bread, for example. The next person has to repeat what you bought and add something of their own – “I went to the shop and I bought some bread and a pair of socks”. Throw in some silly suggestions to make it more fun – “I went to the shop and I bought some bread, a pair of socks and a monkey”. If you’re after more of a challenge why not work you way through the alphabet starting with ‘A’ and seeing how far you can go?
6. Scissors, paper, stone
This reminds me of going on journeys in my childhood. It’s a game for 2 people. On the count of 3 both players have to shape their hand either like scissors (fingers snipping), paper (flat hand), or stone (clenched fist). Scissors beats paper (cuts it), paper beats stone (wraps it up), and stone beats scissors (blunts them). You can play first to 3, 5 or whatever you prefer.
7. The sausages game
We call this the sausages game but really it could be any word you like – choose one that will make the kids laugh, maybe the name of a favourite TV character or toy. One person asks the questions and the other person, no matter what the question, must answer with the chosen word eg Sausages. The aim of the game is to make the person who is answering the questions smile. Their aim is not to smile. See how many questions it takes to make them smile. Ask away …. ‘What did you brush your teeth with this morning?’, ‘What would you like for your birthday this year?’…..
8. The alphabet game
An old classic which can be simple but fun. All you need to do is spot each of the letters of the alphabet in turn – on number plates, on road signs, on other signage. The first to get to the end of the alphabet is the winner.
9. The category game
You can adapt this to the age of your children. All you do is choose a category, for example ‘animals with four legs’ or ‘the names of parks that you know’ and then see how many things you can name between you. You can either take it in turns and score a point for each one you name, or just work as a team and see how many you can come up with together.
10. Lucky dip presents
When all else fails remember that kids just love surprises. Wrap up a few little presents in scraps of tissue paper to hand out at tricky moments or use as prizes for the winner of a game you have been playing. Stickers, hair clips, or even freebies you have collected from a cereal box are perfect for this. Just having a present, and unwrapping it, always helps distract the kids when distraction is needed.
Some helpful advice
‘Remember that children need variety,’ says Julia, mum of 2 and owner of KidsTravel2. ‘Block activities into sessions of 10 – 15 minutes each and mix up word games, craft activities, screen time & listening activities. Don’t forget you’ll need some down time too from being the on the go party host. Listening activities for the kids can give you some much needed relaxation – pop on a CD of favourite songs, activities or an audio book and let someone else take the entertainment driving seat for a while.’
Visit www.kidstravel2.com for unusual children’s luggage, kids travel games and family travel accessories. There are stacks more free travel travel games, I Spy print outs and travel tips on their blog at http://blog.kidstravel2.com
