Travel Time Idea’s for Toddlers

Tis the season for travel, as Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner! Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go! But my, oh my…what shall we do during all that travel? If you are like me you don’t want your children glued to a “screen” during the entire journey or they’ll never know the river or woods even existed! Allow me to make a few suggestions of how to pass the time while enjoying each other’s company and the world around you.  Which is much more meaningful for your family travels than hours of movie viewing. Group Story Telling – Start telling a fanciful story and at some point stop and then “pass” the story to another member of the family, who then does the same. It is great fun to see where a multiple person woven plot line can end up! And it’s hilarious when your daughter’s blacked winged horse on an adventure in the land of Princess warriors meets up with your son’s walking shark who chases him into the sky after he borrows wings from a Navy Jet – yeah…interesting stories for sure! Would You Rather… Silly Style – Examples: Would you rather eat marshmallows dipped in ketchup or green beans smothered with mustard?  Would you rather walk barefoot through deep snow or walk down the beach in a winter coat? This can get really silly, really fast! (Warning – boys can come up with some really gross things to eat and do…watch out!) Those People Are… – As you pass another vehicle observe who is in the car and come up with a fantastical story about who they are and where they are going. It can be “real life imaginings” or “make believe/other world imaginings” – great creative fun! Name That Tune – Someone starts humming a tune and you see who can guess the correct song the fastest. Remember When – You take turns sharing favorite family memories and start the sharing with “Remember when…” 20 Questions – One person thinks of a person, place or thing and then everyone else asks a yes or no question to see if they can guess what it is before 20 questions have been asked.  Many times we don’t limit the questions to 20 just to see how long we can keep it going!         MadLibs Silly Sentences – Kind of like Group Story Telling except you are just making a sentence and each person says only one word. These sentences get REALLY wacky and nonsensical – the sillier the better. ABC Memory Game – You go through the alphabet and assign an object to each letter, when it is your turn you must repeat all that has been said before you, and add your letter/word.  Example: Dad says – A is for apple, Mom says – A is for apple, B is for buffalo, Sister says – A is for apple, B is for buffalo, C is for camera, Brother says – A is for apple, B is for buffalo, C is camera, D is for dragon … and so on.  (Spoiler: Your children will be much better at remembering than you are, it’s quite frustrating!) When We Were Young – Parents share stories of their childhood and/or when they were first married. Our children have always REALLY liked hearing stories about our past. Biggest Blessings – Take turns sharing individual and family blessings received in the past year. I hope you will try some of these fun family bonding activities, they are guaranteed to fill your automobile with laughter and provide great memories during your mileage gathering. Safe travels!