Survival guide for a long car ride

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We have never been ones to shy away from taking trips and with five kids, flying is out of the question. We live 4 hours away from my parents, we like to take trips plus my drive to work with my four youngest kids is an hour one way so we spend a. lot. of time in the car. We have yet to find a fool proof formula for riding with kids, but we have found some things that have helped!

Books on CD: Yep, just like the books on tape you used to listen to with your parents but they have them in all of your favorite Disney movies on CD! Right now our favorites are Zootopia and Cars 3 but they have tons at Target or on Amazon - I've linked an awesome family pack below!

Buckle in lap trays: Coloring, snacks, toy play, all of this can be done in the car now! They don’t like keeping them on the entire drive but between bathroom breaks is a great time to buckle/unbuckle. Oh, and did I mention, it has pockets!

L's lap tray (linked below!) has a coloring book, colored pencils, a toy, an old iPhone, water cup and snacks!

Games: License plate game, squiggle, mad libs (family friendly option linked below!), brain quest. Give them games you can play together as well as ones they can initiate themselves. We also have kept our old iPhones strictly for use on trips. Just download a bunch of free games or, if you have kids like my son, all you really need is the camera app and lots of storage!

But really, the thing i've learned you really need is patience: Lots, and lots of patience. They just want to get to the destination, too :)