what to pack for road trips

Essential Family Road Trip Hacks to Travel Safely

Planning a family road trip? These family road trip essentials and road trip hacks will ensure a smooth trip in these uncertain times.

Planning a Family Road Trip During the Pandemic? Here’s How to Travel Safely: So many families love to travel in the summer, but this has been a year unlike any other. The girls and I were supposed to be on a Girl Scout trip to London and Paris right now. That’s been cancelled, along with […]

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Your Carsick Kid Plan-Ahead Survival Guide

Ever had a carsick kid? Trust us, it's not fun. This plan-ahead guide will help you be ready when disaster strikes while you're on the road.

Have you ever had a carsick kid? If you haven’t been down that road yet, count yourself as one of the lucky ones. But don’t expect your luck will hold forever. All it takes is one episode to scare any car-owning parent out of their complacence. Trust me. Alas, we’ve been down this road enough

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Sweet and Savory Crescent Roll Recipes

Need quick & easy ideas for make-ahead snacks, summer picnics, or school lunches? With over 25 options, this list of crescent roll recipes has you covered!

Need an easy make-ahead kid-friendly meal/snack for your next family road trip? Or an easy weekend-prep option for school lunches? Either way, these crescent roll recipes have you covered. The girls had a blast making these recently at our church cooking club. And with a week-plus of crazy schedules and travel ahead of us, making

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Super Stocking Stuffers for Happy Travelers

Need some stocking-stuffer ideas for Christmas? Or a "little something" for friends' kids at the holidays? These super stocking stuffers are under $10 each!

Need some stocking-stuffer ideas for Christmas? Or a “little something” to give to friends’ kids at the holidays? These super stocking stuffers are under $10 each, and are favorites in our house for family travel. And one of the best parts? There are no batteries or sounds involved! No fighting over electronics, running out of

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My Top 10 Family Camping Splurges, Part 2

When Kimmie checked into sleep-away camp yesterday, her gear included lots of my family camping splurges. Which is why her luggage took up a fraction as much space as the other kids'.

I have to admit, I was pretty proud when I dropped Kimmie off at her first sleep-away camp adventure yesterday. She’s there for all of two nights, and her luggage reflected this fact. Thanks to the family camping splurges we invested in last summer, she was one of the best-outfitted kids there. And also one

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Family Camping Splurges: My Top Ten Picks, Part 1

If you and your family like to camp, these family camping splurges will make your adventures oh-so-much-nicer.

As longtime readers know, I’m not a fan of having stuff one doesn’t need. But if you camp often enough, these family camping splurges are worth considering. And many of them have uses beyond family camping trips. I added these things to our family camping checklist after three back-to-back camping trips last summer. While we

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Smart Games For Your Holiday Gift List

Looking for some super gift ideas for your little ones this holiday season? Try some Smart Games. What are Smart Games? Smart Games is a company founded in Belgium that makes a super selection of games to grow your kid’s brain. The games are designed to help kids develop problem-solving skills and other basic brain functions that

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Sanity-Saving Hacks for Roadtripping Solo With Small Children

My house is a mess of unpacking, my writing is behind schedule – can you guess that my family and I have just spent the past few weeks on various road trips? For many families, summer means travel. But the reality is that in two-parent households, parents can’t always coordinate limited vacation time with other

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Tunes for Traveling With Kids: Our Top 15 Road Trip Soundtracks

Before your next family road trip, treat yourselves to some tunes everyone can handle. It will make your journey a happier one for everyone involved.

Are you sick of listening to your kids belt out the theme song from Frozen yet? Do you wish that the singing purple dinosaur had never been invented? Do you prefer some good music for a long car ride over hearing your kids’ dueling electronic toys in the backseat? Do you have a long car

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Next Time You Travel, Try Diaper Covers

If you’re spending part of the holiday season in transit, and your entourage will include at least one child who’s not yet fully toilet-trained, you have a lot of potential messes ahead of you, at a time when it’s least convenient. Whether you use disposable diapers, cloth, or something in between, this post is for

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What To Pack When Traveling With Kids: My Five Must-Haves For A Better Trip

Planning your first trip away from home with little ones? Not sure what to pack? These are my "learned the hard way" must-haves for travel with small kids.

In an earlier post, I offered four tips on how to pack for traveling with kids, so you can learn from my mistakes and avoid some of the trial-and-error I’ve gone through in trying to streamline family travel. This post will focus on some of the hacks on what to pack that I’ve figured out

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Why Frozen Grapes are THE Best Summer Snack

Frozen grapes are the perfect healthy summer snack for kids. If you haven't tried them before, here's why you should - along with complete step-by-step how-to's for the easiest summer snack EVER!

My kids’ fave munchies for hot summer days? Hands-down, frozen grapes. I first came across this idea a couple of years before I actually tried it, and I only wish I’d tried it sooner. My hesitation is simple to explain: I assumed the grapes would freeze into little rocks that I’d then have to thaw

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Taking a Car Trip With Your Kids: Basic Tips To Help You Plan Smart

I've learned lots about traveling with kids the hard way. Lesson #1: PLAN AHEAD. Read this post for my best car trip tips, and you can avoid my mistakes!

Next weekend we’re off to visit my in-laws. But instead of over the river and through the woods, our 21st-century car trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house involves nearly 300 miles in my beloved Subaru Outback. At least most of it is on interstate highways, but you can do the math: We’re talking at least

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