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With summer winding down, perhaps you are heading out for a final road trip to cap off the season. After taking a few of our own this summer, I’ve had to pull out all the stops to get through some long car rides with our three little ones. A road trip definitely calls for stocking up on essentials and some road trip hacks. Here are some of mine:
Get Creative with Timing
Plan to leave at a good time for your kids. We will often leave at night so that we drive through the night. This way our children are sleeping through a bulk of the trip. This might not always be feasible so just look at what the best times are for your family. Maybe your children do best in the morning or maybe the afternoon. Plan to drive when you know your kids will be most able to sit for an extended period.
Get Comfortable
I find that my kids are least likely to cooperate when they are uncomfortable. Plan your car packing to avoid eating into space and/or leg room. Invest in a few travel pillows to make sitting more comfortable for everyone.
Road Trip Kits
To avoid any arguments or the need to stop and pass anything out, I make ‘kits’ for each of my kids. Everyone gets their own supply of snacks, drinks and activities. It’s all in their kit.
What to put in your kit? Water, Snacks – such as nuts carrots, and a sweet treat, like Oreos Thins Mint
For my older son, we put a pack of Orbit Cinnamint gum in. I find these kits cut down on the whining from the backseat!
I head to ACME to fill up on everything I need to complete my road trip kits – Orbit Gum Packs, Oreos Thins Mints, Earthbound Salad Mixes, Fresh Vegetables, Nuts and more!
I also throw any allowed electronics, books, games and activities into the basket. It helps your kids to be more self-sufficient in the car.
Meals-On-The-Go
I’m tired of soggy sandwiches packed that morning – so this year, I put together these salads for my husband and I. I picked up the Earthbound Farms Salad mixes from ACME and made a very veggie salad.
I love using mason jars to pack salads because they keep so well and you can have the dressing on the bottom. They also fit into your cup holder so during a road trip! My husband and I will take turns driving so the other gets a relaxing lunch.
Some Tips for a Mason Jar Salad :
The trick is in the layering. Always put the dressing on the bottom and choose more reslient veggies to be on the bottom. Put the salad in the middle, followed by lighter toppings – like cheese, fruit, etc. My favorite mason jar salad is a Radish, Apple & Feta Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette Layers – Bottom to Top Lemon Viniagrette or dressing of your choice Radish Carrots Apples (tip: Chop and toss with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning) Earthbound Organic Half and Half – Half Baby Spinach Half Spring Mix Feta Cheese Pecans Close your lid tightly. Attach a fork, for on the go eating and store refrigerated for 1-2 days. Need to store longer? Don’t put the dressing at the bottom and you can extend how long these will keep. Keep Essentials Handy Avoid digging through a bag. Use a shoe organizer or similar product (like this travel system below) to store things on the back of a chair. It minimizes the clutter and keeps important things on hand – like wipes, sanitizer, diapers and changes of clothes.
Ready to Take Your Best Road Trip Ever?
Enter to win in the Best Road Trip Ever Sweepstakes at Albertsons and Albertsons banner stores – such as ACME, Safeway and Shaws. You can win a new car by sharing your best road trip.
Now that I’ve shared some of my favorite family road trip hacks, you should be ready to take your best road trip ever! What are some of your road trip tips?
We are always keeping tons of snacks on hand for the kids! I love the idea of a nice salad in a jar for a long road trip!
These are all great road trip tips, I am loving how creative you snack selection is. Thanks for sharing
The idea of mason jar salads is so fun. I love how they look and how everything is already put together so well for the salad to be enjoyed.
These all sounds like great road trip snacks. I’m more of a snacker, so the Oreo treats are right up my alley. But as a salad lover, I would love to get into making more mason jar salads. So easy and compact!
I love anything that’s made with the use of a mason jar! Anyhow, great post! You posted some really great road trip tips 😀
What a really great idea! I never think to use mason jars. I think its great and very space saving too!
What a great list of travel hacks. I know that you have already brought it up, but my best travel hack is to keep everything that I might need easily accessible. There’s nothing worse of digging through everything in a small space to find that one thing that I desperately need. I also like to travel with a large pashmina shawl. It takes almost no space and is perfect to wrap around me (or anyone else) if it’s a little colder than expected. The material can also protect from the sun without being uncomfortable hot. +It can be stuffed into a ball and used as a pillow etc. It’s brilliant.
Having 4 kids, I can say that these tips are absolutely necessary! OH and that mason jar salad looks delicious!
My best tip has to be: keep organized during the road trip!
I love your salajar, we do one with watermelon and feta cheese for our beach outings 🙂
Road trip kits are a great idea when traveling with kids. The salad looks like a really tasty treat!
This looks delicious! I get so sick of fast food when we’re on a road trip, and all I crave is a good salad.
I’m always taking snacks on day trips plus I love mason jars. Win – win.
I think snacks are the key to any successful road trip! I’m also a huge fan of mason jar salads! I pack them for Hubbys work lunches all the time!
You pack such healthy road trip food!! I feel bad about bringing junk food on my latest trip!! LOL!!
Oh wow, where were you when my kids were little. This is a great idea and I’m certainly going to pass this on to my daughters. I love the salad idea for Mommy too and taking turns driving is fab too! Thanks for sharing.
I am a bit of a snack hoarder, I always fear to be somewhere with hungry kiddos because we all know its more like Hangry! LOL Love the salad idea!
What a great post! I have your blog to keep reading to prep for having little kids. This is a great idea!