The start of the road trip is always the same: everyone’s excited and brimming with anticipation for the vacation ahead. The second hour of the road trip is also the same, everyone’s calmed down a bit, and are starting to daydream, watch the scenery, and relax.
By the seventh-and-beyond hours of the road trip, everyone begins to lose their mind. Calls of “I’m boooored” can be heard, even from all the way back in the minivan. Fights begin to break loose. Cabin fever has settled in, and no one is safe from its effects. However, all hope is not lost — there are many things you can do to keep your kids (and yourself) entertained while you try to cross Illinois, north-to-south, without losing your mind. Take a look at some games and activities that are perfect for road trips, and book your next stay with New Victorian Inn! We have hotels in Norfolk, Lincoln, Omaha, Kearney, and Sioux City — book your visit today!
I Spy
A timeless classic, and one that everyone should know how to play. This is a perfect one for very young kids (but older kids usually have a good time trying to be as tricky as possible). Simply state “I spy, with my little eye, something ______” and fill in the blank with the color of the object you see. To make it a little more challenging (and educational), bring in shapes, numbers, letters, or anything else you can think of. Your fifth grader might be momentarily stumped if you tell them you spy something with parallel lines, but it should quickly come back to them (or serve as a good teaching moment!).
The License Plate Game
Being on the road for awhile is the perfect time to see if you can spot all 50 states — this is particularly true if you go to a national park. Make a fun, colorful list (something great for kids to decorate in the car, if they don’t get motion sickness), and start writing down or checking off plates as you see them. Feel free to add point value to certain license plates, like 20 points for spotting Hawaii or Alaska — as long as you don’t think this could start World War III in your car. Some families might do well with the collaborative competition, others might get into a bit of a scuffle.
Would You Rather…
You simply can’t beat a good “would you rather,” one of those iconic situations that reveal the innermost depths of a person’s moral fiber and compass. Or, you might simply find out your spouse prefers string cheese over slices of cheese, which is ludicrous, but at New Victorian Inn & Suites, we don’t judge.
Here are a couple to get you started. Would you rather…
- Go for a run or go for a bike ride?
- Travel to the beach or to the mountains?
- Visit somewhere cold, or someplace warm?
- Have school straight for a year without summer, or have winter for a year without school?
The Alphabet Game
Pick a topic, and take turns listing things alphabetically within that category. For example, if the topic was “movies,” one person would start off with A, the next person would start off with B, and so on and so forth. Stuck on X? X-Men and Xanadu always work!
Road trips are incredible, and so much of the journey comes from getting to enjoy time with loved ones. Families may bicker and fights may break out (it’s probably best to turn off the tablets for awhile), but they are shared experiences and memories that won’t be forgotten. Have fun on the road, and when even the road trip games aren’t enough to keep your family from losing it, book a night at New Victorian Inn & Suites!