4 Things to Pack In A Road Trip Go Bag For Traveling With Kids Without Losing Your Mind
The road trip go bag is your sanity saver for road trips this Summer. “ARE WE THERE YET?!” will be replaced with sadness when you reach your destination.
Thank you, SC Johnson, for sponsoring this conversation and helping moms and dads stay organized on road trips, one Ziploc® brand Sandwich Bag at a time, so they don’t lose their minds.
I’m not a planner by nature. I can plan. I will plan. But spur of the moment, fly by the seat of your pants, is more my style.
It can drive my husband and friends crazy, but they love me.
Not knowing where you might end up by the end of the day, means that you do have to plan ahead to some extent. I am always up for road trips, but you have to be prepared. Ironic, isn’t it?
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That’s why we have a road trip go bag. This bag is filled with fun activities for the kids, snacks, and a few of their favorite things, along with a small first aid kit. It compliments our selection of books on CD and favorite sing-alongs, so we can also enjoy a screen-free road trip.
Side note, while I’m not against screens on road trips, I do try to limit them. We usually do choose a movie or two to watch, depending on the travel time to our destination.
How to Pack a Road Trip Go Bag
If you’ve ever traveled with kids, you know how it goes.
Not 10 minutes after you leave the driveway the kids are yelling from the backseat “WHERE ARE WE GOING?!” “WHEN WILL WE BE THERE?”. Thirty minutes in, the questions hit the infamous turning point, “ARE WE THERE YET?!”. From this moment on, the adults in the car exchange knowing glances. One if not both of them will lose their ever-loving mind if that question continues.
Is it possible to travel with kids without losing your mind?!
Yes. Yes, it is.
That’s where the Road Trip Go Bag comes in handy. It is your sanity-saver on road trips. Everything is organized by activity or snack, so it’s easy to grab and toss back. When one child is finished with their bag, they pass it on to the next person. It’s a wonderfully glorious time that goes down in Family Road Trip History.
What exactly goes inside our Road Trip Go Bag? I’m so glad you asked! Let’s check it out.
Snacks. When traveling with kids, snacks are super important. Our Road Trip Go Pack usually includes apples, little oranges, gluten-free pretzels, and granola bars. We do live in Colorado, so water bottles are a given whether it’s a road trip or not.
First Aid Kit. Kids. There are always scraped knees or scratches that happen when kids are around. We keep a small one in the Road Trip Go Pack that includes bandages, green salve (an amazing ointment that we are never without), and wipes. Sometimes they are antibacterial, sometimes baby wipes. It depends. Wipes are great for sticky situations are tend to arise when you least expect it. Be prepared.
Fun activities to keep them busy. While we do have some travel games in the Go Pack, we also have open-ended activities. Those are my favorite and the kids enjoy them too. We have little notebooks with markers and crayons. Everyone has their own notebook that is a specific color. They know this. If someone draws or writes in someone else’s notebook, it’s the beginning of WW3 complete with yelling and gnashing of teeth. Everyone has their own colored notebook for a reason.
We also pack blocks for them to build with. With four kids, we have two sets. One is actually something they have to follow directions on and the other is open-ended. This is a favorite. Especially because they are characters from Marvel Studio’s Avengers: Infinity War.
While I could throw everything in the backpack and head out the door, that doesn’t really work with four kids. I do have to be somewhat organized.
That’s why I love using Ziploc® brand Sandwich Bags to help keep everything organized. They can be picked up easily at Walmart and make organizing supplies simple.
Wait. Did you think Ziploc® brand bags were only for food?
Yes, they are perfect for snacks and sandwiches, but they can be used for so much more. Their uses are limited only by your imagination.
The kids love that they feature Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War characters. I love that when they finish their snack, the bag doubles as a trash container.
See @MarvelStudios @Avengers #InfinityWar now. #InfinityWar
