Road trips for the kids can be really exciting for about 20 minutes until the bordem sets in. “Are we there yet” and “I’m bored” are what most parents tend to hear if the kids aren’t kept entertained in the backseats. To reduce this whining and reach your destination before you know it, plan ahead and make your family road trips fun with some of these classic great games and activities that will keep the kids entertained, as well as improve their powers of awareness and memory. There’s only so much gazing out the window at the scenery change that kids can take, but with our help, we can keep the kids entertained for as long as possible.
Here are 10 fun ideas and games that the kids, teens, and even the whole family can enjoy. Have fun!
1. Licence plate game
For this game, it would great if you had some paper to hand. The aim of the game is to write down each time you see a licence plate that’s from a different country, allowing kids to practice their geography as well as their writing. At the end of the game, whoever has found the most wins. You could even award bonus points to the person who finds the most unusual licence plate.
2. I spy
This game appears to be very popular with the little ones. Simply take it in turns and repeat the phrase “I spy with my little eye something beginning with….”. You should continue this statement with a clue to an object that is visible for everybody to see. For example, if you happen to see some traffic lights while on your travels you could say, I spy with my little eye something beginning with….”T”.
3. Simon says
Simon says is a children’s game that’s been around for centuries. When you have chosen one person to be Simon, whatever that person says, everybody else must do. For example, if Simon says everybody touch your head, then everybody needs to touch their head as if not, then that person is out of the game.
4. Banana game
This game is also known as yellow bellies and the yellow car game. Yellow cars are not that common so every time you see one while on your travels it’s well worth a shout-out. Each time somebody spots a yellow car the first person to yell “Banana!” receives a point and the person who has the most points at the end of the game wins.
5. Count the…..
All you need for this game is a pen and a piece of paper and the great thing about this game is that you can essentially pick anything you want for the kids to count. For example, speed limit signs, red cars, yellow cars, and every other different coloured car. Simply just keep a tally on your piece of paper and whoever finds the most of that specific car at the end of the road trip wins.
6. Name the song
To play this game, you can either sing or hum a song loud enough so that everybody else in the car can hear you and so that they can try to guess the name of the song. Instead of songs, you could also hum the tune to your favourite TV show too and allow everybody else in the car to guess. When somebody correctly guesses what your song was, they should then hum the next song.
7. I went to the shops and I bought…
This game can also be referred to as “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing”. Each person should take it in turns and repeat the following phrase, “I went to the shops and I bought…”. The next word that follows should begin with the letter A, then moving on to the next person who will then repeat what the last person said but adding another item starting with the letter B. Continue this pattern until there’s only one person left who is able to recite all of the items that were bought.
8. 20 questions
If you’re playing this game with small children, they may like to refer to this game as guess the animal. In this game, one person should secretly think of an animal and allow the other players to take turns asking yes or no questions. For example, “can it fly?”. After 20 questions, each person should then take turns to make a guess, which should continue until somebody guesses correctly.
9. Tunnel
This game is easy peasy. All you have to do is each time you enter a tunnel while on your travels, everybody (but the driver) holds their breath and whoever can hold it for the longest is the winner!
10. Slug a bug
Again, it’s another basic game. Slug bugs in this game are defined as classic Volkswagen bugs, vans, and pickups. All everybody has to do is stare out of the window and keep track of how many Volkswagen Beetles you see on the road and the first to 10 wins. Some people also like to incorporate newer models into the game and not just the classic bugs.
