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With the Summer season upon us, and the start of traditional traveling months to begin, I thought I would bring you some hope. After all, road trips are fun. Well, they can be. As soon as "Are we there yet?" and "Can we stop? I have to go to the bathroom." is asked for the one millionth time, you're F I N I S H E D. I've learned over the years the best way to cure the whiney children is to play a game, or three.
Good news! I have TEN great games your kids can play while you're cruisin' down the highway.
1. Telephone - You remember this one! It doesn't matter what generation you were born in, you played Telephone at one point in your life. Your child whispers a story or a sequence of words to someone else in the car. The person he whispered it to then whispers the same story, as close to what he heard as possible. Then, on to the next person. By the time the story gets to the last person it's rarely the original thought and it brings laughter.
2. Twenty Questions - One person secretly thinks of either an object, place or animal. The other people in the car take turns asking yes-or-no questions, like "Is it red?" or "Have we ever been there before?" After the players have asked twenty questions, each player gets a chance to guess at what it could be.
3. The Alphabet Game - One person chooses the righthand side of the road, and someone else choose the lefthand side. The players take turns finding letters in the alphabet, either on street signs or license plates. The idea is to point out all the letters of the alphabet in order, from A to Z. The first person to Z wins.
4. The Theme Song Game - One person hums the tune to a favorite TV show, and everyone tries to name the show as fast as possible. The first person to guess correctly hums the next song.
Mom and Dad, you could play this game with songs from years past. What about the first song you ever danced to? Or, "your song" from when you were dating? This game could be fun for ALL!
5. Restaurant Race - Each player chooses a restaurant, such as Burger King, McDonalds, Panera Bread, etc. Players earn points by spotting their restaurant off the road, on a billboard, on exit markers, on Food/Fuel signs, or by hearing it mentioned on the radio. Impose a time limit -- say, 20 minutes -- and then add up the points.
6. Memory Test - The first person says "A is for ___" filling in the blank with any word beginning with the letter A, such as "apple." The second person comes up with a word for the letter B, such as "baseball," but must also repeat the A word: "A is for apple, B is for baseball." Continue through the alphabet, each person taking several turns and reciting more and more letters and words. By the time you reach the letter Z, that player will recite the entire alphabet and its corresponding words. However, if you're playing with younger kids you may want to choose an earlier letter than Z to be the final one.
7. "I'm Going on a Picnic" Game - Super similar to the Memory Test, but you say, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring apples." The next person would say something like, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring apples and bananas." Next person would say, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring apples, bananas, and cupcakes." You get the idea. You'd go back and forth until you are bringing something to the picnic from every letter of the alphabet.
8. Secret Place Race - You'll need an old school map for this one. But, that could be lots of fun. (You can often find a map at rest stops or visitor stations.) One person looks at a road map and finds a small town, river, or trail. That person tells everyone in the car the place he has chosen. A second player has 60 seconds to look at the map and try to find the secret place.
9. The Animal Game - One person names an animal, then each person in order has to name another animal (no repeating!) that starts with the last letter of the previous animal named. There are no winners or losers in this game. With older children, try the game with TV shows, or geographical categories, such as cities or countries.
10. The State License Plate Game - This game we play on every road trip! Until recently, I thought I made this game up. :) At the start of your journey, grab a pencil and a piece of paper. As you're traveling down the road, pay close attention the license plates of passers by. Every plate has a different state. Write down each one, until you've found all 50 states. Can you find them all? There's a wonderful game board made by Melissa & Doug for this game. (Find it by clicking HERE) Apparently I wasn't as creative in making this game up as I thought.
Here are a few more games that I found for you on Amazon.
50 Road Trip Games
Travel Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Spot It! On The Road
Mad Libs on the Road
Backseat Bingo Playing Cards
Now, as you prepare for your next road trip, you don't have to dread the hours of "Are we there yet?"
What are your favorite games to play, when you travel? Tell me in the comments!
Safe travels!
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