Going on holiday with children is a very exciting time, however more often than not half an hour after departing you begin hearing the groans of “how long now?” Trying to think of ways to entertain them can be tricky and it is always at that moment that you can’t think of anything that will amuse them and keep them quiet for a couple of hours. Don’t despair we have the solution.
We asked parents what games and activities occupied their kids the most and these are what they told us were the travel games that kids love best.
Magnetic Playsets and Games
Dress-up, constructing towns and cities, witches and wizards – whatever feeds their imagination you are sure to find it in a magnetic playset. Nearly every board game that exists now has a magnetic travel version such as snakes and ladders and Connect 4. The boards fold to a size suitable for fitting into a bag, whilst the magnetic pieces mean they are great for journeys as they stay in one place.
Drawing Toys
All kids love to colour and draw and there is a great range of portable drawing toys such as DoodlePro and Aquadoodle available that are ideal for budding artists to entertain themselves. It also cuts down on luggage weight too, as there is no need to bring a load of paper and pencils as it all comes in one.
Uno Card Game
Uno is inexpensive and once you know the rules you will have lots of fun playing it as it involves lots of strategies and penalties. For this reason it may be a good idea to practice it before your journey. Uno is more suitable for children aged 7 and up over and an average game lasts around 30 minutes and is played in teams of 2 and over.
Baby Learning Laptop
By VTech is an ideal travel companion for babies and toddlers because it is compact and comes in bright colours so little ones will be happy when they see you bring that out of your bag. You are able to put the volume on a lower level so not to disturb other passengers and the battery life tends to be very good too. Little ones will be fascinated by all the lights and listening to the voices and the music. This should keep them occupied for some time.
Sticker Books
Children of all ages and maybe some adults will love these. You can get sticker books in all different designs and they will keep them busy for an hour or so whilst they concentrate on carefully placing the stickers in the correct place. No doubt each family member will end up with a couple of stickers attached to their shirts too. There are also some entertaining sticker set play scenes where children can use their imaginations too.
Colouring and Activity Books
Pack the pencils, crayons and pens and your little ones will be occupied for hours with these. We will also let you in on a secret – they do colouring books for adults too, so no more stealing the child’s colouring book when they are asleep.
Memory Games
Kids love playing memory games they are educational as well as fun as it helps improve their memory skills without even realising it. I went to the grocery store is a great example of this and will provide lots of giggles as they try to remember all the items they bought from the store in alphabetical order. Children will be very proud of themselves when they get them right.
Audio Books
Books of any type are good for travelling, however if you have children who suffer with motion sickness, reading can make this worse. Audio books are a great way to over come this as they can just plug the headphones in and enjoy the stories being read to them without disturbing other passengers and at the same time their eyes can remain on the horizon and not on a book which will help reduce the feeling of nausea.
Smart Ass Mini Game
For older kids aged twelve and over so the best game for a group of teenagers. This hilarious game is a mini version of the board game and even adults will enjoy this game. It consists of trivia questions and you have to shout out the answer, but you only get one chance to get it right.
The Classics
Also included in this list is travel bingo, scavenger hunt , hangman and everyone’s favourite I-Spy. I am sure you will be able to add more to this list.
Kids Trip Diary
Give each child a notebook and some pens and tell them to write a diary of their trip. This is a great way to not only keep them busy but also a brilliant keepsake and you will have fun for many years to come when you read back their journals. Think about also when they go back to school and they have to write or talk about their trip, your child will be top of the class as they will have it all to hand.
Mini Library Board Books
Babies and toddlers will enjoy looking at the pictures and pointing to the different objects. They are also great for popping in your carry on luggage due to their size.
There are lots of games that are great for keeping kids entertained, some are suitable for quiet time and some are good for family interaction. Games are a great way to connect with your kids and journeys are a great place for the fun to start. Of course the best thing about these activities are that the kids will say they are fun, and if they are happy then that makes you happy. Hope you have fun with them.
If you like this blog. Then you may wish to see what cool travel gadgets are great for kids too.
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