I’m writing this post now, because I wrote this post two years ago, when our crazy family braved a supposed-to-be 14-hour, but turned 22-hour road trip to the Catskills with 2 under 2. It was a ROYAL nightmare. Yet, for some reason, the posts seem pretty idealistic. I’m reading them as a completely different person, a more developed mother, and I want to put something that might be more relatable and informative to the average mom.
We’ve been debating for about a month as to whether we should go away this summer. As it turns out, we’re going away twice! Our first trip is down to Louisville, KY, my hometown, to visit my dad for the week. The kids are SUPER excited! And at the end of the summer, we’re going about an hour away to a beach town in Michigan. While these trips are much shorter distances than when we drove to NY, we definitely still need to be prepared. And in many ways, we’ll be doing things differently (like no public rest stops) due to COVID-19. Happy Packing!
Time to Pack:
So you remind yourself every day for a week leading up to the trip that you “need to start packing”, but realistically, about a day before you leave, it’s finally time to pack. Download an actual packing list that I made for our last road trip. It’s even got my old branding on it, but the information is the same.
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I like to make sure that I pack 1 extra outfit for each kid, and 1-2 extra pairs of underwear/pull-ups than you think you’ll need. We’ve got 2 potty trained toddlers this time around, but accidents happen, so I want to be prepared. We’ll have a washing machine at my dad’s house, so I’m not overpacking too much, but if you’re going somewhere without washing machine access, then you should definitely pack for 1-2 extra days.
**Note: This is our first trip EVER without bringing a stroller (double OR single!). I’m pretty excited for the extra room. I highly recommend thinking about what your trip will look like and the reality of actually needing a stroller because it takes up SO MUCH ROOM in the car. We’ll be able to fit so much more now that we aren’t bringing it!
If you have two kids with smaller clothes, you can pack them in one suitcase. I put each of the kids on either side of the suitcases. That way it’s all in one place, but they’re separated and easy to find everything.
Don’t forget your masks!
In the car:
I’M THRILLED that we have a minivan for this trip. We’re folding down the third row, so we have A TON of space to fit everything we need. Depending on where you’re going, you may also be bringing your entire life (food, bedding, towels, cooking utensils, etc.). So alllll of it has to fit in your car.
My biggest tip is to strategically pack the car. Put all of the kitchen utensils, food for when you get there (meat, bread, etc), toys for when you get there, bikes, scooters in the car first. You don’t need to access it until you arrive.
Make sure to have access to:
- Extra underwear, pull-ups
- Snacks, snacks and more snacks. And drinks. We drink water in the car. I keep these in the back seat on the floor so that I can easily access them from the front seat.
- The toddler potty (I’ll use this also as we aren’t stopping at public restrooms on the way down. But who am I kidding? I’ve used it pre-COVID also.)
- Car activities (I’ll get to those below.)
- Phone charging cable
- Kids’ blankets and loveys
- Music playlists and/or shows for the kids
- Ziploc bags or a spare bucket in case of vomit.
- Miss Mouth’s Stain Remover Spray — in case vomit or anything else gets ANYWHERE, you can combat the stain (and smell) right then and there.
Car Must-Haves:
Here’s my list of must-haves for the car ride. Everything you need to keep *almost* everyone happy and content.
- If you don’t allow screen time or limit it at home, the car is the time to allow it. This is exactly what we got our Amazon Fire Tablets for. I make sure that they’re charged and loaded with apps, games and shows to keep the kids occupied. If you can get each child their own tablet, even better.
- We just downloaded the Toveedo app onto their tablets so they can watch great quality, Jewish videos on the go as well. We are BIG fans!
- Make sure you have a mount for the tablets. Kids get carsick when they look down at their tablets.
- ALL THE SNACKS! We bring a big cooler bag of snacks. I try to bring a variety of fruit and healthier snacks, but I also bring “treat snacks” to make the car ride feel special and like a part of the fun vacation. If my kids were older, I would put snacks in each of their own bags to monitor, but I’ll be packing one snack bag for everyone this time, because I have to monitor it. I have a mix of healthy and unhealthy, and a special “sweet treat” bag for bribery. I’m not against that on a road trip. Or ever.
- Ration the snacks so you have them when you really need them.
- I let the kids pick a couple favorite toys to bring. I pack each kid their own backpack with all of these items, including the blankets and loveys.
- Have a bag readily available filled with: Hand sanitizer, antibacterial cleaning wipes, toilet wipes, baby wipes (yes I realize that is 3 different types of wipes), medicines needed (prescription and non-prescription), first-aid kit.
- Make sure you have food for yourself also. Low blood sugar and/or hangry parents don’t go well in the car.
The Plan?
Try to make the most out of the ride. Even though I have anxiety about it, the kids don’t need to know that. They’re excited, and the happier everyone is, the better the trip will be.
We plan to make as few stops as possible, and we have the potty and anything we might need readily available so any stops can be super quick. And we certainly won’t forget to have masks and gloves available too.
Do you have any road trip tips? I’d love to share them in the comments below!
Happy Road Tripping! xo
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