The most trip-related questions I had were regarding our 32 hours of driving time with a 2 year old, which actually went really well! So, I’m rounding up everything that worked well here.
✨Car seat tray: this must-have was perfect for drawing and activities and had a cup holder and spot for markers. It also has a tablet sleeve with a stand.
✨MagnaDoodle: probably his favorite new activity. He constantly asked for his “drawing pad.”
✨Mr. Potato Head: He’d never seen one before the trip. He spent so much time playing with it!
✨Scratch pads and one-color marker books. Hit up the Target $1 section for these. He did all the pages in all the books!
✨Seek-and-find books. He had so much find with a new dino book, I should have gotten him more I Spy type books!
✨New books and sticker sheets! Just prepare for everything to be covered in stickers.
TIPS
✨Use one activity bag for the way there and a new one for the way back, it’ll keep everything new and fresh!
✨Wrap activities like presents. The best bribe for getting him back in the car seat after a stop was getting a present. Thomas the Train mini trains were the biggest hit!
✨Pre-load your tablet. Load up shows and movies on different apps. Our Disney app stopped working due to an app update, so we had no access to anything we’d downloaded on there. Luckily we had shows on other apps saved too. Overall, he only spent about 2 of the 36 hours on a tablet. Be very careful on windy or hilly roads. Reserve it for open, flat highways or deal with the carsick consequences 😳
✨Get melatonin gummies: a recommendation from our mail carrier who had just done a Florida trip too. The @ollywellness kids kind are just .5 mg of melatonin, just enough to help a bit when he was overtired.
✨Pack tons of protein and fiber filled snacks. Homemade trail mix was the biggest hit!
✨Hit up garage sales and consignment sales and shops for toys, books and stickers so you don’t break the bank!