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Roadtrip with Kids: Travel Essentials

Roadtrip with Kids: Travel Essentials. Car travel tray, headrest seat hooks, Fire tablet and headrest mount, magnetic puzzle, and more.
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This past summer we went on a roadtrip with our kids to Tennessee. And these are some of the travel hacks and Amazon travel finds that we took with us. I’m rounding up my favorite Amazon finds to make your next roadtrip easier, less stressful, and more fun for the whole family. Because who knew traveling with kids could be so exhausting?!?

WE ALL KNEW! 🙂 But those memories from our travel trips each year are something our kids still bring up and talk about year after year. In fact, my daughter has been begging us to go back, and the trip was just two months ago.

Those stressful trips are those core memories that our kids carry with them for life. So take the trip. And grab a few of these items if you think they’ll make it any easier.

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER: I SOMETIMES LINK TO PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO HELP COVER THE COSTS OF RUNNING THIS BLOG. THERE’S NO EXTRA COST TO YOU – AND I ONLY RECOMMEND PRODUCTS THAT I’VE BOTH USED PERSONALLY AND THINK ARE QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT HELP WITH EFFICIENCY. PLEASE READ MY AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFORMATION. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 

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Roadtrip with Kids: Travel Essentials. Grab this quick list of travel essentials to make your next family vacation with little kids go a lot smoother.

Roadtrip Essentials for Kids

1. Car Seat Headrest Hooks

Headrest hooks for car seat. Keep bags off the floor while traveling with easy access for your kids to grab new toys and games when they need them.

These seat hooks are some of the most affordable things on this list. But they’re at number one because they are quite honestly my second favorite on this list. (My favorite is definitely a tie between 11 and 12 on the list – and they go together!)

These back of seat hooks are perfect for roadtrips and for backpacks and lunch boxes for school.

It keeps things up off the ground, so your kids aren’t stepping on them. You’ll keep your bags cleaner, nothing gets smashed, and your kids aren’t tripping trying to get our of the car. And best of all, their toys are within reach when they need them.

2. Headrest DVD Players

DVD Player for car headrest. Play movies for your kids on long roadtrips.

A DVD player to watch movies is a must on any long roadtrip. It helps pass the time so much easier than most other activities because kids tend to have short attention spans. But when you pop in a movie, their attention seems to change. At least for our kids. We usually save the movie for after lunch as a way to get everyone back in the car and start getting ready for a nice long nap.

Yes, the long-awaited nap on a roadtrip. You know it’s the quietest and least stressful part of the trip. The DVD player is where it’s at to get to that point.

This exact one is really old. We got it at Walmart, but I can’t find these exact DVD players. So I’ve linked a similar one on Amazon.

3. Headphones

Kids Headphones for long trips in the car. Works with Kindle Fire Tablets.

I wasn’t 100% sold on headphones. I just wasn’t sure they were necessary. I mean, they can just play their games and have the volume low. But I have to admit, these headphones have been great. Especially in close quarters, like in the car for a long roadtrip.

They’re super soft, so they’re comfortable for my daughters to wear. They come in a few different colors, so we can tell each others apart. And they help when they’re both playing on their tablet and fighting about who can’t hear because the other has theirs turned up too high. Which is really just an excuse to argue because they’re best friends, but sometimes frenemies (like most sisters:)).

4. Portable Fridge

Mountain Dew Portable Fridge for traveling with kids.

This isn’t one of those necessary to run out and buy things. But we got it as a Christmas gift one year, and it has been one of the coolest and quite handy things we own.

A portable fridge that plugs into your car. If you put cold drinks in it and start it up, it’ll keep them the same temp even if it wasn’t plugged in before you started. I’ve been pretty impressed with that.

It’s great for a few drinks to take with you on a hike, so your drinks are cold when you get back. And you don’t need to run out for ice for a cooler each day. And of course, it’s perfect for long roadtrips with kids. Pack a few juice boxes, and put it on the floor in the back seat.

It makes for easy access when you need to start your mom job handing out snacks. Start? Who am I kidding, that usually starts the moment we leave the driveway and lasts until we walk into the hotel room and beyond.

If you aren’t into Mountain Dew like my husband, here’s a similar portable fridge with great reviews.

5. Car Trashcan

Car trash can with push-top closure.

The trashcan we took on our roadtrip was actually from Target, but I can’t find that exact one anymore. I found it in the dollar spot at the entrance. But the reason I liked this one, was because it had a lid with a push-button closure. It could seal shut to keep any trash or odors out of the car as much as possible.

I had to cut down a grocery bag to fit, which worked but wasn’t exactly ideal. Other than that, I really like this little trashcan.

It was actually meant to be a mini desktop waste bucket, but I like it better for the car.

I did find a car trashcan on Amazon that’s similar. It has the push-button closure, tight seal, and comes with small trash bags to fit it perfectly. And it’s actually slightly larger, which I think is nice.

Car trash can with push-button closure for a tight seal. Includes trash bags.

6. Activity Bag for Traveling with Kids

Activity bag with books, sticker books, look and find books and computer games for long roadtrips with kids.

Kids get restless quickly. It’s just a fact of life. And we started hearing “Are we there yet?” about 30 minutes into our trip.

It’s about a seven and half hour trip for us, so that was way to early for boredom to set it. As soon as I hear it, I reached for our activity bag.

I stuffed multiple books for different age groups to meet the needs of each of our kids. I also added activity books like sticker books, dry erase books, and look and find books.

This magnetic puzzle was a huge hit! It was kind of a last-minute purchase, but definitely worth it. My kids love puzzles, and it was nice to have an extra activity. This one lasted much longer than most of the other activities, but movies are still the best way to pass time on a roadtrip. At least for our family.

7. First Aid Portable Packs

First Aid Portable Pack for traveling with kids.

You never know when you need a first aid kit. And if you don’t take one, you’ll need it. So save yourself a trip to Walmart in the middle of your trip and grab these first-aid portable packs.

I got mine at Dollar Tree, and they included quite a few things for the price. This pack included multiple sizes of band-aids and alcohol wipes.

8. Nightlight for the Hotel

Night light for the hotel room while traveling with kids.

One thing we always seem to need, but never have is a nightlight for the hotel. I found this cheap one at Dollar Tree before we left. It was a big hit!

And I didn’t have to use my phone as the night light. Which by the way, if you’re in a pinch. There’s actually an app to use as a night light. Check out the Night Light Lite app.

9. Air Tight Snack Containers

Air tight snack container with screw on lid to eliminate spilled snacks in the car on long roadtrips.

Don’t forget to pack a few snack containers. I recommend these because chip and pretzel bags get ripped easily, especially with kids.

And you don’t want to have a brand new bag with a rip all the way down the side and pretzels spilling everywhere while driving down the interstate.

Then you’re finding pretzels and little pretzel bits in your car for ages.

I grabbed this one at Dollar Tree. They’re cheap, big, and have lids that screw on so they can’t accidentally pop off at the most inopportune time.

10. Travel Tray for Car Seats

Travel Tray for Car Seats to entertain your kids on long roadtrips. Cuts down on constantly picking up dropped toys.

Handing food back to your kids is a nightmare, especially if you’ve giving them an entire meal from Arby’s and they just can’t eat their roast beef without some Arby’s sauce.

To be fair, I can’t eat them without the sauce either. But that sauce and them dropping the sandwich on the ground makes me cringe. It’s just so messy, and something that never seems to come out all the way.

But these travel trays for over your kid’s car seats are amazing.

It sits right over the carseat. You can fit a lot on the tray, not just food. It’s perfect for larger activities like the magnetic puzzles in number 13 on the list.

The only problem is if you have those bigger car seats, the three in one convertible seats, it won’t fit with two right next to each other. But if you have some space between the two, they’re so nice.

11. Kids Tablet with Case

Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet with kid-proof case. 13 hours of batter life for long roadtrips.

My number one favorite thing travel essential on this list is this Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet. My kids love these! And I do too. They occupy the time on roadtrips better than pretty much anything else.

Because we can shout out to look at scenery, but 8 hours of scenery is not something kids want to look at.

This kids tablet isn’t just great for long roadtrips with kids, but also just for giving your kids something to do on rainy days when they can’t go outside and play.

Plus, you can download some learning apps like the PBS kids games app, letter tracing, number games, Disney games, and so much more.

We currently use the Amazon Kids+ Subscription. It links to all of our kids’ tablets with one subscription, and gives you access to thousands of books, games, videos, and more.

You’re able to go in and monitor and restrict what your kids are able to do and what they have access to while on the tablet. So if you don’t want them to have access to anything on the internet, no problem. Just add those restrictions in. Learn more about the subscription and how it works.

YouTube is accessible on the tablet as well, so be aware that you’ll need to add any necessary restrictions there. It’s easy to do from your parent dashboard.

12. Kids Tablet Holder Car Mount

Kids Fire Tablet Holder Car Mount for watching movies while traveling with kids.

And this one goes hand and hand with the tablet. If you don’t have a DVD headrest player, then opt for this Kids tablet holder with car mount to go on the back of the headrest. It’s a great option for watching movies on your tablet.

Our kids have games downloaded on their tablet, but can use wifi through our phones to access movies on the go. You can use your Disney account on the tablets as well.

13. Magnetic Puzzles for Car Rides

Magnetic puzzles for long roadtrips with kids.

My kids love puzzles! They get that from me. If your kids aren’t into puzzles, pass on this one. But these magnetic puzzles are great for long car ride with kids.

They stick easily, so your kids aren’t dropping pieces. And you’re forced to contort your body into positions it doesn’t want to be in to find puzzle pieces in the back seat. And they’re easy to pick up. Some magnetic games they stick so well it’s hard for my kids to pull them off. These aren’t like that.

14. Highlights Hidden Picture Sticker Books

Highlights hidden picture sticker books to entertain kids while traveling.

Highlights hidden picture and sticker books are kind of nostalgic for me. And I didn’t know until this past summer that you can buy them on Amazon. I feel like I should’ve known. You can basically buy anything on Amazon these days. But these were a hit for the drive. Just for another activity to do.

15. Dry Erase Books

Wipe-clean dry erase books for kids. Space-saving activity for family vacations.

We have a ton of these books. My kids love them, and I love that they incorporate fun things with learning. They don’t take up a lot of space, and you can reuse them over and over. The link above is for the Scholastic brand, but there are many other brands on Amazon as well. Little Hippo Books offers this dry erase book for pen control. It works well when your kids are just learning to write.

Conclusion

And that’s a wrap. I hope you’ve found some travel essentials to make your next roadtrip with kids as smooth as possible. Enjoy your time, take as many pictures as possible, and take some time away from work and your business to just enjoy your family. That’s why we because work from home entrepreneurs in the first place. To enjoy more and work less.

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