Hit the Road, Jack

These days, the menu for a successful road trip is more than a new mixed tape, a bag of chips and a tip about a party at a lake somewhere.

To help smooth out the road this summer, we’ve got some ideas for tunes, snacks and general car travel tips more suited to your current (much more mature) stage of life:

I-Tunes, You-Tunes
Kids love to sing and shout to tunes in the car just like us, but the task of finding music that will keep everyone happy can be more trying than choosing a nursery school. This summer we’re listening to the Juno award-winning Children’s Album of the Year (beating out the Doodlebops, no less) Music Soup by Toronto’s very savvy mom and much-loved music class instructor Jen Gould. Jen combined her love of children and her stage background to create this very entertaining album that young and old enjoy. (Jen wrote and composed all the music and lyrics on the album.) The whole family will be singing along to There’s a Monster in My Closet and the very fun Yummy In My Tummy helps get the right messages across about the importance of a balanced diet. Available online.

Audio books are another great investment (and are a nice change from the clapping and singing)—choose classic stories that appeal to all ages like The Cat in the Hat or Charlotte’s Web and it’s like having your own personal storyteller along for the ride.

Snack Attack
Savvymoms never let the team get hungry—especially in the car—so be sure to pack a small cooler with everyone’s favourite (but healthy snacks) like cut-up fruit (apples and grapes are good for avoiding the the ‘sticky factor’), veggies, muffins and cheese strings. We like to use frozen juice boxes to keep everything cool and as they defrost they can be enjoyed as an ice-cold drink as well.

We also recommend bringing along a water bottle for each traveler, but avoid salty snacks or kids will tend to over-drink which means more restroom stops along the way. For handing out smaller items like crackers, keep a box of paper coffee filters (the cone-shaped ones are best in the car) to divvy the snacks into and you’ve got disposable snack holders and napkins all in one.

To keep track of the mess (and we don’t mean under the carseat and in between the cracks), keep your old facial tissue boxes and use them as a mini garbage can. The plastic on top keeps the garbage in and when it gets full you can throw the whole thing out.

Tip-Tac-Toe
Who better than other savvy moms to pass on some tips about road-tripping with the kids in tow? Be sure to check out their great ideas in our collection of road trip tips. From hitting the road around kiddie bedtime (with the kids all ready for bed) to teaching the kids to bring out their garbage every time you stop to road trip ‘loot bags’ for the kids, there’s some very savvy advice to be found there. 

So hit the road this summer. You’re all set for a smooth ride.