What in the World Do You Pack for a 7-Week Road Trip with Kids?
Pinterest has just about got it all, don't you think? Of course when we started planning #holohansummeradventure2017, one of the first things I did was create a board. If you go to my pinterest page, you will find endless links on what to pack with kids, how to road trip with kids, places you have to see when traveling with kids, and on and on. So it seems a bit redundant to create my own post on what to pack.
Except none of those authors are crazy enough to road trip with their kids for almost two months straight. So my packing list looks quite different...
Here are 7 things I'm packing for our 7-week road trip. (See how I did that?)
1. Scratch Map We bought this awesome Jetsettersmaps scratch map of the U.S. from Amazon. Since we are traveling to Savannah, GA via North Dakota and Michigan, we will have traveled through 13 states by the time we get to the east coast, not counting Arizona. Then of course there is the drive back, which route we haven't decided yet. If we go through Texas, that adds a ton more. So I really wanted something like this to mark the states we will travel to together as a family.
2. Books If you know us, you know we Holohans LOVE books. And some of our favorite books come from HERE. The following are the books we chose to bring along this summer.
~Reading Books Along with several chapter books for Harper, I'm going to work with Kinley on her reading skills to help prepare her for Kindergarten in the fall. The Very First Reading Set from Usborne Books & More is invaluable! I used these with Harper, and she excelled at reading early on.
~Activity Books My kids love art, but we have a 'no glitter, glue, or stickers in the camper' rule that we recently established. So I'm taking these activity books along to keep the kids creating without significant damages to the camper.
3. Starbucks Gift Cards This one was a surprise for Chris, who hasn't bought Starbucks since we resigned in order to save money. Last weekend I cashed in our Chase Freedom rewards for $100 in Starbucks gift cards. Let's face it, as fun as this is going to be, Chris and I will be making several coffee stops to keep us going. And we are doing this trip on a pretty tight budget, so this seemed to be the best use of those points. This item is just for mom and dad...
4. Glow Sticks This is a camping favorite of ours, and one we couldn't leave without. Glow sticks at a camp fire adds to the fun for kids, period. Now if we can just be sure that Foster doesn't try to eat them...
5. Storage Containers My friend Heidi once told me that she asked her family long ago to never mail a toy to her kids without a container to store it in. I quickly adopted this idea, and we have been huge fans of these mini storage containers ever since. It helps keep the kids' play room organized, and I found that packing the camper was no different. From clothes for each kids (separated into day packs), to toy boxes, to flashlights, I think Sterilite would be proud of us.
6. PB&J These fixins' are a must on this trip. When you're gone for two months on the road, fast food is just too convenient. But the cost, both to your wallet and your health, adds up quickly. I decided that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would be our car ride lunch staple, changing up the sides and snacks to go along. I make the entire loaf of bread into sandwiches, then reuse the bread bag to store them, and into the camper fridge they go!
7. A Piece of Home I wrote about these in my last POST, but this was an important project I made for myself. Two months is such a long time when you're a kid. And although this trip will be filled with visits to family and friends, I know our kids will be missing their Prescott friends. I found THESE great, light weight cork boards from Target to hang up in the girls' bed, and then printed several pictures of them with their friends and Nana to help ease any homesickness they may begin to feel.
Of course there's plenty more we will need, but these are some of the unique items that I think will add value to our trip. I can't believe tomorrow is the day!!