Summer Road Trip Must Haves + Printables

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Are you planning a road trip this summer?  Our Summer Road Trip Must Haves + Printables are just the things you need to get on your way with a car full of happy travelers!

The time if finally here!!  5 days until we embark on a road trip from central Illinois to Sheridan, Wyoming.  3 adults, 2 kids and a 16 hour drive stand between us and 10 days of family time.

We look forward to this trip every.single.year.  It’s a week-long vacation that is filled with family, fun and lots of laughs.

My dad recently retired out there, which is where he grew up, and we’ve spent the last 2 decades traveling out there to spend a few weeks in the summer.  My dad is one of 4 and all of his siblings, and their children and their children’s children come along.  Are you still following me here?

If not, the easy math is 18 adults and 7 children…in a 4 bedroom house…with 2 bathrooms.  And none of us would change it for anything.  Well another shower would be great!

One {BIG} happy family!

We don’t fly.  First off, the road trip part is half the fun.  We’ve had some pretty crazy stories which involve playing human frogger on 1-80 when our topper flew open and all our belongings we’re flying onto the road.

It wasn’t funny while it was happening, but once we were all back in the car, we haven’t stopped laughing since.

I’m going to be honest here, the drive out to Wyoming isn’t the most scenic.  We travel through the entire state of Iowa, for a stop at the World’s Largest truck stop and then its onto South Dakota, where we completely skip Wall Drug (tourist trap) and blaze right on through to Wyoming.

By the time we reach the Wyoming border it’s dark and I make my husband drive so he can watch our for deer as his eyes are better than mine and he’s use to driving out in the country.

What I am looking forward to on the drive out this year,  is that’s it’s on the 4th of July, so I’m hoping to see some fireworks off in the distance towards the mountains.

My kids are fabulous travelers and always have been (we got lucky!).  What that translates to is a really cool mom who knows how to pack the right snacks, games and activities to keep them busy the entire time.  For the adults too!

I hit my local Wal-Mart to scour the aisles in search of the perfect road trip snacks to please everyone in the family.   First stop, candy aisle!

When it comes to snacking there is one thing that is for sure about this family…we love our chocolate.  Therefore, no road trip is complete without some.

I grabbed a 10.5 oz Milka OREO bar the whole family can share.  Have you guys tried these yet?  They’re a layer of crunchy OREO cookies between 2 layers of rich vanilla creme, coated in European Milka chocolate candy.  I also snagged one in king size to stash in the glove box for later when everyone is sleeping.  Shhh… don’t tell.

As I’m cruising farther down the aisle I spotted my son, husband and sister’s ultimate snacking pleasure; Sour Patch Kids.  Into the cart the big bag went.  Those will be gone before we reach South Dakota!

Onto the salty snacks, which I’m a salty + sweet kinda gal.  I grabbed a bag of RITZ Crisp&Thins in sea salt, my favorite.  I like that they are 50% less fat per serving than regular potato chips so I don’t feel so guilty about snacking on them the entire ride.

Next up, drinks.  My son absolutely loves A&W® Root Beer and I love that it’s caffeine free so he isn’t bouncing off the car walls asking 700 times, “when will we be there?”  I grabbed the 8 pack, which is smaller and has a resealable cap which is a necessity when road tripping with children who are prone to spills.

While checking out, I grabbed some TRIDENT Gum for my chewing pleasure.  If there is one thing that I always carry with me, it’s gum.  It’s mom’s road trip necessity.

I love to place a shower caddy by each kids feet filled with printable games, coloring books, markers and their Kindles.

I also place a larger caddy in the middle of their seats with the snacks making it easy for them to reach and also the passenger when they’re having a hangry moment!

In addition to snacks that my family will munch on for our 16 hour drive, I also make printables games for us to enjoy.  It helps the time pass and my kid’s get a kick out of it.  We also love a little friendly competition and it’s something the whole family can get in on.

We’re a music loving family. We love to play “Name that Tune.” We play 3-5 seconds of a song and the person to guess the correct song first, becomes the next DJ. If no one can guess correctly, you continue to be DJ until someone steals your “title.” Sometimes we keep score to see how many times in a row you were DJ, if you can continue the rest of the lyrics, name the artist and the year it came out. It’s entertaining and can last a long time! I am the reigning champion. Let’s see what this summer brings!! It’s on!

Here is a score card for you to play “Name that Tune” in your car.  I have also included a “Must Have Summer Road Trip Car Pack List” so you can plan out your entire trip and make sure everyone has what they love to keep them entertained no matter how long you’re in the car.

This is what our Summer Road Trip Must Haves + Printables look like, how about yours?  Are you heading on a road trip this year?  Nabisco and I would love to hear where you’re going and how you keep your kids (and adults) entertained in the car.

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