During the holidays we stop at a total of five houses during the three days surrounding Christmas. We drive an hour here and there to all the houses as none of our family lives in our town. I don’t mind our quick road trips and I have learned to be prepared. While we can always stop at a Walmart or Walgreens on the road (which I often forget about), there are items that I found its easier and cheaper to keep on hand.
Kia has asked me to share my Top 10 items needed for your holiday road trip? As a mother of three kids (5 and under) I have discovered items that I keep on hand or shall I say in my car for our holiday travels.
Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Kia Motors
Top 10 items for a Road Trip
- Drinks – I keep bottles of water in my van because it doesn’t need to be refridgerated, everyone in my family drinks it and it won’t go bad!
- Paper Towels – I keep a small roll of paper towels in my van for spills, messy fast food and everyday accidents!
- Blanket – No matter the weather, a blanket is great to have. Too cold, cover up with it – Too hot, cover the seats with it. I also love to throw the blanket in the stroller, use it for sitting outside and to wipe up messes if I run out of paper towels!
- Toys – No matter the age of your children, keep appropriate toys for them. Older kids would probably want techie toys and younger kids are happy with whatever they are into at the moment!
- Map – Yes a good ole’ fashion map is always great to keep in the car for those times when your GPS or cellphone runs out of battery or acts up! We have had to pull out a map in our past travels and I was so grateful for it!
- Bags – I keep reusable bags in my car for all those presents we get at our different holiday stops or to throw loose items in from the car. Bags are my must-have for keeping my car relatively clean and organized.
- Change of clothes – If you have kids this is esepcailly important since we all know accidents happen. I actually keep pjs for the kids since we are usually traveling back home at night and its easier to put the kids right in their beds instead of waking them up to change into their pjs.
- Money or a credit card – Whether you keep a $20 bill or an extra credit card in your glove box or console, you never know when it will come in handy. I have left a family members house before and realized I left my purse their, luckily we didn’t need gas but if we did I would have been screwed!
- First Aid Kit – I keep a bag with antibacterial, Neosporin, bandaids and gauze in my glove box and I have used it more often then I can count! I am amazed at how many booboos my kids get when we our out and about. We have also been to others houses where they don’t have bandaids because they don’t have young kids at home.
- Batteries, Scissor and a Screwdriver – Okay this is a must have if you are traveling during the holidays and have young kids. I cannot tell you how nice it is to have these items when opening presents. My kids have been so disappointed because we weren’t able to open a toy or turn it on because we didn’t have the right tools. I throw all these items in a Ziploc bag and am prepared for the three houses we visit during the holidays.
So what is your on your holiday traveling list?
To prepare for holiday travels, here is a little something to get you in the mood:
Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Kia Motors
Mom and More Disclosure: I am working on a Kia campaign where I can earn gift cards and may receive for posting. Please see my Disclosure Policy.