Road Trip Car Games

With summer comes vacations and with vacations sometimes comes long car rides. Many of you have asked how to survive those long road trips with multiples (and more). In addition to the great advice we have received from CMOTC moms (here and here), below are some games to play to break up the boredom and and have some fun.

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From Family Fun Magazine, August 2010 issue.

Road Trip Car Games

These clever activities will help your family pass the miles with smiles. Plus, fuel up on fun with new travel books and gear from our Boredom Buster Awards.

Game 1: 2-Minute Tens
To play: Players take turns challenging the rest of the group to name 10 things in any category: cookie varieties, animated movies, dog breeds, female professional athletes, automobile models, and so on. The group has two minutes to complete the list. Give it a twist: Allow yourselves fewer than two minutes or require that items be listed in alphabetical order.

Game 2: Snoopy Sam
To play: An adult makes a list for each player of things people in other cars could be doing, such as sleeping, wearing a red hat, or eating an ice-cream cone. The first player to see everything on her list wins. Give it a twist: The player who spots a nose picker automatically wins!

Game 3: Car Colors
To play: Each player chooses a color from the cars that pass by in one minute. Everyone then tries to spot 25 objects of their chosen color. When an object is spied, the player calls it out so that others can verify it, then writes it down on his list. The player with the highest tally after a set time wins.

Game 4: Sing It Out
To play: The first player sings the entirety of a simple song, such as "Mary Had a Little Lamb." The next player repeats the song, leaving off the last word. The following player leaves off the last and second-to-last words. (It's surprisingly hard!) Players have to sing the song correctly on their first try or they're out. The singing continues around the car until all the words have been left out.

Game 5: I'm Thinking of a Relative
To play: One player thinks of a person related to the family. The others take turns asking simple yes-or-no questions to help them guess the person's name: Is the person an adult? Is the person a female? Does she have red hair? The player who guesses correctly thinks of a new person.

Game 6: I Have Never
To play: Players take turns saying things they have never done, such as eaten spinach or been on a boat, with the goal of trying to name something that everyone else in the car has done. A successful "I Have Never" earns a player one point. The first to reach five points wins.

Game 7: Electric Light Brigade
To play: In this night-driving game, players find lights in order of the colors of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Players call out the colors when they spot them; the first to finish the list wins. A car with one headlight is a wild card, good for any color for the player who spots it. Give it a twist: Add such colors as brown or pink. During the day, look for colors on signs.

Game 8: Will We See Gophers?
To play: One player thinks of something the family will see or do at the vacation destination. The other players ask yes-or-no questions (Is it something we are going to eat?) to help them guess the item or activity. The first player to guess correctly wins. Give it a twist: Allow the guessers just 10 questions, or just five.

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What fun family games do you play in the car? Share with everyone, email us or comment below!

More tips on traveling long distances from a CMOTC mom

CMOTC mom, Stephanie D., shares with us some tips she learned to surviving long car trips with three young children, while on her recent vacation trip to the Outer Banks.

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We survived our 1st family vacation/road trip with minimal battle wounds. My husband and I are still speaking to each other and still married. ;0) The twins turned two and we celebrated Luau style. Though it was a very long drive, we had such a great time, so I wanted to share with you how we handled it. Included below are both tips from what we learned on our trip, as well as the wonderful ideas/suggestions I received from all of you road warriors.

The trip to The Outerbanks, which usually took ~12 hours without kids, took 15 down and 16 back, so basically expect delays. We left at 1:30 AM and all three kids didn't fall back to sleep until about 3 AM, then awakened at 5:50 with the sun. My husband did crank out some good driving time at night. Had we been able to "check in" to our house earlier than 4 PM we would have considered leaving ~8PM after dinner and before their bedtime but who knows how we as parents would have survived without sleep. On the way back we stopped over night to break up the trip. Either way you do it, it's still exhausting!

My 5 1/2 year old did AWESOME! She chilled out in the way back and watched movie after movie with her portable DVD player and head set. We tossed her snacks that she usually could open herself and had her drink next to her in the cup holder. She completely loved her pillow pet and made every penny spent on it worth it! Basically for kids around this age or older, they do well with DVD's, DS/Leapster games, Tag readers, Crayola coloring books or sticker books. Have ALL of those supplies in an organizer (shoe box, tub, backpack).

Miscellaneous tips & for the younger children:

• Bring plenty of snacks in individual snack bags/containers (fruit chewies, pretzels, raisins, gold fish or maybe something new they've never had before), but don't get too much junk or they'll get sick!
• Bring favorite blankie/binkie or stuffed animal & tie it to the car seat if possible to avoid climbing all over the place (ie: shoestring).
• Have back up clothes in the diaper bag within reach for the unexpected diaper leaks (had 3), car sickness/vomiting (had 2) & spills.
• Do expect at least one child to be car sick and if you're lucky you won't have any. Keep the A/C flowing (not sure the age for Dramamine).
• Have spare blanket for above accidents.
• Bring child's pillow if they can't adjust to others.
• Use or borrow portable DVD player for other kids/twins which sits on the back of the front passengers head rests where 1 parent operates (very helpful if you have a remote to operate).
• Use DVD/CD organizer that attaches to the front visor for easy access.
• Have sing along CD's or just sing out loud~interactive ones like Wheels on the bus, Hokie Pokie (improvise), Head Shoulders, Old McDonald...
• Expect breaks every 3-4 hours and plan ahead to visit national parks, welcome centers, McD's play places, children's museum's... (one in Charleston West VA is free to COSI members).
• Try to plan potty breaks before nap time otherwise you'll have to stop when they're asleep with the likelihood they will awake.
• Use old diaper boxes for storage.
• Make a craft project (ie: shoe box/memory box).
• Keep Wet Ones/wipes close by & stocked .
• Hand sanitizer kept in car door.
• Paper towels for unexpected accidents.
• Pack a cooler w/at least one "healthy" lunch & enjoy a long break w/play time.
• Get toys that can attach to the seat belt.
• Expect your kids to have PTSD when they get back into their car seats for minor excursions as they think they're being harnessed in again for the long haul.
  

In addition, we used the magna doodle for drawing pictures and would have each child call out an object/name then Mom or Dad would draw it. Surprisingly entertaining for maybe 30 minutes.

We also played "beach party" before our trip to get the kids adjusted to their life jackets. We also got the twins acclimated to their Pack N Plays during nap time the week before the trip.

Happy traveling!

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How about you? Do you have some great advice for traveling long distances with children of any age? Please share!

Traveling With Multiples

It's Summer and it's time to ROADTRIP!!!

It's normal to be a little apprehensive when planning a long car trip. I grew up traveling all across the country for up to 6 weeks at a time. We would drive out West, camp, stay in hotels, and see the continent. I'm thankful to my parents that they gave me this opportunity. At the age of 27 I had been to 49 states. I'm still holding out for that Alaskan cruise...hint hint hubby! =)

Because my parents gifted me with such an opportunity, I am committed to giving my kids a similar experience. I'm not crazy about spending hours upon hours in the car but in order for my family of five to see the world, our budget necessitates car trips more often than not. Since my husband is from Texas, more than half of our family is there. That means 20 hours car trips for us and we do this at least twice a year.

Our first 20 hour car trip came when our twins were a few months old. I will say that it was hardest during that time because of breastfeeding and diaper changes. I think it's important to start traveling early though as it helps when the kids are accustomed to travel. My twins are now six and they know how far Texas is and have a pretty good sense of the size of states. This experience helped them in Kindergarten when they studied the world and the 7 continents.

You may see the importance of travel but can't imagine biting the bullet. What you need is a survival guide.

This is what works for us. Please share what works for you!

We generally start out around 1pm...just before nap time. Everyone is well fed and ready to go. We sing some songs, talk, etc until the troops start to drift. Usually we can get a good hour or 2 nap out of them. We do a snack after naps and then pull out the crayons, markers, activity books (homework!), and magnadoodles. Dinner time hits and we either stop for fast food or dig into the cooler if I've planned well.

After dinner we pull out the DVD players. We have one for the back row (twin seats) and a single player for the singleton. That usually keeps the peace til they fall asleep. Many times we have driven through the night which makes for a fairly easy trip since we have reinforcements in Houston when we get there. We hand the kids off to the in-laws and sleep like CRAZY. This scenario would be close to impossible without help on the other end. We usually arrive in Texas around 9 or 10am. Whoosh...not an easy trip.

In the past few years we've gotten smarter/wimpier and we've been stopping somewhere along the way. This makes the trip harder in some ways since the kids are awake for the 2nd half of the trip. Here's the thing I've learned about roadtrips...and parenting in general. For the most part kids live up to the expectations of the adults around them. I have high expectations for my childrens' behavior and that includes 20 hours in the car. I did it growing up (without!!! a DVD player) and so can they.

I'm curious. What tricks are up your sleeve? Do you roadtrip with your kids? How far and what are your non-negotiables? What do you pack for your kids? How do you entertain them during those long hours in the car?

Disney Vacation: Tips/Advice From a CMOTC Mom

A while back, we shared links from the Multiples and More Blog on a few helpful posts they had on how to do Disney with multiples. Below CMOTC mom Carrie H. provides additional invaluable tips and advice based on her family's recent Disney vacation. If you are planning a trip to Disney, this year or in the future, you'll want to read what she has to say.

Thank you Carrie!!

Carrie, Matthew, Lucas, Derrick and Natalie

What we learned on our Disney vacation:

1. Autographs: We decided we weren't going to seek any characters out. If we happened upon them, the boys had their autograph books signed. This trip, we had bought them Disney autograph books, along with monogrammed ears, ahead of time and they were delivered to them in our room when we arrived. The boys thought that was WAY cool. The last trip, three years ago, I had bought them small spiral notebooks from Target. They used these as autograph books and I took a picture of them with each character. Then, when we got home, I scrapbooked the signature with the picture into the Creative Memories 7x7 Disney book. Either way works great.

• We got Buzz and Woody at Hollywood Studios. They are in an air-conditioned room, across from Toy Story Mania. I'm glad we got their picture/autograph there. We could get both at the same time, AND it beats waiting for Buzz in the heat at Magic Kingdom, outside the Buzz Lightyear-Space Ranger Spin ride.
  
• Mickey and Minnie are in the Judges' Tent in Mickey's Toontown Fair. When we walked in, the line was huge, but we only waited MAYBE 10 minutes. There are a few rooms, each housing a Mickey and Minnie, so the line moves fairly quick.
  
• Another good, consistent place to get characters is at the Epcot Character Spot. This is where some of the more major characters are-Pluto, Goofy, Mickey, etc. You can see in the window who is in there, then decide if you want to wait.

2. At Magic Kingdom, always head to Adventureland or Tomorrowland first. Why? Because Fantasyland is SUPER busy until late afternoon. We found there was little to no wait in Adventureland anytime of day. We rode Aladdin's Carpets, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. multiple times before moving to other areas of the park. Fantasyland is least busy during the parades. One evening, during the Summer Nightastic Parade, we hit Fantasyland and Tomrorrowland and rode many rides, several times, while the parade was going on.

3. Fastpass, fastpass, fastpass! You'd be amazed what you can do in the time of a fastpass. In the hour we had to spare before our fastpass was valid for Space Mountain, we did AstroOrbiter, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and got Chip and Dale's autographs. In the hour we had to spare before the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride in Animal Kingdom, we waited in line (20 mins) for the Festival of the Lion King, which is a 30 min show, and made our way back. It's great to just walk right up and get on the ride with your fastpass.

Lucas and Matthew blasting off!

4. Stay in a Disney Resort. I can't stress enough the convenience, pleasant atmosphere, and flexibility this can add to your trip. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge-Jambo House. Some of the benefits:

• First, buses run constantly to the different parks from your resort. This is great when you want to go back to your room to relax or do the pool before heading back to a park for the evening.
  
• Each resort has a nice playground and more than one pool.
  
• Also, ours had two FREE crafts a day-from 10 am -11 am and 3 pm -4 pm. The boys made fun pirate masks during one of the craft times.
  
• We had to have a room that guaranteed a pack and play and a refrigerator, which is partially why we chose this resort. Also, we had the option of a room with bunk beds, perfect for the boys, along with a queen size for us.
  
• Build in a day of your vacation to just enjoy the resort-the pool, crafts or other activities, and then maybe go to Downtown Disney for the evening. We didn't do this and wish we had.

5. Dining Plan is THE way to go! We had Quick Service Dining. It was AWESOME. The Quick Service Dining Plan only added about $300 to our package and was good at all Quick Service Dining locations (basically restaurants where you don’t sit down to order). You will get a brochure with all the names in it from your hotel when you check in, if you ordered the plan. When you factor in that you can get any meal off the menu, which could range from $8 to $13 (give or take on either end) and it counts as one meal used, you save a ton there alone, not to mention snacks.

• We had 48 meals to play with for the week. We often got adult meals, and shared them as a family.
  
• We were able to eat breakfast at our hotel the last two days with our meals left on our dining plan.
  
• Each adult meal comes with a bottle drink at most places-some it's a fountain cup. So, we'd "bank" the bottle of Coke or whatever, and drink it later at the park or in our room, because we also received refillable mugs. We'd fill these at the pop fountain in our hotel, and take them to the park with us everyday.
  
• I thought we were paying for convenience at first, but when she rang up our first meal at Pizza Planet, I was happy to give her my Quick Service Card, as opposed to $45 dollars out of my pocket. Right then I realized how much of a steal the dining plan is, if we were going to pay between $30-$40 a meal.
  
• We had 8 snacks left on the last day and cashed them out for the ride home. It was so great to be at the parks and not schlep around a cooler (which we did last trip) and when the kids ask for a drink, a smoothie, an iced lemonade, mickey ear ice cream, etc., we can let them have those treats without worrying that we are paying about $15 for snacks for everyone. We also had 48 snacks to play with, too. It was fabulous!
  
• Next time we do Quick Service Dining, we are going to plan a bit more carefully. For example, we'll spend our dinner meals maybe in Mexico or Italy in the World Showcase at Epcot, instead of a place that has burgers and chicken nuggets, just to give a little more variety.
  
• Also, there's a great sandwich-Panera/Jersey Mike's type- restaurant in Downtown Disney called Earl of Sandwich. It was fabulous and took our Quick Service Dining plan as well.

Matthew and Lucus at Epcot.

6. Take or buy (because they would make cute souvenirs) a beach towel to give extra shade on the stroller. We put the sunshade on, and then draped the towel over it so her little feet were covered, too, when we were waiting in the sun for the parade. Make sure your stroller reclines, too. Also, take the best umbrella stroller you can find, or that you have. I saw so many parents struggling with jogging strollers, or Gracos in and out of the buses or through the crowds.

7. Buy Disney gift cards at Giant Eagle if you participate in fuelperks. If you plan far enough in advance, you can buy hundreds/thousands of dollars worth and use them to pay for your resort and park tickets online (and get a discount or even free gas from Giant Eagle). We bought them for souvenir money for the boys. It worked out great.

8. We allowed the boys to only choose one souvenir, and the rest we chose. Otherwise we would have come home with a car of toys. They included jibbitz for their Crocs, Pluto hats, as well as Mouse ears and Christmas ornaments.

Lucas and Matthew with their Mickey Mouse Ears.

9. Take the DS or PSP - these were lifesavers while waiting in line for rides or on the bus ride.

10. Don't be afraid to stop and ask others to take your family's picture. If we hadn't done this, we wouldn't have any of the five of us.

Carrie and Natalie in Minnie's kitchen.

To read more about Carrie and her family's Disney vacation or their daily adventures, here's a link to their family blog.

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Do you have any tips and advice to add? Do you have a place you frequent for vacation that you could share tips and advice? Or local day trips? Please let us know!

How to do Disney with multiples

I noticed that the Multiples and More blog had a series of posts on how to do Disney with multiples. The posts are extremely comprehensive, packed full of tips, maps, detailed information on each area of Disney/EPCOT, pros and cons of different resorts and SO MUCH MORE.

If you're planning a trip, or thinking about going sometime in the next year or two (or beyond), these amazingly thorough posts will be a valuable must read for you!

Here are the links:

How to do Disney's Magic Kingdom with multiples

How to do EPCOT with multiples

How to do a Walt Disney Resort with multiples

Have you been to Disney with your multiples? What tips and tricks do you have? What do you recommend or not recommend? Please share!