Holiday Travel Games
Make Car Rides Fun During Thanksgiving and Christmas
The holidays are a special time for visiting family and friends whom you may not be able to see during other times of the year. Because of the tradition of families coming together across the miles at this of year, the holidays can also mean a lot of time spent traveling to places near and far. With kids in the car, every parent knows traveling often can, and does become tedious and tiresome. Keep those long road trips from spoiling the holidays by playing one or all of these fun travel games.
A to Z (the Alphabet Game)
Materials: Pencil and paper (optional, use if desired)
Directions: This is a game that is played by everyone in the car, together. The object of the game is to locate each letter of the alphabet somewhere outside of the car. You can find letters on billboards, license plates, road signs, and anywhere else that pops up along the way. Start with the letter A. Once you have located that letter, move on to B, then C, and so on, all the way through the alphabet.
Twenty Questions
Materials: None
Directions: One person will select a person, place, animal or object to “think of.” They need to announce which of these things they are thinking of - person, place, animal or object. Once that is done, the others in the car take turns asking a yes or no question, to try to figure out what the person is thinking of. The “askers” have up to 20 questions, in which to try to guess what it is. If they fail, the same person gets to think of the next person, place animal or thing. If they succeed, the person who guessed correctly gets to be the next “thinker.”
Scavenger Hunt
Directions: This game takes a bit of preparation, before you start traveling. Make a list for each person in the car that includes things they might see on the way to the place where you are going. The list can include things like:
- a light blue van
- an airplane flying overhead
- a cow in a field
- a rest area sign
- someone walking
You can include as many items as you’d like on each persons list. Depending on how far you have to travel, you may want to include 15 to 20 items. Whoever has found the most items on their list after the trip has ended, is the winner.
Map Fun
Directions: Let the kids learn map skills while playing a game. The next time they ask, "Are we there yet," you can ask them to let you know. Give each child a map to where you are headed. Mark your starting point and the ending destination on the map (you can skip this step with older kids). Now they can mark on their own map how much further the ride will be. Throw in a compass, if you want to teach them directional skills as well. Plus, compasses are a lot of fun to play with, too.
