Are we there yet?
If you’re looking for an alternative way to entertain your kids or grandkids on road trips, or even long flights, give these treat bags a try! Not only are they helpful for vacation travel, treat bags come in handy for busy holiday travel.
I didn’t grow up streaming movies, having DVD players, an iPad or gaming devices, cell phones, or a GPS in the car during road trips. I’m in my late-fifties. My grandparents lived in Tampa, Florida, and my parents often drove overnight or straight through (15-16 hours) from west Tennessee to arrive. I have two sisters, so three of us sat all together in the back seat of the car, and someone had to sit in the middle. Guess what? These trips did not scar us for life!
In the tradition of National Lampoon’s Vacation, my mom always made our road trips a “quest for fun!” She planned and had interesting activities, games, and creative ideas to keep us busy and happy. Without us realizing it, she also made our trips educational.
I started making treat bags in the 1990s when our daughter was young. My ideas came straight from my mom, suggestions from friends and articles, plus kids’ activity books.
Call it “bribery” if you like, but the treat bags encourage good behavior. Although our daughter had no siblings, we didn’t take many vacations (especially to the beach) without a cousin or friend(s) along for the trip.
Eventually, Game Boys, video games, iPods, iPads, VHS, DVDs and cell phones were added to the mix for road trips, but treat bags were always a big hit. Before each trip, I continued to hear, “you’re making treat bags, right?”
There’s only one rule: You get the next treat bag if there’s no fighting, crying or whining! My husband added and no injuries!
A few times, I did the driving and my husband flew in to join us from a business trip. It can be stressful to drive solo and referee kids at the same time. When everyone behaves, long trips are less complicated!
Mileage Marker or City Treat Bags
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 3 or 4 bags for each child/person (brown paper lunch bags, small colorful gift bags or even fabric bags)
- Tape, after folding them, or string/ ribbon to tie them.
- Markers or stickers for labeling bags with names and/or decorating
Before your trip begins, look at your route and decide three or four cities or mileage points for giving out bags. This can be determined by length of trip, ages of kids, snack times, lunch, or nap times. If you are driving across the country, alter accordingly.
Add the name of the child, plus the city and/or the milage to the treat bag.
Then fill the bags! This is not meant to bust your budget. Be creative! Use items you already have at home. Keep it simple; the first treat bags I made were brown paper sacks with a different color marker for each child. Here are some ideas:
♣ Snacks (one for each bag): Small box or zip lock bags of Craisins or raisins, baby carrots, a small apple, fruit snacks, dry cereal, trail mix or Chex mix, popcorn, animal crackers, pretzels, gum, or granola bars. Be aware of nut allergies if you have friends along for a trip. Add a water or juice box from a cooler at treat time.
♥ Inexpensive toys or items: Colored pencils, toy cars, stickers, a deck of cards, drawing pads, books, crayons, magnetic drawing boards or games, small dinosaurs, word search books or Where’s Waldo books, lacing toys, I Spy mini travel books, Car Bingo, glow sticks, lip balms, fidget spinners, and pop-it toys, etc. Your Dollar store has great options. . . and use toys you already have!
♠ Make a copy of your trip map (or as many as necessary) and add a highlighter. Kids can follow along during the drive and learn how to read a map. Depending on age, talk about north, south, east, and west directions. Debate the direction of your trip. With a colorful marker, add a “large dot” marking the city or mileage marker for “remaining treat bags” to build anticipation.
♦ Using a small notebook, write (or have them write) the alphabet letters, A through Z, one on each page. Add several colored pencils. During the drive, kids can draw pictures or landmarks or write things they see along the route below the appropriate alphabet letter. Challenge them to finish it by the end of the trip using all the letters. Have them add their name, a trip date and location, and it makes a cute keepsake!
♣ Add a 4×6 card into each treat bag with some age appropriate geography trivia or trip questions. (When driving to Florida from east Tennessee, it took us about 9 hours, and we drove in 4 states: Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida). Questions should be age appropriate. Here are some ideas for different 4×6 cards:
- How many states will we drive through today?
- How many miles will we drive today?
- What state are we in right now?
- What’s the capital of the state we are in now? What is the state known for? Draw the state flower. Any idea of the state bird? Who is the governor?
- Question: I’m the country’s top producer of peanuts, pecans, and Vidalia onions. But I’m known for my peaches. What state am I? Georgia
- Lake Okeechobee is located in what U.S. state? Florida. Can you find it on your map?
- Will we drive into a different time zone? What time zone do we live in?
- How many feet are in a mile?
- Name three things you want to do at the beach.
- How many states can you name?
- List the different states you see on license plates today.
♥ Kids LOVE making friendship bracelets! In a small ziplock bag, add several colors of embroidery floss, a clip to hold the floss in place, and add directions or pictures of friendship bracelets. YOU keep the scissors! Have them make you one!
♦ Candy. You decide on this issue. Ideas: a sucker, lifesavers, treat-size candy bars, a few pieces of candy, etc. Note: You don’t want to begin a trip with belly aches, kids hyped-up on sugar, something sticky all over the car, or melted chocolate everywhere.
♣ Money. You decide on this topic. Children love getting money in one of their treat bags. It can be $5 or $10 or $20 or whatever you decide. Not only is it their money to keep up with, they get to decide how they will spend it. Some spend it all on the first day, some are very methodical about their choices, and some save all of it!
♥ Postcard stamps. This may sound “old school,” but encourage them to send a postcard to grandparents or a friend they might be missing on the trip. They could even send one to themselves (or a pet at home). They’ll be excited when the mail arrives. Friends or cousins along for the trip can send a postcard too. Grandparents LOVE getting mail from their grandchildren! Make sure you have addresses before the trip begins.
Kids can also purchase inexpensive postcards along the way and document their memories on each one as a keepsake.
♦ A small notebook for journaling or making notes. Chances are older kids will be writing about a trip or summer vacation when school resumes. With a camera or cell phone, drawings or any art form, encourage them to document their trip creatively.
In a previous travel blog: Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast – Italy, I shared how our teenager documented her first trip to Europe. She carried a small gnome (about 12″) in her backpack and photographed it traveling all over Italy: at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, in the ruins of Pompeii, seaside in Positano, climbing the Florence Duomo, at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, on a gondola in Venice, and even on the Delta luggage carousel. A project keeps them busy, forces them to do some pre-trip planning, encourages imagination, and they require less entertaining.
♣ Add one colorful blank 4×6 card for each day of your trip. Every child gets to pick a “word of the day” and write it on the card. Display the word(s) each day where everyone can see them. It’s fun discovering who can use the words in a sentence or say them most often each day. The winner gets a prize or handmade trophy to be passed along the next day. Note: This can get silly! Set boundaries, or you might be hearing or saying “booger” continuously for a day.
If you are flying or taking a cruise ship to another country, encourage kids to research and teach you a “word of the day” in that country’s language.
Now for the reality:
Do treat bags really promote harmony on road trips? Actually, yes! The element of surprise and rules make a difference! I’ve never withheld a treat bag!
Can you expect your kids to be perfect angels on a long road trip or flight? Not really. With a little extra effort from you, they’ll stay busy and occupied. Separate those who need separating, and don’t set the bar so high you’ll be disappointed.
Do you remember a few road trip nightmares: car sickness, baby blow-outs, projectile vomiting, a favorite stuffed animal or toy left at a restaurant, or the whole baseball team having a stomach bug? I never claimed treat bags could fix everything.
I highly suggest not adding colored Silly Putty in a treat bag. Speaking from experience, unless you desire a 3″ PERMANENT hot pink stain, where someone sat on it, in a seat in your car or a sofa (preferably not at a rented vacation condo), don’t do it! I would probably lay off the Play-doh in the car as well.
The girls always loved getting nail polishes in treat bags! These are perfect for pedi-parties on vacation but not for painting nails IN THE CAR! Add a sticker (or seal in a separate bag) which says, “save me for arrival–do not open in the car.” Don’t add it unless you can trust them.
And, no fire works in the car. Oh.My.Goodness! Purchase them at your destination.
Try not to start a war: be fair and consistent with snacks, toys, money, etc. for each child. Comparison happens!
♠♥♣♦
At the beginning of the trip, explain the mileage countdown treat bags, upcoming cities, and the rules. You keep all the treat bags in a larger bag or box with you in the car or on the flight. They won’t let you forget when it’s time!
I hope these ideas help your next road trip or flight go smoothly with little ones and/or big ones! Happy planning for summer, spring and fall breaks, and road trips for holidays.
Make it fun and enjoy the time with your kids. Hopefully treat bags will become a family road trip tradition. Go make some memories!
Enjoy your next adventure and keep exploring! And, please add any amazing ideas you have for road trips in the comment section below. We all need a little help from our friends!
Tami Kooch
Tami,
I have read all of your posts, and I love them! This one is so practical and includes amazingly simple ideas for family trips. Thank you for sharing your creative ideas.
Jeanne
Thank you Jeanne!
Loved your ideas for treat bags. We’ll be traveling to the beach with our grandchildren ages 2 and 4 next spring and we’ll definitely have treat bags on board!
angie
Thank you Angie! I’m sure you have some fun ideas too!
Loved this Tami. We did this when our girls were small. Now we have our grand girls to use your ideas on. Thanks.
Thanks Debbie!