44 Road Trip Toys (That Won't Drive You Nuts)

Erin P. said:  This is one of my favorite portable and mess-free toys for car rides! Your little one can doodle away with the water pen. When the water dries, the image disappears and he or she can start all over again!

Erin P. said:  This is a great road trip activity to keep older children entertained and engaged. They can look out the window to see how many state license plates they can spot. It can be played as a one-player or two-player game with two different color-coded markers for keeping score. The best part is that all of the pieces are attached to the board!

Joseph Kelley said:  A fun twist on a matching game! This is a fast paced family game where you must pick out the matching symbols out of a large group of symbols. Great for a when you have some kids who are reading and some who aren't because there are no words in this game. The storage tin makes it a great game to take along for a road trip.

Erin P. said:  

Mad Libs are just as funny as you remember, so why not pass on the fun to your child? They will get lots of laughs out of the silly stories they create by following the directions to fill in the blanks with different parts of speech.

Shila said:  I like giving my kids (4 & 6) road trip toys that get them in the zone and focused on a fun project. These paint by sticker books do just that. They are simple, yet rewarding. They also take up little space, make no mess, and can generally be found at an affordable price.

Shila said:  My kids (4 & 6) really love to doodle, so they each received Boogie Boards on our last road trip. It's very lightweight & thin. The LCD writing surface is pressure-sensitive, so you can doodle with the edge of your fingertip or the stylus pen that comes with it. When you're done, the high-tech 'erase' button instantly clears the screen. Also good for playing Hangman or Tic-Tac-Toe games.

Tip: The stylus pen is appropriately sleek. Tie a colorful ribbon around the pen, so if it drops on the car floor, you can find it easier!

Beth Wood said:  Wikki Stix will keep your little traveler busy on your trip! These wax covered sticks of yarn are soft and pliable to use and they stick to each other to make 3-D sculptures. You can twist them, bend them, stick them on paper to make shapes and much more. The travel set comes in a carrying case and includes a book of ideas!

Shila said:  Give your children a disposable camera and let them capture memories from their own point of view! When you return from the road trip, take the kids to get the film developed, then reminisce on the fun! Despite living in an electronic world, disposable cameras can still be purchased at almost any local photo center like Walgreens or CVS.

Erynn said:  When my boys were smaller, they loved felt boards, and we even made our own shapes and characters. Now, you can buy pre-made sets to take on road trips or use at home. Fantastic for creative storytelling and reinforcing colors, shapes, and more.

Sunshine Girl said:  Kids love tape, and painters or masking tape are easy to remove/clean up. Tear pieces and stick everywhere; play a labeling game; make your own stickers by drawing in the tape; the possibilities are simple and endless.

Katie G. said:  When I saw these a couple years ago at an Amish store I knew I just had to get them for my kids. These were the exact cards my brother and I played with when we were kids (before the days of DVD players and iPads). Each card has different items you may see along the road, such as interstate signs, construction signs, police cars, etc. When you see something on the card, you shout it out and slide the red window across the item. Fill across, up and down or diagonal to get Bingo. To make the game last longer, have the kids fill up the entire card. My kids still love playing this several years later.

Vanessa M. said:  Aren't magnets the best toys for car rides? The magnetic pieces stick inside the storage tin, making a compact lap top activity that keeps kids entertained. Time will quickly pass as kids use the colorful magnetic pieces to dress and accessorize characters over and over again.

Erin P. said:  Musical and noise-making toys are great, but my husband and I can sing along with most of our toddler's toys, so the occasional quiet toy can be very refreshing--especially when you're all in the car together! This bright and playful toy includes six buckles in a variety of clasp styles. It helps toddlers develop fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. This is also a great toy to keep stashed in your diaper bag for stroller or shopping cart entertainment!

Shila said:  This book acts as an atlas for kids, with easy-to-read, simple road maps, roadside attractions, national parks and more for each state. I like that kids can learn where we're going, and how to map it. The book also includes fun facts & really beautiful pictures. I think this atlas really helps kids soak in all that's great about traveling & being "on the road."

Beth Wood said:  This provides traveling kids with lots of fun through classic games like tic tac toe, dots and boxes, hangman, fortune teller and more!