Road Trip Games

For Adults:
Journal Jotting: Buy cheap, but sturdy, journals (or just plain old notebooks or create your own using construction paper, hole puncher, and yarn) and have kids write down and describe what they see along the way. Have them collect something small (a stone, a seashell, a flower, etc.) or buy a super-small trinket from rest stops (buttons, stickers, postcards, etc.) to glue into their journal, describing each stop and each location or landmark they pass. Bring along a stack of old magazines, and have kids cut out and paste pictures into their journals to illustrate some of what they've seen (i.e., cows, fire trucks, palm trees, deer, cars, etc.). Buy a disposable camera for each child, so that they can capture their own memories and place their very own pictures in their personal road-trip journals.

For Kids:

Road Trip Game - The Geography Game
To play this game, someone has to name any place in the world - New York, for example. Then the next person has to name a place that begins with the last letter of the first place - so for New York the next person could say "Kuala Lumpur." Whoever goes next needs a place that starts with an 'R' cuz that's the last letter of Kuala Lampur. You can't use the same place twice in a game. If you get stumped, you're out. The last person left in the game is the winner. You can mix things up by using celebrities names, movies or any other subject you can think of!

Road Trip Game - The Grocery Game
This memory game is bound to whet your appetite for your next pit stop. One person starts by naming something they could buy in a grocery store that begins with the letter 'A' - apples, for example. The next person says, "apples," and then says something they could buy at a grocery store that begins with B, such as bananas. The next person says, "apples, bananas, can of beans," and so on. If you mess up, you're out. The last person standing (well, actually, sitting) is the winner!

Road Trip Game - License Plate Bingo
You only need a few scraps of paper, some pens and the open road to play this variation on an old favorite. Write five lines of five random letters and numbers on one piece of paper for each player. Each player crosses off the letters and numbers as they see them on passing cars' license plates. The first person to get five in a row (either down, across or diagonally) shouts out "bingo!" and they win. See if your rents will spring for a candy bar for the winner at the next gas station!