Today, as I pack for our long weekend of hockey tournaments, I'm reminded again how important it is to know little tricks in order to survive a long car ride with your entire family.
Something about being confined to a small space, unable to change scenery or really alter your seating can really put people on edge.
Once that happens, tempers flare and people get grouchy or worse.
When you have a wide span of ages, from kids on up to grandparents, it can be doubly worse as no single form of entertainment or topic of conversation will make everyone happy.
I try to make things better by including a lot of things for entertainment.
Of course we include the requisite DVD's, but I also switch things up with some toys the kids wouldn't normally play with if we'd been at home.
We also pack lots of little food items in plastic storage containers with tight lids.
Nuts and dried fruits are great ways to fill kids up without ruining their teeth.
In another set of plastic storage containers I'll pack sandwiches of various meats and condiments and a couple flavors of chips.
Plastic storage containers come in very handy, too, when there's no restroom handy and you need to clean your hands from lunch.
I pack several pre-moistened paper towels into them to help folks tidy up.
If you have room, I advise packing a couple of light blankets and small pillows.
Sometimes a little rest is all someone needs in order to stave off a case of the grouchies.
Plastic storage containers also work well when you're packing liquid items like hair product or jewelry.
Snap the lid on tight and stow it in your back for safekeeping.
Good luck next time you travel with the whole crew!