For many families, summertime is a season filled with outdoor adventures and fun in the sun. While family vacations can create some amazing memories, they can also be highly emotional and stressful for everyone. Check out our ideas to make your summer travel plans smoother, more enjoyable, and full of fun: 

Plan with your entire family. Get the kids involved in making the trip more exciting and memorable. Ask them to share their ideas and turn the planning process into a fun family activity. Try to stay open-minded—even if their ideas are a bit outrageous. 

Make packing fun by letting younger children choose their own clothes or favorite toys to bring along. Use pictures to brainstorm activities they’d like to do on the trip, and let them pick out snacks at the grocery store. 

Older kids can contribute in more meaningful ways. Ask them to research potential destinations and teach them about budgeting for things like activities and souvenirs. Assign them a special “job” during the trip, like being the official family photographer, writing in a travel journal, or creating a vlog to share with family and friends back home. 

Play games on your way. Traveling with kids can be stressful, but games are a lifesaver to keep everyone entertained and distracted. Get creative with silly activities like “Would you rather” or guessing games like 20-questions.

If you’re flying, playing I Spy at the airport is a fun way to pass the time before boarding, and drawing games can keep little hands busy during your flight. You can also try telling a story together, where each person adds a sentence to create one unpredictable adventure. 

Road trips are the perfect opportunity for impromptu scavenger hunts—just grab a pen and paper to jot down everything you spot on your way. Counting cows, busses, or gas stations is a fun way to practice numbers for younger kids. And the alphabet game is a classic road trip favorite in my house—who can be the first to spot all 26 letters on signs or license plates?

Create a travel journal. Use any notebook you have at home or buy a new “vacation only” memory book. Older kids can write the daily summary, a weather report, and any new or interesting foods you ate together. Include funny comments from family members and add keepsakes like ticket stubs and brochures. Younger children can draw pictures in the journal. Don’t forget to add a few postcards, too!

Throw on a podcast. We might be biased, but listening to podcasts with your kids is so much fun and a great way to keep everyone entertained and engaged during those long summer road trips. 

At Starglow, we’ve got an incredible selection of shows that teach kids about math, what’s happening in the world around them, and more learning fun—even if they’re slightly silly, like learning about where toilet paper comes from! Take turns choosing which show or episode you listen to on your trip. 

If your child loves listening to stories, check out our awesome audiobook collection, which includes classic tales like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Sword in the Stone. As a bonus, these might also bring some fun memories back for you!  

Inspire your little photographers. Let the kids take their own photos. Ask kids with phones to snap some pictures of memorable moments or get a kid-friendly camera. My son loves his VTech camera and uses his tablet to take photos and videos when we travel. 

You can also use disposable cameras (yes, they still exist!). The one problem is that you have a limited number of pictures—which might turn out to be a great teaching moment about the “old days.” 

We want to hear your favorite kid-friendly travel tips!

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