Let’s be honest, kids and car trips? They are super fun for about, oh… as long as they are entertained?

If you’ll be traveling with kids this summer, let me share a fantastic idea. Guaranteed.

It is based on The Mystery Bag. 

*******Kid tested, Parent “ecstatic-0-meter” 100% rating!*******

When I was a girl, my mom packed a special bag of trinkets and goodies. It was a simple bag, a paper model, and I had no idea what it contained.

At various times, Mom would pull out one special item from the mystery bag, intended to entertain me.

Fun things-remember those cartoon faces, covered with see-through plastic– there were magnetic shavings at the bottom and a magnetized stylus? Kids could drag shavings and create silly faces and facial hair?

Car activities for all ages

As an adult, I used to pack my girls up for road trips frequently to go see Grandma and Grandpa in California. I got pretty adept at creating travel desks with goodies.

Still, when we had to move  2,600 miles away, my creativity was at a halt. Too much to think about.

My amazing friends took over the task, all as a surprise!

At our going away party they presented us with a large collection of lunch sacks. Each one has a special gift of love in the form of a game, or a puzzle, or a candy bar. Perfect road trip distractions.

Here is the best part- can you believe they created a bag for EVERY HOUR they expected us to be on the road, for all 2,600 miles???

Each bag carefully labeled to coordinate with the proper hour.

A gift that truly keeps on giving

We were stunned. Grateful, deeply so. What effort and coordination to pull that off. (You can see why these kinds of friends we were so reluctant to leave. Love amplified)

The kids were psyched!

What could have been a long, long drive of “How much farther” (have you crossed Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Indiana in late summer? ) turned into eager anticipation as the designated hour approached.

Mystery Bags make great road trip companions. Small, lightweight, cheap. They can be as elaborate or simple as desired.

Mystery Bag suggestions for road trips

Bubbles and jump ropes (road stop energy burners), Origami, Coloring books, dice, card games, travel bingo, silly putty and a comic page, waxed yarn, notes for letters, magnetic letters and a cookie pan,

breathe in…

Small needlepoint kids for the olders, action figures or matchbox for the youngers,  Mad libs, radio theater cds (like Adventures in Odyssey), informational pages about your destination, magnetic blocks.

Walk through a local dollar store in the education aisle. You’ll find stuff to surprise you.

Traveling with kids really is so much fun. And with Mystery Bags, the drive will be too!

What is your best tip for hitting the road with your children? Please share in the comments… And if you have friends with kids, consider sharing this piece with them. We all love new ideas!

Road trip activities

• National Geographic Kids Ultimate U.S. Road Trip Atlas
• The Ultimate Travel Journal For Kids: Awesome Activities for Your Adventures
• Road Trip Activities and Travel Journal for Kids (Happy Fox Books) Over 100 Games, Mazes, Mad Libs, Writing Prompts, Scavenger Hunts, and More to Keep Kids Having Fun in the Car with Zero Screen Time 
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