Everyone loves the holidays: you get to spend time with family and friends, exchange gifts with those you care about, and take some time off from the typical grind of life. However, getting to the location of your next holiday event can be one of the most challenging steps in the process. This is especially true if you have little ones to keep entertained on a long drive.
The good news is that there are dozens of great holiday car games that you can incorporate into your road trip with family. We’ll share a few of the most fun below so you never have to worry about anyone getting bored.
The License Plate Game
This is an oldie but still a goodie and especially ideal as one of the car games for little kids. It can even be an educational experience for the younger ones. The first thing you’ll want to do is have everyone make a list of all 50 states. If someone is struggling, you can help them but otherwise let the kids do their best to come up with the entire list.
After that’s done, everyone spends time looking at car license plates they see on the trip. When they see a new state, all they need to do is cross it off of their list. Whoever gets all 50 first wins, but you may find that some states are pretty difficult to find. This is sure to keep the kids busy for a while as you concentrate on traffic and road signs.
The Alphabet Game
The alphabet game is one of the best road trip games for kids of any age. It offers extended entertainment and can get everyone’s mind off of the long drive ahead of them. This is another game that is fairly easy to play. You don’t even need to make a list like you do for the license plate game.
You start this game by having everyone search for a sign that has a letter beginning with the letter A. After that’s found, you move on to B and work your way through the alphabet. It might start off easy, but you’ll be searching hard if you make it to Q, X, and Z.
Would You Rather
One of the most exciting car game ideas is one you’ve probably heard of before: Would you rather? Every person in the vehicle gets a chance to chime in and imaginations are sure to run wild. This game is easy as pie.
The person in charge of asking the question asks something like, “would you rather be trapped in a room with a venomous snake or ten rats?” Everyone gets a chance to answer before the next person asks a question. You’ll be surprised by both the questions that people come up with as well as the answers. This is a fun option and can keep you busy for a good long time.
Twenty Questions
Of your options for road trip games for kids, you can’t beat a few rounds of 20 questions. It’s a classic and everyone can play, from young to old. Basically, what happens is one person will think about a place, person, or thing. The rest of the car will take turns asking yes or no questions to try to guess what the other person is thinking of.
Do your best to come up with something nobody is going to guess so you can win the game and make them ask more than 20 questions. It might sound too simple to be fun, but it’s a classic for a reason.
Car Scavenger Hunt
This game is a breeze, but you will need to spend a little time getting things ready. You’ll need a sheet of paper with pictures of things that you might expect to see on your trip. This can be anything from a dog being walked to a pink car, a certain road sign, and more.
Hand one out to each child as one of your road trip games for kids. Every child gets a marker or crayon and crosses out the items on the paper as they see it. If your trip is expected to be quite long, you can even require that each item be found in order.
Beginnings and Endings
This is a fun game that requires a bit of brain power and dose of imagination, as well. First, the entire car should decide on a certain topic. It can be pretty much anything from types of dogs to rock musicians.
The driver will then start out by naming something that fits the topic. The next person has to take the last letter of that word and come up with another item that relates to the topic which starts with the same letter. So, if you choose dog breeds, your chain might go Terrier, Rottweiler, Russian Hound, Dachshund, etc. The game continues until someone can’t come up with the next item. Then you can pick a new topic and start over if you like.
Guess the Song
If your family appreciates music while driving, add this to your stack of games to play on holiday. It requires no preparation and can be a lot of fun. All you need to do is turn on the radio, pop in a CD, or play music from Spotify or Apple Music. Everyone listens as new songs play and try to guess what the name is.
The person who guesses the right song first is the winner. Then when the next song comes on, someone else can try to win that round. Just make sure that you cover up the screen on your radio if it lists the names as they play. You don’t want any cheaters in your midst.
Rock Paper Scissors
This is another of the classics in terms of car games for little kids, but it can still break up the monotony of a long drive across the state or country. There’s no need for any supplies and everyone can have a turn. It’s just as much fun to watch as it is to be a participant, so it should keep the kids busy for a while.
If you want to up the ante a bit, consider making it a tournament where the biggest winners go against each other. You could also have bets on who will win each round to make things more interactive for everyone involved. There’s nothing wrong with making things more unique and adding aspects that your family will love.
Wrapping Up
With these eight games, you’re bound to have a family holiday road trip that everyone will remember. There’s nothing that says going on a trip has to be boring or frustrating and having a few entertainment options can make things a lot more exciting. Most of these games don’t even require much preparing beyond having them in your mind to suggest during the trip.
While you’re preparing for the upcoming trip and making sure you have everything you’ll need for the holidays, pick out a few games and be sure you have the supplies you need for them. Your kids will love having something to do and you may find it cuts the boredom for mom and dad as well. Have a great holiday!
