Six Ways to Stay Sane on Your Road Trip this Holiday Season

For military families the holiday season usually means travel in one form or another. Since we rarely live in the same community as our family, holidays mean road trips! Turn your rolling confinement to a car into an adventure using more than the standard DVD's and video games. We have six cool tips and tricks to survive the family holiday travels. 1. Your Smartphone will be your best friend . In a world of apps, travel apps are extremely creative and useful. Below are a few great innovative new apps to help you navigate your travels and make a few memories along the way. TVFood Map app - This little gem allows you to the hot spots of your favorite TV chefs. From Bobby Flay to Anthony Bourbain, the app finds the best of eateries featured on television. Don't hit the drive thru, make it a food adventure, too! Waze app - This app provides real-time intelligence and alerts on speed traps, traffic tie-ups, road hazards, cars stuck in the road or a snowstorm ahead. It pulls from a very active community of drivers with up to date data. Field Trip app - This app runs in the background on your smartphone. A card pops up with information when you are near local attractions. You can edit your interests like historical sites, parks or my favorite - the world largest wine bottle. License Plate Game app - This is a new twist on an old game. This app allows you to search for license plates from each US state and will keep track of the states you've found and the ones remaining right on your phone. Use it throughout the trip! Candy Crush Saga app - This little addictive piece of technology will keep you occupied (or tuned out) for hours. Don't say I didn't warn you. 2. Go Old School Style. Remember those excessively long trips we had as kids, the ones we were forces to take while riding in the back of a station wagon with annoying siblings. The trip we had to endure without Nintendo 's, ipads or DVD players...AND listen to AM radio. Some how we survived the dark ages by playing a few of these simple road games. Disclosure: These games are non-contact, board-less and pieces-less games because I care about your sanity. Who Am I? - A great game of detective work to show what the family has in common. The first person chooses someone to be; a fictional character, a family member or an historical figure - but it as to be someone that every knows. Then, everyone else must ask "yes" or "no" questions to determine who this person must be. Great game for teens and tweens! Grocery Store Game - The first player names an object available at a grocery store that starts with the letter A. (Ex: I went to the store to buy an apple). The next player has to repeat what the first player said and then add another grocery item that starts with the letter B. (Ex: I went to the store to buy an apple and bananas). Keep adding things to the list following the alphabet. It's a great memory game and draws everyone into the mix - even the driver. I Spy - One person in the car will choose an object around them. He or she then gives the other people in the car a clue by saying, "I spy with my little eye, something...." They will state the object's color, give the first letter of the name of the object or offer another clue. This is a great game when you are sitting in traffic, but not so much for speeding through farmland. Fortunately/Unfortunately - This game has endless possibilities for creativity while looking for the upside of any situation. The first person begins by stating something unfortunate, "Unfortunately, an avalanche is eminent." The next player would counter with a fortunate statement such as "Fortunately, I brought my snow mobile." The more exaggerated and creative the better! Odds/Evens - Two players pick either "odds" or "evens." Then they make a fist, shake it, say, "One, two, three...shoot," and stick out one, two or up to five fingers. If the total is an odd number, the player who picked odds wins. Same applies to evens. 3. Become a Park and Museum Hunter. Yes, that's right. I hunt for parks and museums when I travel. Once I know my travel route, I usually look up the local parks and recreation departments in cities/counties we plan to travel through. I've found some of the best children's museums, monstrous playgrounds and cool public pools thanks to my research. These small pit stops are usually free or at a low cost and wipe out my kids for the duration of the trip. Visit www.mapofplay.kaboom.org for parks/playgrounds along your route. Looking for specific city/county website? Visit www.usa.gov/Agencies/Local-Government/Cities for listings. Don't forget about local Children's Museums. I found this great list on Wikipedia.org. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_children's_museums_in_the_United_States 4. The Good Behavior Bag. For those long trips with little ones, having a bag full of cheap toys and games is a great way to bribe them into good behavior. Before your trip, head over to your local dollar store or the dollar bins at Wal-Mart or Target. Grab as many toys/snacks as the number of hours you're on the road. One toy per kid, of course. I don't recommend sharing. Place them in a paper sack or non transparent bag. Then, when you are off and driving, use the lure of new toy/snack for every hour they are on the road. Cheap, fun items like silly glasses, made libs, miniatures, doodle pads and play dough and window markers - if you're brave, work perfectly. You'll be surprised how good they can be when they know something mysteriously fun is owed to them! 5. Make it special for those with special needs. A great tip I have from another military spouse friend who has special needs children is to make them a travel book. Print out pictures and information of the places you'll be staying/visiting and pictures of family members and make a travel book for them. The idea is to lower their anxiety of new places, faces and spaces. They will know what to expect when they arrive. Priceless! 6. Last, but not least...be prepared. I know this is probably sounds like overkill, but the better prepared on the road you are the better your trip will be. A small thing like bringing along a printed map just in case GPS isn't working can save the day - and be fun for the kids. They can follow along with map so they feel like they are part of the trip. Other no-brainers items are: Extra blankets Printed or paper map Change of clothing for everyone Paper towels within in reach A trash bag or two Military ID's Phone number to Tricare in your region Water, lots of drinking water A first-aid kit Chargers for video games and phones Check tires and purchase a tire gage Take the car in for a quick tune up before you leave Flashlight with new batteries Car insurance cards Jumper cables A sense of humor

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