It’s been a long dream of ours to do a big road trip along the Great Ocean Road. We’ve been talking about it for years but just never quite made it. Winning the Kidspot top 50 bloggers competition and receiving a Ford Territory for a year plus $5000 spending money is the most perfect opportunity for us to finally live our dream. Of course I’d be blogging our entire trip along the way - driving, sight seeing, crafting (oh, yes), shopping and being able to visit some of the most beautiful little towns in Australia. It all sounds so wonderful!
Because I’m a believer in dreaming big, I’ve already started thinking about what little extras such a big road trip would entail. The new 2011 Ford Territory is amazing - so much comfort and interior space but I wanted to start work on some extra goodies for our trip. Yesterday I snuck away in my sewing room and created fabric neck pillows for James and Bella, perfect for traveling long hours in the car when little (and teenage) people want to drift off to sleep. I also whipped up a quick blanket (for extra car snuggling) using some new fabric in my stash and upcycling an old chenille bedspread.
We headed out on our own mini road trip today to watch Rich race his dirt bike, rising at 5.30am and heading out the door at 7am. The kids were able to try out our new car accessories along the way.
Oh, there was more sewing too! I've started thinking about ways to keep the children entertained in the car for when they don't feel like looking out the window at the scenery. So, I put together a bingo kit. I created squares in word document and then typed up a series of descriptive words to find while we're driving. The marker squares have been cut out from a felted jumper - it was tempting to use buttons, but I figured they'd slide around a bit much in the car. For storage I sewed a bingo bag, which means we can pop away the cards + markers when the playing is over. We played quite a few games on the way up - something fun that the whole family can do!
An optional extra in the new Ford Territory is a 7' LCD Screen DVD player that is seamlessly installed into the seats headrest/s (I know, that's serious luxury) which would also be perfect for back seat entertaining.
Easy card games, crafting goodies plus a pile of nice books and magazines - I consider these all road trip essentials too. We packed them for our car ride today and they were all used and enjoyed.
Oh, yes and snacks! Definitely important to keep little people's energy levels up -and big people too. We packed cinnamon scrolls from James and Bella's baking day yesterday.
I think a couple of stable tables would be handy too, so the crafting and car games can sit on a nice flat surface while they're being used.
Over the past few years you have all been so kind and generous with your lovely comments here on my blog and today I'd really love to hear your thoughts and tips about other ways to keep children entertained in the car. I have lots more planning and dreaming to do about visiting the Great Ocean Road and if you could share your insight into fun games or ideas, that would be lovely.
So, tell me - what's a must play game in the car? What snacks do you pack to keep your little (and big) ones going during long journeys and what advice do you have for me?
xox
P.S. Thank you all so much for your support and votes so far.
