Traveling in the car with kids can be tough. It seems as though there is a never-ending demand coming from someone in the backseat: “I’m hungry!”…”I’m bored!”…”Are we there yet?”…He keeps touching me!…”Waaaa!” To be quite honest, we rely way more on our car’s DVD player than I would like to admit. It is a matter of survival, after all. :)
But as I am planning and preparing for our annual trip to the mountains next week, I thought perhaps I might try something a little different and give each of the boys their own Magnetic Snack Tray for Travel! Each tray will be outfitted with a few of their favorite snacks and toys/games. And since everything is magnetic, it will stick to the tray and limit spills!
Here’s what you’ll need:
A Shallow Baking Pan for Each Child
Horizon Snacks (our favorites)
Plastic containers
Toys and Games (we used LEGO’s and a Tic-Tac-Toe Pad)
*In addition to the square plastic container we purchased, we used old chewing gum and yogurt containers to hold our snacks and LEGOs.
Instructions:
1. Gather your materials and position your toys/notepads/plastic containers on the baking tray to make sure everything fits.
2. Trace the bottom of each plastic container, LEGO building plate, and notepad onto the paper backing of the magnetic sheet. Cut out and remove the paper backing, then secure onto the bottom of each container/toy.
3. Add a thin strip of magnetic paper to your crayons as well, so they don’t flop around so much!
4. Add everything to your magnetic tray and you’re ready for the road!!!
The great thing about this tray is that the contents don’t automatically fall whenever there is a twist or turn in the road. Although the magnetic paper won’t hold everything if you turn the tray upside down, it does (for the most part) keep everything in place during the normal car (and child) movement.
We were especially excited to get to include some of our favorite Horizon snacks. We encourage healthy eating, but vacations can be tough and kids can be inundated with junk food. Horizon snacks and milk are a great alternative! We especially love the “vanilla milkshakes” (as my kids call them…they are actually the Vanilla Lowfat Milk boxes) and the Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers. Little Brother also really loves the Strawberry Super Squeezes. You can keep up with all of Horizon Goodies on their Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter and Instagram pages.
How do you keep your children entertained while traveling?
This conversation is sponsored by Horizon. The opinions and text are all mine.
Such a cool idea for keeping things organized and not too hard to create either!
Thank you for the mention! I really want to take a month-long trip in an RV someday and you provide some great ideas here! You have some great ideas here about using Montessori while traveling. Thank you for taking the time to share them all!