Need help with toys for looong road trip!!!!

[daniele_ut]

We are leaving on a 3 day, 22 hour total road trip for work on Tuesday and I am seriously pressed for time to prepare. I'll be working 20 hours of overtime by the end of this week, and I have to work Saturday and Monday before we leave. And did I mention we don't shop on Sunday? Can you say stressed???? I know there have been some threads on great toddler toys for car trips in the past, but I only have a minute of 2 right now and no time to search.

Can anyone please help me out with some suggestions for keeping a 20 month old toddler occupied in the car. I went to the Dollar store on my lunch break hoping to find some toys for him, but I didn't see anything age appropriate. We will have a portable DVD player, BTW.

[kedss]

Does your DS like books? Sometimes our DS will look at board books over and over, and the lift the flap books. And they are quiet! :) If you don't mind noise, we have a Caillou book with a miniature keyboard attached, and DS loves that, but mostly he loves looking outside, and taking long naps. :) Maybe you can make a book of photos that he can look at?

I think the DVD will also help. :)
hth, and good luck!

[crl]

Baby Einstein travel flashcards were a hit for us at that age. I think I found them online, but you might find them at Target or BRU? They come on a ring so DC can flip them alone without dropping them all.

Stuffed animals that mama used to play peekaboo etc were usually a good last resort to get us through about 20 more minutes of travel time w/out meltdown.

SNACKS were essential for us. Grapes, goldfish, etc. Especially any favorites that I had deprived DS of for a few days before the trip. (Mean mama)

I might take along a beach ball, bubbles etc for stops. Beach balls are particularly nice because you can deflate them easily to save space. They are also good for hotel rooms/pools. . . .

HTH,

[ellies mom]

We keep these sorts of things in a packback for our DD to play with
http://www.allaboardtoys.com/assets/product_imagesm/GUP-2418.jpg http://www.allaboardtoys.com/assets/product_imagesm/GUP-3218.jpg

We got them both at Target and they have a bunch of different ones. Another thing that we buy are the books that use dry erase markers but we replaced the markers with "wipe-off" crayons that we found at an educational supply store.

If you can't find the flash cards on a ring you can buy regular flashcards, use a whole punch and put them on your own ring. Some of the flashcards come with blank cards so you could even put pictures of people on them and include them in the set.

We also found at TRU some magnetic "paper dolls", although the educational supply store had cooler ones. But DD is a paper eater and she would chew on them so they don't live in the back pack.

[daniele_ut]

He does like books, and we do have a book of photos of family that DH made him so we will be sure to bring that. The Caillou book sounds cool too!

He does enjoy looking out the window and I think he's going outboard for this trip so I can hand him stuff (he's still RF) so hopefully he'll enjoy looking out the window!

[daniele_ut]

The flashcards sound perfect! I will look for them today! I saw beachballs too, and I didn't even think of bubbles for stops. I just thought of mess in the car, but they will be perfect for potty breaks!

See, this is why I always consult you guys!

[daniele_ut]

Veronica - Those books look GREAT! I will check out Target today. I know we have an educational supply store somewhere in town, too.

I saw a Bert and Ernie book that had felt "paper dolls" at Costco yesterday and thought that he'e enjoy that. I'll keep my eyes open for the magnetic ones too!

[deannanb]

Stickers or band aids.... that will keep DS busy for at least 20 minutes - stick them on your shirt, car seat, feet...

[zuzu]

You might try magnet sets that come with tins or board to place them on. Sarah loved the Mr. Potato Head magnet board set at that age.

In addition to the spiral flash cards, Target has Baby Einstein Discovery Flashcards. The Animal set is great.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned the Magnadoodle.

Sometimes simple things like a pad of small post-its, a deck of cards, or finger puppets are great.

Good luck!

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[MamaKath]

There was a similar post in the lounge not that long ago. The OP had 2 kids but many of the tips should still be helpful. Here is the link...
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=320121&mode=full
HTH~

[ellies mom]

We got that one at Costco a few weeks back. Ellie loves it but we hold back some of the pieces because there are tons of them.

[s7714]

We got a Dora and a Elmo version of those water books for our last trip, and they were my DDs favorite by far. She is still playing with them on a weekly basis and it's been several months! I can't recommend them enough. We'll probably pick up a few "new" ones for our next trip too!

Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Antsy-Pants 6/05

Calling fellow BBB SoCal moms...we'd love to meet you!
(100 posts & BBB member for 3 months req'd)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/babybargainssocal/

[daniele_ut]

I found the Dora "Water Wow" at Target today! It looks like it will be great for him! They had an Elmo Color and Carry that I put back at the last minute on DH's advice, but I will probably go back and get it. I think DH is cracked in the head today for saying DS doesn't like to draw!

I also found the Baby Einstein Travel Discovery Cards on the ring at Wally World. They are the ocean animals, and I saw the same at BRU today. I think he'll love them. I also picked up a no spill bubble tumbler, a beach ball, a very cool new truck (DS is waaayy into wheels right now), a big pack of post-its, some band aids, and a few other things.

DS is also a paper eater, so I think the felt set from Costco will be good too.