Christmas Countdown ~ Day 20

ARE WE THERE YET???!!!

Holiday Travel – such fun with kids in tow…..

I would rather stick a needle in my eye than travel with wee tots again.

Only one year I took the kids on a long trip over the Holidays.  It was up to my Aunt & Uncle’s house/farm in Northern Ontario, by Northern, I mean…Friggen Northern almost to the North Pole northern.  OK, maybe not that far, but it sure seemed like it.  

578 km from our home in Southern Ontario to the boonies of the North.  A seven hour drive with 2 kids (ages approx 5 and 8 then) was just about enough to kill every holiday spirit I ever had in me.  I did this trip sans hubby too…he (thankfully I am sure) had to work so I was left to pile the kids into the ol’ station wagon (beauty of a car really, I do miss the floaty ride that Crown Vic had) and set off down the highway.  I don’t remember much after that, it must have been so horrid that I banished it from my mind…..all I know is I arrived, with barely any sanity left in me and proceeded to let my sweet Aunt nurse me back into some sense of reality. 

Traveling with kids is challenging… not just for the kids, but for the adults stuck with them.  Kids do not understand the concept of time and think everything should happen with Star Trek efficiency…via Transporters.  I wish…

Hopefully your vehicle is larger than a smart car too, cause your gonna need the room for the travel games, books, ipods and electronic gadgets for all the kidlets.  These will last approximately 5 minutes though… tops.

Next up, the license plate game, if you are traveling across many state/province borders, it will be somewhat exciting for them.  Otherwise, plain, Ontario plates gets tiring pretty quick.

Snacks and drinks…snacks are fine, gummies, carrot sticks and celery, raisins, home-made trail mix, dry cereal…all are good.  Try and limit the drinks though, otherwise the whiz stop count is going to be a lot higher.

Rest Stops…DO stop once in a while and let the little ones get out of the car and run around like possessed madmen, it will help burn off some energy and restlessness and maybe tire them out enough to nap the rest of the way.

Straight-jackets…. for when the cute-when-sleeping siblings turn into evil monsters trying to out-poke the other.  Actually, we found that if we just split the kids up into different seats (front/back), this solves *most* issues.

Pillows…bring along their pillow or favourite stuffed toy.  Not only does this help to calm them in the different surroundings at night, they do double duty as nap inducers in the car (and no, they are not to be used to smother the little angels, please curb your enthusiasm).

Patience…something every adult needs to pack an extra suitcase of…cause your going to need it.

Sleep…ensure everyone gets plenty of rest, lack of sleep is the number one cause for ill-mannered kids and adults alike.

If you do have to travel with the kids, hopefully the above tips will help you (and them) arrive in one piece…good luck!

5 thoughts on “Christmas Countdown ~ Day 20

  1. Alright, this is soooooooo you finding a unique and clever way to rant about how horrible we used to be in the car traveling 😛

  2. Yes, that was a great visit but you forgot to mention that it was one of our coldest winters in a long time and that’s the one you chose for your northern adventure. The kids had fun in the snow, when, they were able to go out and even got a “one-horse open sleigh” ride at a neighbour’s but the worst part was the day you were leaving, That Crown Vic was frozen solid and Jack had to thaw it out by placing a propane heater under the car. But……….I thoroughly enjoyed your visit, visiting with my only niece, playing with the kids, making and baking teddy-bear bread with them and pushing them in the sleigh…………in spite of the cold.

    • I do remember how cold it was, and Neil couldn’t believe what Uncle Jack had to do to get the car thawed out 🙂 It was a fun trip, in spite of the looooong drive with the kids 🙂 Merry Christmas Lydia!

  3. Beautiful! Travelling with kiddos can be an entertaining adventure, been making a 14 hour trip to southern MB many years. We found leaving at 5 or 6 p.m. then driving through the night to let them sleep kept us from answering the age old question——are we there yet? My time here is dwindling as the next few days are booked with friends and family. So my dear friend, I wish you and your family the very BEST of a Christmas and will catch up with the blog later in the holiday. All the best to your in 2013! 🙂

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