Five Activities to Keep Kids Busy During Holiday Travel

Traveling with young children is often a challenge - especially during the busy holiday season. Keeping young ones occupied during travel requires planning and a bit of creativity. But a bit of up-front preparation pays off with more peaceful trips.

Try some or all of these travel games and activities to make travel with kids more manageable:

* Travel Survival Kit: Fill a backpack with all the necessities for travel. Pack a few snacks (granola bars, juice boxes, water bottles, crackers, fruit, or other kid favorites) along with books, a deck of cards or other travel games, a box of crayons or colored pencils and coloring or activity books. Don't forget your child's favorite stuffed animal or other comfort items.

* Portable Art Center: Find a large cookie tin or other sturdy container. Fill it with crayons, colored pencils, markers, stickers, coloring or activity books, Play-Doh, pipe cleaners or other craft items. Kids can turn the lid upside down and use it for a lap table. (The lip of the lid will keep craft items from rolling away.)

* Travel Games: Don't forget the old standby travel games that have delighted children for ages. Some of our family's favorites include:

-- I Spy: Players turns giving hints about something they see (e.g., I spy something big and green) for others to guess.

-- The Alphabet Travel Game: Players begin by saying, "I'm going on a trip and I'm taking . . ." The first player must list an item that begins with A. The second player repeats the first player's item and then adds an item that begins with B. The third player repeats the first two players' items and adds an item that begins with C. The game continues in this fashion until you've made it through the alphabet.

-- The Alphabet Sign Game: Players take turns finding letters of the alphabet (in order) on signs (or license plates) along your travel route.

-- The Zoo Game: Players take turns describing some (imaginary) animal they see out the window and telling what the animal is doing. This is a great game for very young children who will revel in the opportunity to use their imagination and describe their animal and its activities.

* Portable DVD Players and Other Electronics: Take along a portable DVD player and some of your child's favorite movies. Take enough movies to last throughout the trip. (And don't forget batteries for the DVD player!) Portable handheld games and MP3 players can also help make holiday travel more enjoyable for kids.

* Map Out Your Route: Purchase or print a map of the area in which you're traveling. Mark the route for your children and include special call outs at key points along the way. Perhaps you'll want to highlight various tourist attractions, point out changes in the surrounding scenery, or the places where you plan to stop for lunch or stretch breaks. You can also add some fun activity (e.g., play a game, sing a song, etc.) as you reach certain points along the route.

Don't overlook your kids' creativity as you plan for holiday travel. Ask them what they might like to do during the trip and let them help you plan and prepare travel activities.