Top 5 Road Trip Games

When I was little my parents, sisters, and I used to go on road trips regularly. We visited family out of state. We saw beautiful landmarks. We saw friends from years before. We also saw a lot of highway, and a lot of the interior of our car. To keep us amused we played a bunch of games. These are the best of them.

1) When my sisters were 3 and 4 we played the "Alphabet Game" so that they would learn to recognize the letters. As we drove we looked on road signs and licence plates looking for the capital letters of the alphabet. The trick was to find them in order. Once they got good at the capital letters, and were able to recognize them well, we moved on to lowercase letters on signs.

2) Hand clapping Games, such as Miss Mary Mack, were also a lot of fun. I would play them with my mother while someone else drove. She knew some that I had never learned before, and I knew a few that she had never heard. I also played them with friends, when I got to take them along on the trips, and my sisters when they got older.

3) My personal favorite game was Mad-Libs, which I played not only in the car, but everywhere. I took turns with my parents, my friends, babysitters, anyone who was willing to play with me. Although this isn't always the best, as looking at words on paper makes some people carsick, it's almost always a fun and funny way to pass the time.

4) 20 Questions was also a favorite. When I was little my parents gave me 10 extra questions making it 30, because I was not very good at it. Now there are also electronic versions of this game, which can keep a child amused on their own for quite a while.

5) During all of this we kept up a steady round of "Punch Buggy." Looking for Volkswagen Beetles and shouting out "Punch Buggy *color*!" Where color was the color of the car. We never bothered with "no punch backs." That was assumed for us. We kept count and whoever had seen the most cars at the end of the day got a 'prize' which was determined before the start. Usually, if we were on a trip where a hotel stay was required, it was first choice of bed. When we were at home it was what to have for dinner. Eventually when Beetles were too common on the road, we changed it to other types of cars instead.