Travel Essentials For Kids

Summer officially started and we took the first road trip with all three boys. We went to a family reunion in upstate New York which was a 7 hour drive, but it took us 8, haha! We traveled the year prior with the two boys, but it wasn’t fun at all because we were not prepared. This trip was not easy but these kid travel essentials made it so much better, seriously, it made it much more enjoyable! We decided to make a little list of kid travel items that helped a ton in case you’re vacationing this summer with kids too. Most of the items will work for both driving and flying, so wherever you’re headed, be sure to check out these kid travel essentials. They’ll save your kid and your sanity!

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Photo of recommended items in this post that are kids travel essentials

Tablet/ phone holder– I saw @naptimekitchen post about this right before going on a long trip and I ordered it immediately! It worked great! We love that both boys could see the screen even though T was all the way in the back. It’s easy to use and can go directly behind the headrest or between headrests. It also fits a tablet and phone!
Yeti Rambler Jr.– I love these water bottles for our kids! They’re a good size so they hold a lot of water. The water stays cold, and they’re cute. They’re pretty indestructible as well, which is good because BOYS.
Fire HD Kids Tablet – We asked for this one for T’s birthday and it’s one of the best things ever! Honestly, I always said I’d never get anything like this for my kid before having kids, but yet again, I’ve been humbled in so many ways with kids, and here we are. I’m not against them and they’re so great. You can set parental controls so he can only do kid things! Warning, we didn’t set the kids screen when we first got it and T bought a ton of games (yikes!), so just make sure you do that right away!
Crayola Pip Squeaks– This is the perfect little travel case and tiny markers for tiny hands – these are so cute! Tip: cut up some computer paper and store it just in case because my kids go through paper so quickly!
Kids Backpack– T has this dinosaur backpack and it’s so cute. It’s a pretty good size so it fits a lot. We packed a backpack for each kid with activities and things to do. It was also nice to use when we were at our destination to bring around if they needed anything like snacks, water bottles, extra clothes, etc.
Carseat Protector – Thomas is very adamant about having these under our carseats and I don’t blame him! It keeps the seat from getting ruined, and also prevents snacks getting into the seat cracks. By the way, I’m always asked about our car seats – we have the Diono car seats. Roman is in the Uppa Baby car seat and the big boys are in the Diono next to him, so we have three across. They’re designed for three across and are slim fit and we really like them! Others have asked what car we have to fit them all, and we just got the Volkswagen Atlas and LOVE it!
Wikki Stix– Thomas found these fidget sticks for the boys, and they are awesome! Kids can mold them, sculpt them and stick them to paper or the windows!
Travel tray– Perfect tray to store some toys or to have snack! Noah also used it for coloring. There’s even a section for water bottles, a tablet, really…all the things. You can use it for more than just the car too. It’s basically a tray with a buckle so you can buckle it on a chair.
Mess free coloring– Everyone loves mess free and this Crayola set was a lifesaver! Right now (6/25) they’re 43% off!
Honest hand wipes– We have been using these for a while and always leave a pack in the center console for messy hands and especially after leaving places. Perfect after gas station stops too!
BONUS- This isn’t on the picture above, but we had two other important things.
1. One, ALL THE SNACKS. Self-explanatory there, haha!
2. The second thing was a trash bag. I brought one for the ride up and one for the ride back. Honestly, it was a game changer, and so helpful to have. I’m amazed by how much extra trash we had, and the bag kept it all on one place.