Road Trip Bags for Kids: What We Pack for a 10.5-Hour Drive (Plus Our Screen Plan)
- Mama Bird
- Mar 11
- 7 min read
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We have a long car trip coming up — about 10½ hours of driving — and that means it’s time to get the kids’ travel bags ready.
Each kid is different in what actually keeps them entertained, and just because we’re driving all day doesn’t mean they’re on screens all day. (We’re not anti-screen… we just like to balance it out.)
Here’s exactly what we’re packing for each kid (ages 11, 9, and 6), the screen plan we use to keep the day from turning into nonstop tablet time, and a bonus tip: how we repurpose a lot of these items once we arrive so we’re not reinventing the wheel every night. These are our road trip bags for kids — tested on a 10.5-hour drive with three very different personalities and a screen plan that actually holds.
Road Trip Bags for Kids: The Short Version
If you’re short on time, here’s the whole system in under 30 seconds:
One bag per kid with their main entertainment
One parent-held Restaurant Entertainment Bag for grab-and-go items while waiting for food
A simple screen plan: no screens until the first stop, then 1 hour on / 1 hour off
Color-coded headphones and charging cords (because siblings)
This is what keeps the non-screen activities from getting ignored at the bottom of the bag.
Our Screen Strategy for a 10½-Hour Drive
We usually leave around 3:00 AM because I always convince myself the kids will sleep… and they never do. 😅
So instead of pretending it’ll be a quiet, magical ride, we go in with a clear screen plan. It keeps the “Can I have my tablet?” questions to a minimum — mostly.
Our Screen Rules
No electronics until the first stop (usually 5:30–6:00 AM)
Screen time in shifts: 1 hour on / 1 hour off
No devices while we eat
Bathroom stops = everyone out (non-negotiable)
The One Thing That Saves Us Every Trip: Color-Coded Charging Cords
Before we get into the bags — this is so simple, but it prevents so many arguments. Every kid has their own cord color, and that’s that. Nobody “borrows” and forgets to return it. (In theory.) 😄
Big Brother = blue
Sister = pink
Little Brother = green
Big Brother’s Travel Bag (Age 11)
Big Brother entertains himself really well when he has the right hands-on options. He loves anything that lets him build, strategize, or get lost in a story.
Big Brother can entertain himself really well when he has the right hands-on options. He loves anything that lets him build, strategize, or create a story.
Best for: independent play, strategy, “leave me alone while I focus” activitiesWorks best when: he has one project item (build/chess) + one chill item (Kindle) + one fresh game
What’s in his bag
The Details
Minifigs — He can play with these forever, making up stories and epic battles. I’ll also sneak a mystery minifig into each kid’s bag — those mystery bags are always a huge hit.
Small LEGO Build — A good “focus break” activity. This trip I’m packing a Buggy BrickHeadz (One Piece) I’ve been hiding in my desk drawer. If he knew I had it, it’d be long gone. We’ll probably grab a fresh small build while we’re traveling so he has something new for the ride home.
Travel Chess Set — He goes to Chess Club, so this is a go-to. He and Papa love playing together, and sometimes he plays himself. It’s magnetic, which makes it perfect for the car.
Bop It — I will probably regret this. But last year on a 3-hour field trip bus ride, he got completely hooked. It has quiet, loud, and blasting modes — really hoping quiet mode is quiet enough!
Kindle — He got a “grown-up” Kindle for Christmas (honestly a little jealous). He’s really into light novels right now — especially stories where an overpowered hero tries to live a quiet life and keeps getting pulled into saving the day.
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3Zlx3Ts
Case: https://amzn.to/3M78A19
Switch Games — His favorites plus one new-to-him pick: Final Fantasy 7 & 8. He hasn’t played it yet, which helps keep it exciting. I’ll be honest — this was 100% a nostalgia buy. FF8 is what got me into RPGs, and FF7 is one of Papa’s all-time favorites.
FF7 & 8: https://amzn.to/4qVUTkE
Switch 2: https://amzn.to/3LSsuwQ
Case: https://amzn.to/3MsdQfO
Wi-Fi-Only Phone — Not a “real” phone — just an old one that only works on Wi-Fi. He uses the Disney Cruise app to message us on the ship, and on travel days he downloads the latest anime he’s into.
Sister’s Travel Bag (Age 9)
Sister is our creative one — happiest when she’s drawing, crafting, or listening to music. Pack the right creative tools and she’s completely set.
Best for: calm creativity, crafts, music, quiet independent activities
Works best when: she has music + one creative project (bracelets/whiteboard) + a brain game or book
Mini Checklist: Sister Bag
The Details
MP3 Player — She loves music and will stay entertained for a long time if she has it. I loaded the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack plus some of my old “classics” (Taylor Swift originals from back in the day!). Big bonus: she can’t claim she’s “just listening to music” on her tablet anymore — nobody believes that one. 😄
MP3 Player: https://amzn.to/4th6zjH
Case: https://amzn.to/4amfK9X
K-Pop Demon Hunters Soundtrack: https://amzn.to/4thbLUN
Bracelet Kit — She’s been making bracelets forever and this travel kit has been a favorite since a cruise last year. We top it off with new bands from the bigger set we keep at home.
Whiteboard + Markers + Stickers — She can spend forever drawing. We got her sloth stickers to make it her own.
Whiteboard: https://amzn.to/46tYZIr
Markers: https://amzn.to/3O1rWVV
Sloth Stickers: https://amzn.to/4rG5MY1
Sloth Brain Games Book — If there’s any animal that truly represents Sister, it’s the sloth. It’s her spirit animal. Hoping this appeals to her artsy side while also getting her brain going a little.
Kindle — She’s been loving Zoe’s Rescue Zoo books, so I loaded a new one for this trip.
Switch Games — Her favorites like Barbie, plus a new pick: Care Bears. Total nostalgia buy — I watched Care Bears growing up.
Tablet — For her favorites: K-Pop Demon Hunters, The Rise of Red, and her YouTube picks.
Little Brother’s Travel Bag (Age 6)
Little Brother loves hands-on play and anything that feels new. Even small things keep him busy if he’s excited about them.
Best for: hands-on play, “new item” excitement, quick-start activities
Works best when: he has short wins (stickers/cars) + one build option (magnet tiles) + a new-to-him game
Mini Checklist: Little Brother Bag
The Details
Cars — He loves them. We’ll see how long they hold his attention on a 10½-hour trip, but they’re a classic for him. Worst case, they move straight into the Restaurant Entertainment Bag once we arrive.
Sticker Puzzle Book — A huge hit last trip. It’s like a puzzle and sticker book combined, and it keeps him focused way longer than a regular activity book.
Travel Magnet Tiles — He discovered magnetic tiles over Christmas and was obsessed. I found a travel set that fits in a magnetic container — perfect for the car.
(We’ll see if we need to upgrade to a bigger set later… or if Sister and Big Brother decide they need their own.)
Kids Kindle — Since Big Brother got a new Kindle, Little Brother inherited the kids version. We’re still figuring out what kinds of books really hook him, so this one is a work in progress.
Switch Games — His favorites: Minecraft, Mario Kart, Smash Brothers. New-to-him pick for this trip: LEGO City Undercover. He loves watching LEGO City, so we’ll see if the game is a hit too.
Tablet — Always the tried-and-true backup. Because 10½ hours.
For the Whole Family: “Would You Rather?” Cards
Best for: the boring middle stretch + keeping everyone talking (Papa included while he’s driving)
I’m adding a Would You Rather card game for this trip — a fun way to get everyone interacting during the longer stretches of the drive. Pull it out before the whining starts. 😄👉 https://amzn.to/4bEYZJi
Things We Leave at Home (Learned the Hard Way)
Some car trip ideas sound great in theory and immediately become a problem in real life.
Loud toys / anything with sound effects — If it makes noise, it’s probably not coming. (Fingers crossed on the Bop It.)
Instead: Would You Rather cards or quiet project toys.
Slime and Play-Doh — Absolutely not. It’s messy, it gets everywhere, and it’s never worth the cleanup.
Instead: sticker books or contained activity kits.
Tiny pieces — Anything with lots of small pieces ends up under the seats, in someone’s shoe, or “missing one piece” by the next day.
Instead: magnet tiles in a contained case.
Traditional coloring books + crayons — These need a hard surface, and with three kids we skip the lap desks. That’s why the whiteboard works so well for Sister — it has a built-in surface and she can draw forever.
Instead: whiteboards or activity books that don’t need a flat surface.
Final Tip: Pack Once, Use Twice
One reason I love these particular items is that they pull double duty. When we arrive, a lot of them move straight into our parent-held Restaurant Entertainment Bag — the grab-and-go things that keep kids busy while we wait for food at restaurants. It’s basically a swap from the car bags to the restaurant bag, so we’re not scrambling every night.
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