Frugal Road Trip with Kids Series: Frugal Road Trip with Kids – Be Positive – Plan Your Route – Safety First – What to Bring – Food and Snacks – Fun Stuff – Fun in the Dark – Fun in the Heat – Classic Games
You can get a sunburn in the car and proper steps should be taken. We put on sunscreen before we get in the car and at appropriate stops during the day.
Each person should have a pair of sunglasses. The dollar store does have toddler (and adult) sunglasses in the summer months. If you wear glasses you can get clip-on sunglasses for under $10 at WalMart, but most of these you have to try on your frames so it’s hard to buy them online. These go in the front pocket of our Fun Bags (or purse) for easy access.
Each person should have a hat. A floppy/beach hat is best since it shades your ears, but a baseball cap will do. This is for shade and at night can help with heat.
Pay attention to where the sun is falling inside the car. You may need to get a window tint. Every suction cup window shade I have tried has fallen off at some point, I prefer the cling kind. WalMart will have something in the baby section for about $10.
If you like to drive with the windows down, or don’t have ac, each person should have a bandana or headscarf. We put these in the front pocket of our Fun Bag. WalMart has bandanas for about $1, and then you can call the kid babushka. You can get some very pretty headscarves from thrift stores. My three year old hates getting her hair in her eyes and has fits, so I usually pack an extra for her in case she loses it.
You may want to get personal misting fans from WalMart. You put a little water (don’t forget batteries!) in it and it mists you, it’s very cooling. If you know you’re doing an activity that will be hot, like going to the zoo in Tucson in July, invest in these. The dollar store has little mini fans that are cute, but not as good, and sometimes they don’t work right out of the package.
Another thing you can get is a Cooling Bandana. I got ours off of eBay after finding one at WalMart and then not being able to find it again. You just get it wet and tie it around your neck. As the water evaporates it cools you, and you can rewet it at any fountain or sink. Once it dries back out you can bag it up for use at another time.
Those little folding paper fans are cute to bring and might make a good surprise, but they get beat up pretty quickly in the car. You can get them for 50 cents each on eBay or Amazon though.
For a craft your little one can decorate a piece of paper and then you can accordion fold it to make a fan
*Also check out our tips on ice cream in the Food and Snacks article
How do you cool off on the road?
We hope you enjoyed our Frugal Road Trip with Kids from a Mama Pro
Photo credits:
Desert road photo by Maggiejumps on Flikr
Splash pad photo by Baltimore RecNParks on Flikr
Frugal Road Trip with Kids Series: Frugal Road Trip with Kids – Be Positive – Plan Your Route – Safety First – What to Bring – Food and Snacks – Fun Stuff – Fun in the Dark – Fun in the Heat – Classic Games
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