1. 20 Questions:

Everyone writes down a secret word which must be a noun (the name of an object). The others try to guess your word by asking questions about it.

Take turns until everyone has tried their word. You could have playoffs between the ones that stumped the lot, until only one was left.

2. Word Play:

This one is really good for older kids who are learning to read, write and spell.

Take it in turns to say a word. Any old word will do, the next person then has to take the last letter of the first word and think up another word and so on.

So say person one said “engine” person 2 would need to find a word beginning with the letter “e”, let’s say “elephant” next person in line would then have to find a word beginning with the letter “t”, such as “toys”. The winner is the last person to be able to think up a word.

3. I Went To Market:

This is another memory game which is really popular with my kids. Everybody takes it in turn to say “I went to market and I bought….” and add what they bought. Next person has to say “I went to market and I bought…. And…”

This carries on until nobody can remember the list of things that got bought at market. Again, the last person to remember the whole list is the winner.

4. Find the Place:

Make a map of where you are going, but make it simple for the kids to understand. Write down names of cities, towns and villages that you will pass through on the way to your destination. Give the kids a pen/marker so that they can check off each place as you reach it. It’ll make the journey seem a lot shorter for them.

5. Car Colors:

Give each child a pen and piece of paper and tell them to choose a colour. From then on they have to mark down every time they see a car of the colour they have chosen. The first person to spot say 15, or 30 cars of their chosen colour is the winner.

6. Alphabet Soup:

This is a game where everybody takes it in turns to come up with words beginning with the various letters of the alphabet. First person comes up with something for the letter “A” (apples), next person finds something with the letter “B” (boat) and so on.

X, U and Z are the most difficult, so it might be an idea to drop those letters. You can make the game harder by choosing categories such as famous people, or places or even animals and fruit.

7. Personal Bags:

Let each child pack a small bag of their favourite toys and games to take with them. Make a rule that they are only allowed to take out one thing at a time, and they can only play with it for a certain amount of time, depending on the length of your journey.

Also encourage the kids to swap their toys/games if the journey is a long one so that they get a bit of variation in what they’re doing.

8. Travel Diary:

This one is extremely good for longer journeys, especially when you stop off at various places on the way. Each child will need a notepad and pen. The older ones can have disposable cameras and the younger ones can have art books and crayons.

Let them document the trip by taking pictures (or drawing) and writing notes about where they are, what they’ve seen and what they have done on the journey.

Not only will this keep them occupied, but it will also give YOU something to read on reflect on in time for the next journey.