Food

Musings: Road Trip Essentials

Last updated on December 7, 2016 by Liza Hawkins

We leave to go home from vacation this morning, and as I’m getting the kids’ things together the one thing that keeps running through my mind is, “Do I have enough snacks…the right kinds of snacks?” We have a five year old and a one (almost two) year old, so this year I’m finally able to simplify the assortment of snacks since they can pretty much eat the same stuff. Here are my must-have road trip kid-friendly snacks:

Sippy Cups: Juice boxes seem easier, but even with those plastic holders they are MESSY in the car. Specifically, we use the Playtex Sipster cups because I think they do the best job at not leaking.

Apple Juice:
I think watery apple juice runs in the veins of our kids instead of blood, they drink so much. For road trips, I premix a 50/50 split of apple juice and water in a plastic jug and just refill the sippies as needed.
Pretzel Packs: Whether we fill our own zip top bags, or buy the little 100 Calorie Pretzel Packs, our kids LOVE to eat pretzels. And, as far as cracker/chip type foods go, these aren’t that messy in the car.
Flat Lollipops: Don’t laugh. I actually bought an entire bag of assorted hard candy so that I could pull 10 flat lollipops from it. I searched three stores, and none of them had flat lollipops! Anyway, if you don’t mind sticky kids, lollipops are a great way for them to pass time in the car.


Fruit Snacks:
Sometimes we buy the regular cheap fruit snacks, but if these are on sale or if I have a coupon, I’ll buy the Gerber Juice Treats since they’re made of juice, with no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. Bonus: they taste pretty good too!
Apples: Easy, healthy, simple.


And that about does it for us! What sorts of treats and snacks do you bring on road trips with your kids?

Hi, I'm Liza — a self-proclaimed word-nerd who loves getting lost in whimsical stories and epic movies. I have laid-back, practical attitude towards life and am always on the hunt for good eats, easy recipes, binge-worthy shows, relaxing road trip destinations, the perfect fizzy gin cocktail, and time to finish my novel!

4 Comments on “Musings: Road Trip Essentials

  1. Absolutely! It’s a treat when one of my kids doesn’t finish a packet of those fruit snacks…or any really. 🙂 Thanks for visiting!

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