We recently moved, and it wasn’t a quick move from one house to another in the same town. It involved a 30 hr round trip to the location where my husband received training (hotel stay), followed by moving to a temporary apartment in a new city, to closing on our new house and moving into it. And our kids are still young. (Preschool and kindergarten.) Here are some ways we kept them happy and occupied during the move and while traveling.
(I am sharing in case another mother with little ones needs ideas. If you can help another mom with your own tips, please drop them in the comments!)
Activity Box
I packed a narrow cardboard box–that can fit between two carseats–full of activities for the car. This included a bag of crayons, a pad of paper, and sticker/coloring books. I also went to some discount stores and shopped on Amazon for inexpensive travel activities. Melissa and Doug has some great options. (Tuesday Morning and Burlington both carry M&D for half price sometimes.) Barnes and Noble has a clearance rack that sometimes sits at the front of the store, and you can often find kids’ activity books on the rack.
Some of the items in the activity box:
–wax sticks for shaping into whatever they could imagine (this worked way better for our oldest).
-a variety of Melissa and Doug On the Go activities (you can see many of them here). Our kids liked the Water Wow and Make a Face ones.
–Mess-Free Cat in the Hat books (matching so they wouldn’t fight over one)
-videos (during nap time for our youngest the oldest could watch videos on our portable DVD player. Our favorites for this age are the Theo movies, which teach concepts about God in a fun and engaging storyteller style. Our kids love the mice, which seem to be based on the funny mice from the old Cinderella movie. You can check for a sale from Christian Book Distributors.)
Box of Toys
When the toys were all packed, we kept out 1 box and 1 bag of toys to bring with us to the hotel(s) and apartment. Both contained open-ended building toys such as Duplo blocks that both kids could play with and wouldn’t get bored of too quickly. These were lifesavers. Especially during our youngest child’s nap time, when we couldn’t go to a park or pool and our oldest needed something to do in the hotel. Moving with kids is stressful enough for them without taking away everything they like to do in one fell blow! 🙂
This box was not accessible in the vehicle while we were traveling. It was just meant for stops.
Bag of Books
I chose mostly treasuries of stories to pack in the small book bag, so we got lots of reading time packed into each single book. Our favorite was the 20th Century Children’s Book Treasury. A Beatrix Potter Treasury also made the cut.
Backpacks
Before our travels started, we surprised each kid with a cute, durable backpack with a few activities inside, their own notepad and pencil, and an inexpensive new toy/doll. They were able to pack a few favorites inside as well. (Our son picked some small cars and trucks. Our daughter chose a doll and her special blanket.) The backpacks were easy for them to grab in the car and take with them on side expeditions. They also had a side pocket for water bottles.
Snacks
No way would we take a 30-hour-round-trip without snacks! I packed some trail mix, goldfish, fruit (dried and fresh), and cucumber slices. I also had a few of the squeezable snack bags of pureed fruits/vegetables. (You can buy these in bulk at Sam’s, Costco, or Amazon.)
Getting Outside While Moving with Kids
During all the in-between periods of waiting, such as when we lived in temporary housing, we also checked out nearby parks and free attractions. And if there was a zoo, we went to that as well. Our hotel/apartment pools helped burn off some steam. Little ones have so much energy!
Moving with kids is hard but can be fun. Watching them experience new things for the first time is a joy! I found that trying to have a little bit of a routine helped them with the stress. (Such as a consistent morning walk, some time set aside for a nap or quiet time, and read aloud time each afternoon.) I also took time to tell them about the fun things waiting for us in our new neighborhood. (We virtually explored the zoo and some parks in our new city.) While we still dealt with some fussiness and misbehavior due to stress, overall they were excited about the move.
If you have advice for other moms on moving with kids, please leave it in the comments. Let’s help each other out!
You may also enjoy these virtual field trips to take with kids.
