Las Vegas Thanksgiving Travel Tips
"Over the river and through the woods, to Grandfather's house we go......" November, especially the days around Thanksgiving, is the most heavily traveled month of the year in the United States. The words "road trip" or "plane ride" can strike fear in the soul of even the most stout-hearted of parents. Does sweat start to bead on your forehead, and your knuckles turn white at the words "are we there yet?" and "how much longer?" Well, here are some quick tips and easy ideas to help ease those travel blues.
The thought of a trip, whether by plane, train or automobile, can cause blood pressure to rise in even the most organized and calm of parents. A trip equals hours of time spent in cramped and confined spaces with kids whose vocabulary somehow miraculously decreases to only 3 or 4 phrases. Among these gems are the two already mentioned, as well as "I'm bored," and "He/she is in my space," if you have more than one child. Ah, the joys of parenthood. So what's a parent to do? Keep your chin up, and pull a few tricks out of your sleeve. The kids will never know what hit them.
It's best to keep a bag or backpack designated for road trips, and have it packed and ready to go ahead of time. Keep it full of pads of blank paper and colored pencils. (I know it's easy to grab for the crayons, but in my experience, kids tend to lose things in the backseat, and a crayon left in a car in Las Vegas means melted wax all over the upholstery and in-between the seats.) My choice for this are colored pencils that twist to bring out more of the pencil, they are less messy and can usually be found at Target, Wal-Mart or Michaels. For the car, you may also want to invest in the lap desks so kids have a better surface to work on. Blank paper can be used to draw pictures, play hangman or tic-tac-toe, or to make a list of the different state license plates you come across on your road trip. I have to admit that I still enjoy doing this, and it's a great way for the kids to learn the names and slogans of all 50 states, as well as the different provinces in Canada. You can also give kids a list of things to look for during the trip that they mark off as they "find" them. Like between here and California, have the Zzyyxx Road exit on their "I spy" list, or a Joshua tree, or even a crow. As a reward at the end of the journey, see how many items they have marked off, and treat them with something fun like sugar free Gummy Bears. (You don't have to tell the kids they're sugar free - they pretty much taste the same!)
More useful items to keep in your handy travel bag of tricks are cards from favorite board games. I like to bring Trivial Pursuit cards from a couple different versions of the game. It's fun to ask the questions and to make up clues on harder questions. I also have brought along the cards from "Outburst" and read the category title while everyone has fun yelling out the answers. There is also the ever popular Mad Libs books you can pick up at most bookstores. It's a great way to learn about grammar - nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc - and the finished stories are always hilarious to read out loud. And while as parents we try to limit the amount of time our kids spend playing video games, a trip is not the best time to enforce that. I really suggest throwing in a couple hand-held games like video poker, Yahtzee, hangman, blackjack, even a Nintendo Game Boy. I can't tell you how much they will come in handy while you are standing in a two-hour line for the Thanksgiving buffet! My only real suggestion here - make sure the game comes with a mute button so you (and everyone standing around you) don't have to listen to the blips and bleeps. You can pick up several different types of the hand-held single games at places like Wal-Mart or Target for anywhere from $5 on up to around $20. Pack extra batteries too!
When it comes to music, most kids and parents just agree to disagree. Usually that isn't such a big deal until you're stuck in a car together for more than a couple of hours. I recall a summer road trip with a teenaged me, my younger sister and my dad. We drove up the entire west coast from southern California up into British Columbia, Canada. Oh boy. My dad's solution to 3 different tastes in music was easy. We took turns. First we'd listen to some songs from one of my tapes, then some from my sister's tapes, and then some of my dad's. All in all, it worked pretty well, and I think we all learned to appreciate each other's taste in music a little bit more. Of course, my dad kept changing the lyrics to our songs as he sang along, but we thought it was pretty funny. You might even see if everyone can agree on a book they'd like to hear and listen to a book on tape. There are all types of books on tape available to either check out from your local library or purchase. You can pick anything from a Harry Potter story to an Ann Rice thriller. Now, the other option here is to invest in some type of Walkman for each kid. (Needless to say, with headphones!) They can listen to their own music or their own book, and you never have to hear a note of it. Bear in mind, that with this option comes a few adverse side effects, like off-key singing along to the music, and not being able to get their attention just when you need to. Still, individual Walkmans do allow for some peace and quiet for you. Who knows, you might even be able to have a real conversation with your spouse!
All in all, as the heaviest traveled season approaches, it's best to be prepared (or even over-prepared!) for the inevitable waits - whether in traffic, at the airport or even in the buffet line at a casino. These tips should help ease some of the pain and suffering, keep your kids happy and entertained, and keep you more relaxed. Happy traveling!
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