People often ask how we travel as a big family so I’ll share our favorite tips with you. In our earlier parenting days, we dreaded traveling. Our kids were those traveling children of nightmares. Nonstop screaming. Restless. Absolutely hated it.

Six kids later, we love traveling and learned the best ways to make it an enjoyable experience for all of us.

Here are our top 10 tips–

Pack travel food kits.

What’s a road trip without food? Pack a travel food kit to slide under each seat. These plastic pencil boxes are less than $1 and easily hold a Capri sun, several snacks, and a slim book to read. My kids LOVE traveling with their own snack shack and entertainment center. And I love the freedom from being the snack distributor.

Pack crumb-free snacks.

Crumby snacks make crummy snacks. No one wants to dig their child out through the crumbs at every pit stop. Skip the crumbs and pack your traveling kits with healthy, crumb-free options like grapes, carrots, or string-cheese. Choose age appropriate snacks to avoid choking hazards.

Listen to stories on CD.

We love Audio Adventures and they’re the perfect traveling trick for a quiet ride. Slip in an Adventures in Odyssey or a Jonathan Park audio adventure and you’re set for the next hour at least! Our last few trips, we even found some awesome podcasts we all enjoyed listening to.

Play Classic Road Games.

I’m not gonna lie. This isn’t my favorite but the kids love it so we do it. Pass the time by searching for the alphabet on road signs and billboards. List the states from every license plate you pass. We love trying to capture most of the 50 plates on paper.

Make the most of your stops.

Stop every 3 hours to fill up on fuel, relieve your bladder, and eat your next meal. Neither my husband nor I like to stop continuously for different needs. We’re both “one-and-done” for stopping once and taking care of all your food and fuel needs.

Assign a big kid to a little kid.

Not only are you practicing the buddy system, but your trip will be loads easier if you have a bigger kid tending to the younger kids’ needs.

Diffuse essential oils.

Lavender is known for its relaxing qualities and makes for a calmer ride. I also love other blends like Peace & Calming, Joy, and Stress relief. My husband isn’t crazy about the smell but he can’t deny it makes for a calmer ride!

Pack an easily accessible first aid kit.

I like to keep a first aid kit under the nifty little drawer under the driver’s seat along with a roll of toilet paper and baby wipes. You never know when they’ll come in handy!

Emergency potty breaks.

Gross, but sometimes necessary. Emergency bathroom needs are solved with empty Gatorade bottles for boys and wide-mouth Mason jars for girls. It never fails. Any time we travel, someone needs to potty and there’s nowhere to stop, drop, and squat in the woods. Now we travel with these empty bottles for quick and simple relief. Don’t forget to toss them when you do stop!

Leave the electronics at home.

I know it’s popular to turn on the DVD player while traveling but try riding without it. It’s important to teach your children to pay attention to their surroundings. Plus, it’s beautiful outside so enjoy the passing scenery!

So that’s how we roll. Honestly, I don’t mind traveling with my kids at all now that we’ve found ways that work for us. Our kids (and myself!) are bookworms so that’s another thing we pack. Under each kid’s seat, along with their snack kit, they have a small rolled up blanket, and a bag of books or small (noiseless) toys to occupy their time.

I also keep a paper grocery bag in the step of the sliding van door for trash which we empty at every stop. And more than once, someone’s soaked their clothes spilling a drink on themselves so I keep an empty plastic trash bag under the seat for wet clothes.

But enough of me. I want to hear what awesome traveling tips you have! Share in the comment section below or on the Facebook thread!

Traveling with all 12 seats in the van requires careful packing so we like to use soft, flexible duffel bags.

Not much room behind those last seats but we made it work! With a washing machine at our destination, we require fewer clothes to pack. With eight soft duffel bags, they easily fit behind the left back door.

A close-up of our snack travel kits. We just use a plastic pencil box and fill it with snacks. Note: Whole grapes are not recommended for children under 4 as it is a choking hazard.

Snack packs. Great to pack in pencil boxes or small plastic tubs to slip under each person’s seat. This is perfect for traveling with a group or family!

This is right under the passenger seat. I love that there’s enough space to slip a box of tissues, wet wipes, our extra trash bag, and an Ikea broom to sweep the crumbs from the floor.

P.S.

For more photos of our 12-passenger van, check them out here!