Summer is the perfect time for these grumble-crushing travel bags!

You remember family vacations with your little ones, right? Everyone’s excited to go, but 30 minutes into the trip all you hear from the backseat is, “How much longer?” “He’s touching me!” “I’m bored!” This summer, send grandma to the rescue! Whip up a few of these Grumble-Crushing Travel Bags to provide your adult kids with a few extra moments of sanity on their next family road trip, and give your grandkids some fun activities that will make them totally forget that they’re trapped in the car!

1995: The Birth of Grumble-Crushing Travel Bags

When our boys were growing up, we vacationed at Eagle Beach Resort in Park Rapids, Minnesota and we created some awesome memories! The catch? Traveling there required eight hours in the car each way and our first trip was when the kids were ages 1, 4, and 5. Needless to say, creativity was a must if we were to preserve our sanity, so in 1995 the Grumble-Crushing Travel Bags were born!

A few days before the trip, the boys painted paper bags that would be used to hold small surprises for the car ride: toys, activities to do in the car, snacks to eat, and/or wiggle-busting things to do at rest stops. Before leaving the driveway, we explained that every 90 minutes they would open one of their bags to get a surprise. We also explained that any grumbling would result in the timer starting over! Crazy enough, we never had to reset the timer because the boys were so excited to see what was in their bags. Pure magic!

How to Make Travel Bags for Your Grandkids

Step One: Make a Plan

Do some investigating. How long will it take your kids to drive to their destination? A full day? More than a day? How often will they stop along the way? Based on the answers, determine how many bags you will make and if each grandchild will open bags of their own or if they will share bags as a family – either is great!

Now it’s time to choose what you’ll put in each bag by browsing through the ideas provided in the free printable below. Keep in mind that GRANDMA gets to choose what goes in each bag and MOM & DAD get to decide when the bags get opened. Trying to micromanage this part of the fun will only cause stress for your kids, which defeats the purpose entirely. As you browse through the ideas, it’s a good idea to choose a variety of surprises (large motor activities for rest stops, conversation starters, snacks, and seat activities). Since your adult kids will know what’s in each bag, they won’t be taken by surprise and they will be able to choose the perfect bag at the perfect time.

Step Two: Print & Shop

Once you’ve decided which activities to include, print the corresponding worksheets and Bag Tags, and make a shopping list. The free Grumble-Crushing Travel Bag printable has everything you need to get started:

SHOPPING TIP: If you have a Dollar Tree in your town, it is an excellent place to start!

Step Three: Decorate (Totally optional! Plain bags work!)

Spice up the outside of each bag with some decorations and then add each child’s name (if applicable). If you live nearby and have the time, let your grandkids decorate their own bags ahead of time with crayons, paint, stickers, or anything else you have around the house. TIP: Have mercy on your adult kids by avoiding glitter!

A few weeks before Bella and Sutton were headed to Georgia to visit their Nanny and Papa, I invited them over for a sleepover and some bag-painting. As they painted, I drew simple pictures on their bags with a black sharpie. This step isn’t necessary but they sure enjoyed coming up with ideas for me to draw! One thing they loved most was mixing new colors with the paint. Here are the results:

Step Four: Stuff the Bags & Add the Tags

Now for the fun part: THE SURPRISES! stuff the bags with snacks and activities, close the tops to prevent peeking, and then attach the corresponding Bag Tag to the outside. For Bella and Sutton’s bags, used punched a hole through the bag and attached the tags with ribbon. TIP: It’s important to have the tags visible to parents so they can choose accordingly.

Step Five: Deliver

Put all of your Grumble-Crushing Travel Bags in a large gift bag or box – something that won’t take up too much space in the car and can be easily thrown away or used to store bag contents after opening. Having them contained serves two purposes: (1) No bags sliding around the car and (2) Tags are tucked away from the little eyes that can already read! When you drop the bags off (or put them in the mail) tell your grandkids that you are giving them some surprises for their road trip and that Mom and Dad are in charge of when they get to open each one.

Success!

Bella and Sutton’s bags were a huge success! Mom & Dad enjoyed having a few diversions along the way and the kids had a lot of fun with each new surprise. One of my favorite stories is that Bella saved the quarters she earned on the trip to buy a new plastic pool for her backyard! She even paid for the pool herself by plugging LOTS of coins into the Walmart’s self-checkout machine. I love that! Here are a few photos of their fun:

Lessons in Hindsight

First, less may be more. Because Mom & Dad surprised Bella and Sutton with a couple movies for the DVD player in the car, there was less downtime to open bags. Hindsight says that sending 3-4 bags each would have been sufficient for their 16-hour drive. That said, the unopened bags weren’t wasted because they were used a few weeks later on a shorter trip.

Second, 10 bendy sticks (pipe cleaners) are enough. Bella loved the bendy straws more than any other surprise, but including a whole package made them difficult for her to manage in her car seat.

Third, 3-year-olds don’t need quarters. When Sutton opened his roll of quarters (explained in the download), he immediately dumped them all over his car seat. Whoops! A better and safer option for little ones is to put dollar bills in their tubes, instead of quarters.

This summer it’s Grandma to the rescue!

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