August 6th, 2007 6 kid things to do at a hotel when on a road trip Posted by Melitsa in play activities

I’m sure you are sensing a theme with my posts…..yes we’ve been travelling and we’ve still not quite made it to home.

There are many posts about road trips right now. For some great ideas try GNMParents post here as well as the so called me here. Of course my previous post as well here.

Getting from one place to another is hard enough with kids although the above posts address that well.

What do you do when you arrive exhausted at destination 4 of 6 or your ultimate destination………….?

Here are some activities that have kept mine sane and not climbing the walls. Please add your ideas….always in need of new ideas.

1. Hand prints on the mirror. This is a cheeky one as I hate cleaning the mirrors after they’ve been fogged up and you see hand prints. But away from home we have a blast in the hotel making hand prints and feet. Ever made footprints? Make your hand into a fist. Place the flat part (little finger side) on the misty mirror. Use your thumb for the big toe and your index finger to add the four toes. Alternating hands give you the look that someone walked over the mirror.

( Acknowledgment: as taught to me on a school journey bus ride over 20 years ago by Miss Butcher)
2. Caves. We have 2 double beds so it makes a perfect area to join together with the blankets/sheets. We read in our cave and retell stories.
3. Balls. I always carry at least one. all different shapes and sizes. Mine love to bounce them and roll them off things.

4. Get out and walk in the neighborhood. We found some great playgrounds and parks.
5. Treasure hunt. Hide Pjs, socks, toys, balls, or familiar things in the draws, under the bed, in the shower. We played it like hide and seek for bedtime and they had to find toothbrush, paste,book, PJs etc. All the running around got them a little tired- and ready for bath then bed. It allowed them to explore the room………and they went to bed.
6. Collect together the freebie hotel stuff (soaps, shampoo etc) build a tower. Take them from hotel to hotel and you can get a really big tower.

*******Now it’s your turn- what kid things do you do in your hotel room on a road trip?*************

Melitsa Avila is a former teacher, mother of three boys and military wife who talks about living an intentional play lifestyle using practical and everyday play activities to do with the under 5s. She publishes related ebooks & newsletters. Melitsa is the host and producer of a weekly Early Childhood radio show: Raising Playful Tots bringing parents and carers together with Early childhood practitioners. Thanks for reading!

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