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    Home ยป Travel

    5 Ways to Make Holiday Road Trips Less Stressful #KiaHoliday

    Published: Nov 14, 2012 ยท Modified: Dec 9, 2012 by Jennifer ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท 14 Comments

    I don't know about you, but I am in utter shock that Thanksgiving is next week! How did that happen?

    Wasn't Halloween just yesterday?

    Along with the fun of the holiday season comes the hectic holiday travel...we normally don't travel for the holidays because the immediately family is all quite close together here in Miami. However, I know that most of you aren't that lucky, and I can relate to cross-country holiday road trips, thanks to that year that my grandparents lived in Obrien, which was an 8 hour drive from us in Miami!

    My grandmother and grandfather were helping my great-aunt that year, and they couldn't travel down to Miami for Thanksgiving, so we all traveled up to see them.

    Talk about a road trip...

    If you are taking a holiday road trip this year, I have a few pointers that might help you arrive with your sanity intact, thanks to #KiaHoliday! The good people at Kia have asked me to share some of my best road trip tips and tricks!

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    Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Kia Motors

    5 Ways to Make Holiday Road Trips Less Stressful

    1. Don't plan on bringing prepared dishes. Skip the coolers, skip the pre-made side dishes, and just pick up a ready-made dish at the neighborhood grocery store. Not arriving until Thanksgiving Day, when everything is closed? Call your local Boston Market or another restaurant that caters for the holidays and arrange to pick up a hot dish upon your arrival.
    2. Plan ahead for bathroom breaks and other pit stops. You should budget in at least an hour of rest stop breaks in order to avoid arriving late. Believe me, when you are in a hurry? The kids will need to "go" more than usual!
    3. If possible, drive at night so that the kids can sleep through most of the trip, and have the adults take turns driving and sleeping. My husband and I did this for years when we traveled to North Carolina!
    4. Bring snacks and favorite toys along for the ride to keep the kids entertained!
    5. Make holiday-themed playlist of songs to get the family excited on the drive!

    And here's a bonus tip: if you own a compact car, I highly recommend considering renting a full sized sedan or an SUV for the road trip. A comfortable ride can make or break a road trip!

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    Do you have any tips for families about to take a holiday road trip? I'd love to hear them!

     

    This post was inspired by my involvement in the Kia Social Club, but all opinions are my own.ย 

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    About Jennifer

    Jennifer, AKA "The Rebel Chick," is a 40-something Gen Xer who strives to help her readers live their best lives possible with easy recipes, travel inspiration and lifestyle tips!

    Comments

    1. Maryann says

      November 14, 2012 at 8:25 am

      That Kia is nice looking! But my kids never slept over night in the car. I think it is in their genes or something.

    2. HilLesha says

      November 14, 2012 at 8:35 am

      Great tips!

    3. Mumseword says

      November 14, 2012 at 10:29 am

      Even with my eldest at 5yo a few years ago, we kept at least a packet of large size pull up diapers for emergencies. =)

    4. Sheri says

      November 14, 2012 at 11:38 am

      Great tips! Our last road trip should have been 21 hours without stops, and ended up being 31 hours with stops and traffic. You just never know!

    5. Donna says

      November 14, 2012 at 12:08 pm

      Great tips! My son always takes at least 1 book and his DS. This usually keeps him fairly occupied. Although, he has always been great to travel with. Thank goodness! ๐Ÿ™‚

    6. Robin says

      November 14, 2012 at 1:29 pm

      Great tips. I am just glad I am not driving anywhere this year.

    7. tamie says

      November 14, 2012 at 7:56 pm

      What a great idea about calling to order from a local food spot!

    8. Penelope (NYC Blogger) says

      November 14, 2012 at 8:39 pm

      The travel at night idea is a good one!

    9. Nichol says

      November 15, 2012 at 5:05 pm

      Great tips! I agree, a large SUV is so comfy when traveling especially with squirmy children:)

    10. Ty says

      November 16, 2012 at 2:27 am

      Great tips! Thanks for sharing!

    11. Amanda says

      December 09, 2012 at 9:41 am

      My tip would be to put kids who wear pullups at night in pullups during your trip in case they fall asleep during the trip.

      I love my Kia Soul! ๐Ÿ™‚

    12. Jennifer says

      December 09, 2012 at 10:23 am

      Great tips!! I love that Kia!! A bigger SUV like that is golden with lots of little passengers. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    13. Kecia says

      December 09, 2012 at 10:23 am

      Thanks for sharing these great tips! I like the idea of getting a pre-made dish so you can forego coolers and cooking.

    14. Mariah says

      December 09, 2012 at 11:10 am

      I adore holiday playlists! I actually got Spotify Premium so I would have the ability to make some holiday playlists with any music I could think of!

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    Hi, I'm Jennifer! I'm a Miami native and I love sharing easy dinner recipes, baking recipes, travel ideas and general Miami Lifestyle fun! Follow along for inspiration on how to make the most of your life!

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