Our Family Road Trip Essentials

Our Family Road Trip Essentials

We love taking road trips as a family.  With four kids ranging in age from 8 to 19 months we need to make sure we have the essentials to keep everyone happy, including mammy and daddy.  When we head out on the road there are some things we need in order to enjoy our trip.  I’d like to share with you our family road trip essentials with you, some of these items we received for review purposes.  Any opinions expressed are our own.

Diono Booster Seat

We have two children that still need a car seat and booster seat to ride in the car.  Any road trip planning includes a car that accommodate our entire family with two car seats and decent trunk space for luggage for six people.  There was a time I thought all booster seats were the same but when we received the Diono’s Monterey® Booster I realized that our budget friendly seat was lacking in quite a few ways.

The Diono Monterey Booster is overprotective in all the right ways, it has a full-featured, expandable high-back designed to fit growing children 40 lb to 120 lb.  The adjustable head rest and deep, aluminum reinforced sides are lined with energy absorbing EPS foam for side impact protection and the reinforced seat bottom provides extra lap belt safety.   You can adjust the width of the seat by using the dial on the back to change the fit of a child’s shoulders up to 20″ wide.

The Monterey is one of the best booster seats we’ve ever used with our kids.  The seat bottom has extra length for additional leg support and has retractable dual cup holders.  The holders are deep so cups stay in place while traveling.  Installing it was such a breeze in the car and I used the integrated LATCH connectors to safely secure the booster on the back seat in the car.  Now I don’t have to worry about the booster moving around while traveling or when it’s not in use.  My son loves his new seat because it provides a snug fit for him and as he grows we can remove the back so it becomes a backless booster.  The Monterey packs flat for travel and storing.

We give the Diono Monterey Booster five stars, if you’re in the market for a new booster be sure to check out the Diono website to learn more about this seat and their other products.

Kissu Tubes

If you have ever traveled with children you know that sometimes the car can get messy and it seems like whenever you need a tissue or napkin there is never one in the car.  Kiss-u products are the perfect solution for the car.  They offer tissues and wet wipes that comes in artistically designed tube dispensers.  The tubes are made of  recycled cardboard and have a recyclable, resealable plastic cap that keeps the tissues clean and dry.

Each Tube and Refill Packet contains seventy elemental chlorine-free tissues.  You simply pop them in the cup holders so when you’re ready you can grab a tissue or wipe at any time.  Kiss-u refill packet can be stored in the door handles or other storage pockets in the car.

We have loved using out Kiss-u tubes in the car, they are ultra convient and super stylish.  You can purchase Kiss-u tubes from Amazon.  The starter pack includes three tubes and one refill pack for $13.96.  They also have different sets so you can purchase in bulk for multiple cars, or even share with family or friends.  Having our Kiss-u tubes handy has been a life saver especially when we’re on a road trip.

Movies, Books and Activities

Taking a road trip is lots of fun but the kids always require something to keep them occupied when traveling.  We like to give the kids as many options as possible.  That includes movies, books and activities to keep them busy.  My daughter is a huge fan of My Little Pony so we always have a copy of their latest DVD in the car.  Right now she’s watching My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Cutie Mark Quests.

Cutie Mark Quests is available for purchase from Shout Factory Kids and it’s in stores now.  If your child is a fan of the show they will love this adventure with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  My son is a fan of action and adventure.  He’s not that picky about shows but right now he has Transformers Prime: Ultimate Decepticons.  He just became a fan of Transformers so he’s been watching everything he can find on DVD.

In Ultimate Decepticons the Autobots have vowed to protect Earth, while Megatron and his treacherous Decepticons have vowed to strip it of its valuable Energon, no matter the cost. Somehow, Optimus Prime and his Autobots always seem to get in the way. With Ultimate Decepticons, you can now see five of the greatest Decepticon stories, featuring Starscream, Skyquake, Makeshift, Airachnid, Dreadwing, Predaking, Knock Out and more of your all-time favorite transforming villains!

These are just a few of the items we have when taking a road trip.  I’ll be sharing more over the next few months as we continue to head out of all kinds of adventures as a family.  Be sure to check back for more of our family road trip essentials.