Just the thought of taking a road trip anywhere with a big family can be overwhelming. A roundtrip drive of several hours or more in the car each way is a big enough deal—add a carload of little ones to perhaps a full day of travel and you’ve got a “Serenity now!” moment!

Courtesy 123RF/Tatiana kostareva

Obviously these trips will require a lot of flexibility, planning, and sheer motivation. But once you get past the initial thought of all being locked in a moving vehicle with each other for an extended period of time, it can actually be a fun experience for the family.

We know. We’ve made many all-day road trips as a family of seven—sometimes twelve hours or more in a day. After some trial and error, we made such trips not only survivable but memorable in a good way.

Here are some hints that made our family road trips doable:

1. Don’t “conquer the road.” The idea of dead-heading to your destination is impractical if you are traveling with young children. Rather than get upset about bathroom stops every 2 or 3 hours, plan them into the trip. What city might be a fun place to make a stop? Are there any places you may want to stop and sightsee along the way? Remember, this is a family adventure and you want your children to see it as a good one.

2. Pack backpacks for each child.This may seem like a no-brainer, but allow each child to pack some of their special items to have or use on the trip. A favorite toy, game, book, or stuffed animal. If you have several children, it may make for a very crowded car; but the benefits of having each child feel they have their own items to make them comfortable and keep them occupied are well worth it.

3. Snacks and activities. Special drinks and snacks to be doled out during the travel time is a must for a road trip. Fruit or granola bars, trail mix, dried or fresh fruits, crackers—just make sure it’s not all candy or you will pay the price with kids hyped up on sugar. Don’t forget to purchase some new activities to do during the trip. Something exciting that the kids can do by themselves or with a sibling. Wrapping them up for each child to open adds to the excitement.

4. Keep the focus outside the car.There are many fun games to play while driving that you can’t do at another time. How about Bingo where the items on your board are things you see along the road? Or trying to see who can identify license plates from the most states? One of our family games was simply spotting a van with wood trim on the side!

   Keeping the focus outside helps to lessen the attention on siblings inside the car. My daughter-in-law prints maps for the children so that they can follow the progress of their trip as they go along—a great way to keep everyone on the same page with your driving goals for the day. And it should help to lessen the constant, “Are we there yet?” Drawing symbols for the places you will stop also keeps the motivation high. There are many other great car games available online.

5. Books and movies. Watching a DVD is probably a family standard for car travel today. But don’t forget about bringing books that can be read individually or read by Mom to all of the kids. One of the constants for Andersen car trips was to select some audiobooks from the library to listen to as a family. We have so many fond memories of Louis L’Amour westerns that kept us all entertained over our many vacations.

6. Make a plan. Car time tends be more peaceful if Mom does a little preemptive planning. Time should be included for individual activities as well as time when everyone will be playing, listening, or watching something together. Rest time or quiet time is a must as well. Keeping a schedule of sorts can help the kids to stay focused as they anticipate each time period with its new activity. It also helps pass the miles away for everyone.

The goal is that road trips can be a time to look forward to. A chance to spend time together. An opportunity to create memories for the family. With a little bit of forethought, you can create a trip that is not just doable, it’s actually fun for everyone!