When it comes to long car rides, getting there is half the fun only if the kids have enough activities to keep them busy. Minimize the cries of “how much longer?” and “are we there yet?” with a customized DIY Travel Activity Tray.
Each board takes less than 30 minutes to create, but will (hopefully!) keep little hands and minds occupied for much longer than that!
Here's what you’ll need:
- A metal cookie sheet
- White contact paper
- Zipper pouch
- Double-stick tape
- Large buttons and adhesive magnetic dots
- Dry erase markers
- Coloring sheets, word searches, etc.
Here’s what you’ll do:
- Start with a cookie sheet and white contact paper.
- Measure, cut and adhere the contact paper to the cookie sheet. Now your surface is ready for both magnets and dry erase markers. I bought a set of dry erase markers that were already magnetic, but it would be easy to add a magnet strip to the back of one or two.
- Next, add magnet strips to the back of some large buttons. These can either be used to hold coloring or puzzle sheets (as seen in the picture) or as markers for tic-tac-toe or Bingo.
- Finally, adhere a plastic zipper pouch to the back of the cookie sheet with double stick tape. Before you leave on a trip, fill the pouch with coloring sheets, puzzles and games (easily found with a quick internet search) as well as a few crayons and a small cloth to erase the dry erase board.
Encourage your kids to find creative uses for the activity board during your next road trip/vacation!
