Six Travel Hacks for Festive Family Road Trips

12th December 2024

Parenting expert, Sophie Pickles, has teamed up with baby brand Munchkin, to share top tips for baby and toddler travel this Christmas.

The festive season is all about family, but when parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles live hours away, travelling with small children can be stressful.

Sophie Pickles (Parent Coach and Early Years Expert), in partnership with global baby brand Munchkin, reveals her top tricks for parents travelling with babies and toddlers.

Sophie explains: “Babies require routine, and car journeys, even for a couple of hours, can be quite disruptive for both baby and parents. Little ones are much more prone to fits of crying and meltdowns in an unfamiliar environment. New places, new settings and new people can even affect even tiny little babies. There is a lot of sensory stimulation, which can be incredibly over-whelming and parents can end up with babies and toddlers they cannot calm down.”

Whether seasoned passengers or first-time travellers, children and babies require time and attention to be kept occupied during longer trips. Sophie has devised six top tips to help with stress-free travel.

Time your travel

It sounds obvious, but time your journey so it coincides with nap time. Babies are out of their normal routine when travelling and this can be very disruptive. Therefore, venturing out in line with the usual napping routine can make things easier. For long journeys and for little ones over one year old, it can be helpful to travel overnight, hoping they sleep for most of the trip.

Blowing bubbles

To occupy little ones, holding a bubble wand to the central air vent in the car to create bubbles can be a great way of passing some time. Make sure this is done through the vent in the car that blows directly into the passengers in the back, not towards the driver.

Create a treasure bag

This is great for babies six months+ and toddlers and young children too. Create a bag full of new toys or safe objects that the children have never seen before to create interest and intrigue. Pull a new toy out of the bag every half hour so they can explore the textures, feels and smells – a great distraction. Perfect for plane travel too.

Some good ideas are spoons, such as Munchkin’s soft tip infant spoon, a soft hair brush, or even a spice jar filled with rice – the more obscure and colourful the better!

Mirror their sleep environment

Whilst travelling and on holiday it’s important to replicate what you do at home as much as possible. Babies might sleep for two hours at home in the cot, but this might change to only 40 minutes in the car.

Less-mess snacking and drinking

For babies over six months, feed them foods which won’t create too much mess such as dried cheerios, raisins or bananas. Munchkin Snack Catcher is the perfect snack container with a twist-on and stay-put snack top for easy, mess-free munching. It’s also worth investing in a spill proof cup, such as the Munchkin Miracle 360 cup, which automatically seals when a child stops drinking – perfect for bumpy roads and twisty lanes.

Safety first

Before setting off on your journey, be aware of car seat restrictions. Babies should not be in a car seat for more than two hours at a time, so it’s important to plan your journey taking this into consideration. If travelling alone, it’s always a good idea to use a car mirror so you can keep checking in.

Take regular breaks and remember to remove your baby out of the car seat and lie them flat, so they can stretch their legs and have a play.

As Sophie says, ‘Travelling with children can be tiring, so it’s really important to consider all aspects of the trip before you set off. Embarking on journeys with young babies may be a brand new and daunting experience and there can also be pressure from toddlers who need a routine. Hopefully my guidance and tips will help make travelling this festive period just a little less stressful.”

To view the full selection of Munchkin products, please visit: https://www.munchkin.co.uk/