Great 'Free Car Journey Games' Hunt

jlc57 · 25 June 2014 at 9:06PM

Go through the alphabet in order using the first letter in the cars registration (1 for I, 4 or 9 for q, 2 for z, there are Us but they are really hard - so these can be nabbed when seen rather than in order)

MerlinMags · 25 June 2014 at 10:19PM

When I was a kid it was always the 'alphabet game': trying to name a car brand for every letter. Audi, BMW, Citroen....

These days I have gone for the in-car DVD player. Bought the cheapest there was with 2 screens and never regretted it for a moment. 3 hour journeys are a doddle. Only issue is each child wanting to have their choice of film first. Even the daughter who gets sick when reading can watch a DVD without problems.

It may not sound like money saving, but we chose what to spend that £80 on, and went without other things to have it. It's given me bliss for more than 40 hours, so £2 a pop isn't a bad rate. They are probably cheaper now.

I wonder if anyone has tried the laptop option? You can power it with a £5 DC adapter from ebay (not an inverter), and get the free software to play DVDs. The only issue might be finding somewhere to hold it up in the right place.

Janopac · 25 June 2014 at 10:48PM

My family live a min three and half hour journey from me and we have always passed our time by singing along to a few cds, then to the hideous French songs the children are taught in primary school. However we do jazz these up a bit with a eurovision twist! A portable dvd player came to our rescue when we drove to Spain- three days driving in total- and even though it felt like hell at times, our children said they would still like to do it again.

So talk to each other, sing a bit and if all else fails put on the dvd.

Hippipal · 26 June 2014 at 11:38AM

gloriouslyhappy wrote: »

We still play my mother-in-law's Minister's Cat game!! Never heard of this game anywhere else so it was a lovely surprise to see mandlou's post, she mentions Scotland and MiL is from Aberdeen, so must be a Scottish thing.

We used to play this too and are from Glasgow!
When my youngest was about 6 (the others were 11 & 14) we played a tape (would be an MP3 now) of The Hobbit which lasted the whole journey. As a result of this she became a Tolkein fan and had read The Lord of the Rings by the time she was 12 and now is studying English at Uni.

hunnybun_2 · 26 June 2014 at 5:17PM

For the past 4-5 years we've driven across NI and then Stranraer to North of England or London. Our 4 kids now 9-11-13 & 15 just love audio books. Good range free on loan from the local library or freebies can be downloaded onto audio CDs. Also buy box sets for Christmas and birthday gifts. Absolutely great! Different authors available for all age ranges, some even with sing-a-longs.... :0)

hunnybun_2 · 26 June 2014 at 5:24PM

For slightly older kids - give them the atlas / road map and stick a dot on the beginning and end point of your journey. See if they can navigate for you from the back seat. Extra fun if you've any detours to make. If you've a sat nav it's 'interesting' if you haven't added any 'way' points and the kids have to disagree with Mrs Sat Nav and guide you the most direct route.
PS. It's helpful to have a fair idea of your directions, main towns and roads before you leave!!

originalkat · 26 June 2014 at 5:26PM

When I take my grandchildren out, by car or train, they earn spending money on the way by being the first to spot animals and birds, even the youngest can join in. For example 5p for a horse, 20p for a pheasant or rabbit, 1p for a cow or sheep, 50p for a deer. Of course it depends what you have in your area and the prospect of £5 for a unicorn keeps all eyes peeled

It is money I would be spending on them anyway but they get far more pleasure this way. I help out the little ones and cheat a bit to make sure they end up with roughly the same.

They don't tend to ask for things either while we are out as they have their own money so it usually works out cheaper.

This also works with buildings eg 20p for a church and can be adapted for almost anything.

We also use quite a lot of those already mentioned but thanks everyone for lots of new ideas we can use and I can see "NOSEPICKER" being a firm favourite for years to come :rotfl:

originalkat · 26 June 2014 at 5:31PM

Yes I know this is not strictly speaking "free" but it is money I would be spending anyway, not extra. Enjoy your holidays everyone

Physicsfiend · 27 June 2014 at 8:32AM

This will probably make lots of people throw their hands up in horror, but....
I've found that the very best thing is my in-car DVD player - two children, two screens - or more recently dual player so that they can watch different DVDs. Headphones - so I don't get driven mad!
AND any electronic device that is the current favorite.
You can't beat it - when they get fed up (hardly ever) they just go to sleep.
May not be very educational (although it can be) but it sure makes journeys stressfree! We live in this electronic age - why not just go with it!

Choupy · 27 June 2014 at 4:08PM

Before the start of a holiday that involves a long car journey, we go to the library and borrow a couple of story CDs. At our library they are free to borrow. Then we all listen to the same story as we whizz up the A1. We've listened to various Terry Pratchett novels, and last summer we loved the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It's one of our best traditions.

Great 'Free Car Journey Games' Hunt

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