Kids Games for Travel Entertainment

With Christmas just around the corner and so many families planning a getaway to Brian Head, one of the first items that a family will focus on is how to keep the kids entertained and engaged during a long drive. Good news, we have already done the work for you. Below are the top 10 suggestions that our viewers recommended during the TechTalk segment last week.

Your Channel 3 crew will take this a step further by attending the annual ABC Kids Expo in May 2024 where our focus will be on games that are used not during travel, but at your destination accommodations. With over 500 short term rentals in Brian Head, we hope to use our research to influence your hosts to provide kid centric games at their properties to increase guest satisfaction and help entertain the kids on a stormy day or just a family night around the fire.

Watch for our coverage and reviews of what we find at the ABC Kids Expo in May during our June “Getting Ready for Summer” segments. These segments will also focus on kids mountain biking with April Fischer hosting the “Bring or Rent” gear series starting in July.

1. I Spy: One person selects an object within sight and says, “I spy with my little eye, something that is [color/shape/description].” Others take turns guessing what the object is until someone gets it right.
2. 20 Questions: One person thinks of an object, and the others have up to 20 questions to guess what it is. Questions must be answerable with “yes” or “no”.
3. License Plate Game: Kids can keep track of license plates from different states or countries that they see during the journey. The goal can be to spot as many unique plates as possible.
4. Travel Bingo: Create bingo cards with common items or landmarks that can be spotted during travel. Kids mark off items as they see them, and the first to get a full row or column wins.
5. Storytelling: Each person takes turns adding a sentence to a collaborative story. The story can become as imaginative or silly as the participants want.
6. Alphabet Game: Starting with the letter “A”, participants find words on signs, license plates, or objects outside the vehicle that begin with each letter of the alphabet in order.
7. Color Scavenger Hunt: Choose a specific color, and kids try to spot objects of that color during the journey. For example, “Find something blue” or “Spot something red.”
8. Memory Game: Someone starts by saying, “I’m going on a trip and I’m bringing…” and mentions an item that starts with the letter “A”. The next person repeats the sentence, mentioning the first item and adding another item that starts with the letter “B”. Players continue through the alphabet, each time adding an item and remembering the previous ones.
9. Guess the Song: Play a few seconds of a song from a playlist, and kids try to guess the song title and artist. This can be a fun way to introduce them to different genres of music.
10. Drawing Challenge: Bring along some paper and pencils, and have kids take turns drawing objects, landmarks, or scenes they see during the journey. Others can try to guess what they’re drawing.

These games are not only entertaining but can also help pass the time and encourage interaction among passengers during travel. Parents can do a little planning and make these games educational.

By, Scott Kraft, Technology Producer – TechTalk & April Fischer, Technology Specialist.

April Fisher is a field reporter with expertise in the automotive industry. April also coverers technology used in construction when she is not out and about racing her 1997 RED Corvette and covering the automotive industry.

Scott Kraft is the Technology Producer for Utah Channel 3. He is a degreed Electrical Engineer that applies engineering testing/procedures to products that are of technical interest to those participating in sporting activities in Southern Utah.