Car Games
Treasure Hunt
Cut out pictures from old magazines or catalogues of outdoor equipment such as sheds, lawnmowers, slides, gates etc. Give your child a handful of pictures and see who can find all the items on their list first. For younger children, use pictures of different coloured cars or trucks which are easier to identify.
Alphabet Hunt
You could also go through the alphabet and try to spot things you pass beginning with each letter - in the correct order.
Radio Stations
Before a long journey record yourself telling children's stories, songs and rhymes onto blank cassettes, so when you need to concentrate on the road, the children can listen to them on personal stereos. You can make this even more fun by substituting character names for your children's names - such as 'Lucy Locks & the 3 Bears'.
The Neighbours dog
Choosing a letter from the alphabet each child has to describe the dog (or cat, sheep or any other animal) using that letter. So - the neighbours dog is a Barking dog. the neighbours dog is a Big dog and so on. You may need to help younger children, and give them all points for imaginative words or attempting difficult words. Not only does this game hold their attention, it may help improve their vocabulary too.
Travel watch
Give each child a list of items to watch for while driving. For each item they see they get 1 point. The winner is the person who spots all the items on their list first or who has the most points by the end of the journey.
Seaside rule: If you're going to the seaside or coastal town, the first person to see the sea automatically wins - even if they have the least points in the game so far!
- Traffic lights
- Double decker bus
- Clothes shop
- Train station
- Someone carrying a brief case
- Foreign licence plate
- Church
- Sandwich shop
- Dog in a car
- Recovery truck
- Police car
- Horse and rider
- Horse box
- Cow in a field
- Green car
- Blue car
- Red car
- Yellow car
- GB sticker on a car
- Caravan
- Sheep in a field
- Bus stop
- Bridge
- Lorry
Alphabet suitcase
This game is suitable for older children and requires a good memory!
The first player says:
"In my suitcase I have packed..." then names an item beginning with 'A'. eg: Anorak
The second player says:
"In my suitcase I have packed.." the second player must say the previous item then add one of their own that begins with 'B' eg: ball
Eg "In my suitcase I have packed an anorak and a ball"
The game carries on until you have used the whole alphabet or a player forgets what has been packed. You'll find it amazing to hear what kids have packed as the letters get more difficult!
Shhhh!
The parents favourite! The aim of the game is to see who can be the quietest for the longest period of time. If you laugh, giggle or do anything that makes noise, you're out. The game ends when the last person in the car makes a noise, making them the winner!
Classic games
Eye spy
Red car/ green car - All players pick a colour and the person who see's the most cars in their colour is the winner.
Alphabet games - Topics can include girls names, boys names, place names. Players take it in turns to think of a name beginning with the next letter in the alphabet.
