Monday, July 1, 2024

Tiny Tins for Summer Road Trips




It's time for the annual summer road trip. An American institution. 

You have the car seats, the stroller, the snacks, and the luggage piled so high you can barely see out the back window. The kids haven't even started asking if they're there yet. But you know they will. And soon.

Whether you're headed to Pasadena or Portland, kids need something to keep them occupied on those long summer road trips. We've tried lots of things with our kids: the alphabet game, the license plate game, the banana game. (We yell, "Banana!" at the top of our lungs whenever we see a yellow car, and we keep score.)

Over the years we've found lots of ideas we love. The kid's favorite is when we specially prepare individual paper bags for them to open at intervals along the way. The bag contents are a surprise: candy, a toy, a joke, stickers, or a book, depending on the child.

Lately, even though our kids are older now, we've discovered Altoid tin play sets. We love them! And our little nieces and nephews do to.

You can use any sort of similar tin, and the play sets can be any thing from simple and easy to artistic and complex. Have a look online for ideas your kids might love. Lego filled tins are popular with my children. Just put a variety of pieces in the tin and let them create. This might only buy you a half an hour or so of entertainment, but it's better than nothing!

This tutorial from Instructables.com has you glue a Lego base to the lid as a foundation for your little builders.




Another idea is to fill your tin with paper doll supplies. The tins are metal, so magnets work great for holding dresses and shoes onto dolls. Here is an idea from Thismamamakesstuff.com.


Honestly, you can fill these tins with anything your child loves: tiny dinosaurs from the dollar store, finger puppets, cars, or magnetic poetry words.

We love these tiny tin ideas so much, we made a couple of our own and have a few more in development just waiting to be laser cut and put in a cute little tin. I love fairies and my husband loves tools, so those are the first two sets we've made.


We wish you all the best with keeping your kids (and yourself) happy on your summer road trips! Safe travels!

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