5 Essentials to Keep in Your Car’s Emergency Kit

Driving to your destination for family trips and vacations is cost-effective and simpler than flying. However, a long time in the car can feel like torture for parents and children alike. Here are five ways to keep your kids occupied and make everyone happy during a lengthy car ride. Family Car Games Many of us have fond memories of playing games in the car with family. For decades, games such as I Spy and 20 Questions have helped drivers stay alert and have kept children entertained. Some good car games to try on your next trip include license plate lingo, the alphabet game, and the map game. more License plate lingo is easy and can lead to absolute hilarity. Taking turns, each player picks a license plate from another vehicle on the road and makes up what the letters stand for. For example, a license plate beginning in "GHY" might mean "Gremlins Hate Yarn." You get the idea. Check the internet for more car game ideas and explanations. Audiobooks Sometimes listening to music can be a bore. Instead of playing the same songs over and over, save everyone's sanity with an audiobook. Find a book that everyone will like and play it over the speakers for the drive. Many audiobooks are between 8 and 13 hours long, so you might even get to finish the story on the way home. If your family can't agree on a book to enjoy, they can listen to their own selections through their headphones with their devices. Check your local library's website for audiobook downloading options. The Chesapeake Public Library uses programs like Overdrive and Hoopla to allow members to borrow digital audiobooks. Travel Binder Create a travel binder for each kid, including specific things they love. Some kids might enjoy a few children's magazines like Highlights or High Five. You can also fill the binder with coloring pages featuring their favorite movie characters or superheroes. Other great add-ins include stickers, word searches, math games, and Mad Libs. Put a zipper pouch pencil holder in the binder with pencils, crayons, pens, or whatever each specific child likes. The binder contents will vary with age, but you might even want to get your kids' input on what they would like. Mess-Free Coloring and Drawing The Magic Pad and other mess-free coloring options with special paper and markers are ideal for little ones during long trips. They can color and create without making a mess on the car or themselves. Water markers with special drawing pads are also a great idea. Opt for a Backseat Entertainment System Most family-sized vehicles offer a backseat entertainment system. The 2020 Toyota Sienna offers a dual-view rear entertainment system with a 16.4-inch color screen that folds down from the ceiling. It includes a Blu-ray player, and an SD and HDMI hook-up. With the available wireless hotspot enabled, the kids can stream their favorite movies and TV shows the whole ride. Toyota's third-row SUVs also offer this type of entertainment system. Come by Priority Toyota Chesapeake to browse our selection of new vehicles. Find the perfect family vehicle with all of the convenient features you want and space you need to make every trip fun and easy. Image via pixabay.com | Licensed under Pixabay License

Having a dead battery can seem like the worst thing of the day, but there's no need to feel discouraged. Follow these simple steps, and you'll be back on the road in no time. Gather your supplies: - a set of jumper cables - another vehicle, a charged battery or portable power unit - safety equipment, such as gloves and safety glasses more 1) Identify the positive terminal on both batteries, marked with red. 2) In the vehicle with the dead battery, identify an unpainted metal surface that is not next to the battery. 3) Connect a positive (red) jumper cable clamp to the positive (red) post of the dead battery. 4) Connect the other positive (red) jumper cable clamp to the good battery’s positive (red) post. WARNING: Do NOT allow the positive and negative jumper cable clamps to touch once connected to a battery. This will generate sparks. 5) Connect the black (negative) clamp on that same end of the jumper cable to the negative (black) post of the good battery. 6) IMPORTANT: Connect the other negative (black) clamp to the unpainted metal surface under the hood of the car with the dead battery. DO NOT connect to the negative post of the dead battery – this could cause an explosion. 7) Start the good vehicle, allow it to run for about 5 minutes with the jumper cables connected. Attempt to start the disabled vehicle; if the engine won’t turn over, try repositioning the negative (black) jumper cable connected to the unpainted metal surface. Ensure the surface is clean so as to allow for a good connection. If the engine doesn’t turn over after a couple more minutes, try to race the good vehicle’s engine a little so the alternator delivers more amperage. 8) Once the dead vehicle has started, remove the jumper cables in the reverse order they were connected. Allow the vehicle to run for at least 10 minutes before turning off, to recharge the battery. Image via pixabay.com

Road trips are a fantastic way to spend time with your family, but if you don't plan ahead and prepare your vehicle, the adventure can quickly turn chaotic and leave you wanting the vacation to end. You can keep this from happening and get the most from your journey with a little preparation. Try these four simple hacks to keep the mess and clutter at bay on long drives. more Drop Cupcake Wrappers Into the Cupholders Whether you drop drinks or change into your cupholders, these small spaces are often the go-to container for whatever you happen to hold in the car. Unfortunately, this means that grime sometimes builds up in the space. You can prevent this with a simple hack: dropping cupcake wrappers in the cupholders. These will fit perfectly into the space and catch any syrupy spills that fall from drinks. Also, if you tend to drop change into cupholders, you won't have to work so hard to dig it out — simply remove the wrapper and dump the contents into your hand. Alternately, you can use an organizer or a hack like a coffee cup tissue dispenser to get more utility out of your cupholders. Clean as You Go Don't wait for a huge mess to pile up in your car before you decide to clean it out. Each time you stop for gas or to stretch your legs, take a moment to remove any trash that's accumulated during the ride. Also, pack some wet wipes and give the interior a once-over to keep it clean. You're more likely to dirty an already messy space, so keeping on top of this chore can keep your car clean and manageable for an entire trip. Keep an Envelope for Receipts If you're traveling and need to keep a paper trail for tax purposes or to budget for your journey, take along an envelope or another container, such as one made for 3x5 cards, to store your receipts in. It's easy to crumple these papers up and shove them into door pockets or under the visor. This simple hack will keep this from happening and help you find important paper slips when you need them later. Bring a Trash Bag Everyone along for the ride should know that trash doesn't go on the floor — it goes into the bags you've specifically brought for that purpose. Some people just place a plastic bag on the floor or between the front seats. This is fine, but you can also find an organizer to hang a trash bag from behind the front passenger's seat. This way, the space around your feet will stay clear. Another hack is to use a container, such as a seal-able one made for cereal, to hold a trash bag. Many containers are even small enough to fit snugly between the seats. Family road trips are lots of fun, but they can also mean a huge mess for cars. Try these hacks on your next adventure to reduce everyone's stress and have a better experience on the road. Image via comedy_nose | Licensed under CC BY 2.0