Share your top tips for surviving long car journeys with SEAT for a chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!NOW CLOSED

[ZaneKhan]

Painfully long car journeys, we all have them! SEAT have asked us to find out Mumsnetters’ tips for surviving long car journeys.

Here’s what they say, “The new Alhambra can’t settle family arguments like where to stop for lunch, but everyone is bound to agree that long journeys feel shorter in the new Alhambra. Maybe that’s because it’s as big on technology as it is on space. It’s packed with features to keep you comfortable, entertained and in control, from the SEAT Media System to Park Assist. All you have to do is find a song the whole family likes.”

So how do you cope with those insufferably long journeys? Do you have an iPod playlist at the ready to keep you all entertained? Maybe you give in and hand your DCs your iPad to keep them happy and quiet? Or perhaps you just break the journey up by making some stops along the way? Whatever your tips are, we’d love to hear them!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a draw for the chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks and best of luck.
MNHQ

Best one ever is a tip I got from Mumsnet - buy an NT membership and stop there instead of service stations. Plan your journey around NT places, get the kids out, run around, buy your lunch in the cafe, and then finish the journey.

Definitely a DVD player! And also I spy. Well
a version with colours so that the youngest who doesn't know her letters yet can join in!

Drive at nap time/ overnight so they sleep the journey!

Always have a variety of snacks and drinks available. Think about the route and plan in some pit stops to recharge everyone. We often play the yes no game to guess animals, objects, celebrities etc. Devices are fully charged beforehand.

Playing "yellow car" - shouting "yellow car" every time you see one. Whoever shouts first wins the point, most points wins. Surprisingly entertaining though does lead to heated discussions about what counts as yellow..

iPads. Yes, those things I swore my under-5s wouldn't have, because we'd be too busy having family discussions and sing-a-longs...

I keep the interior of the car placid by only screaming with frustration after I've put my head fully outside the vehicle.

Seat switching. Ds 5 sits in the front for the beginning of any long journey-all very exciting and moves into the back before we hit motorways/any where with likely traffic. We hide drinks and snacks under seats so There's no expectation of treats-their pulled out as surprises-stopping boredom.we keep the car cool,so ds has to snuggle under a blanket, and promptly fall asleep

For babies I go to pound land and spend a fiver on lots of different shaped colours and textured stuff to play with eg hair curlers, sponges etc

Toddlers I find snacks that take a long time to eat and an iPad. Although on our latest journey the most successful things were a cd of nursery rhymes and the game. 'Window up window down '. Mind numbing for us but kept her happy!

Lots and lots of magazines, books and a good long snooze!

Snacks and stops!

We give the kids a back pack each full of coloring books sticker books puzzles pens pencils sketch book games and a toy plus snacks and drinks. We also put the radio on or play eye spy/ colour spy

Enough snacks and also a couple of old tubs in case of car sickness.

Thank you all for your comments. The winner of the prize draw is kslatts :)