2020 has been throwing punch after punch. You’ve probably seen the memes, where the question “What comes next, 2020?” is followed by an image of Godzilla attacking, with the response: “Yep, that seems about right.” Here at Dream Dinners, we believe that there’s always a silver lining to be found, and we want to spread some of that positivity your way! Summer vacation doesn’t have to be canceled, and even though it’ll be different than you probably expected, it can still be full of joy and meaningful family time. And with how the year has been going, we’re guessing that a vacation sounds really good right about now!
As cities are reopening at different rates and with many restrictions still in place, the 2020 Summer vacation of choice is predicted to be the road trip! An oldie but a goodie, and there are so many options to make this a blast for the whole family. Here are some of our favorite Summer road trip ideas.
- Introduce your kids to some classic car games that you probably played when you were little. Road trip bingo, Mad Libs (they even have a road trip edition!), hangman, the license plate game, a road trip scavenger hunt, or the connect-the-dots game. These are all great alternatives to screen time and are fun for a variety of ages.
- There are plenty of roadside attractions you can visit while maintaining social distancing, from the interesting and beautiful to the downright odd. Check out this list of The 33 Best Roadside Attractions in America.
- Take your kids on a live history lesson – visit places intentionally for the historic value, or follow a specific route that has historical significance. Depending on your location and the duration of your trip, here are some ideas: you could follow along part of the Lewis and Clark trail, visit some of the more famous spots within the Underground Railroad network, or visit important landmarks within your own state. As you go along, you can teach the kids about the history associated with where you are, either by good old Googling about the locations, or you could buy a book on the topic, and read it aloud to them as you go.
- Speaking of reading, another fun road trip activity is to read a novel aloud to each other: one that’s enjoyable for the whole family. A series like Harry Potter is a great option and could be continued once you’re back home, too. If your family members tend to get motion sickness from reading while in the car, download an audiobook from your local library or from an app like Audible, so you can enjoy a book together without the headache.
- An organization hack to try: repurpose your Dream Dinners plastic bags, to use for road trip snacks, wet swimsuits, or play kits for the kids (like crayons or stickers, or small car games). Keeping things organized on the road will make for less cleanup later!
- For mealtime: you can bring along your Dream Dinners dishes so that the family can still enjoy home-cooked meals while traveling. You can keep the meals in a cooler packed with ice, replacing the ice daily so the food stays frozen while you’re driving between stops. When you’re staying somewhere with an oven, choose dinners that cook from frozen, like the Spinach Artichoke Ravioli Bake with Chicken. For trips where you’ll be camping, try some of our grill-friendly meals, like the Texas Roadhouse Burgers, which are an all-time guest favorite.
If you have photos of your family road-tripping, we’d love to see them! Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, so we can share in your Summer vacation joy. Even while the world is recovering from a pandemic, we hope you and your family are able to get out on the open road and enjoy the magic of the season.