Every time my niece and nephew go anywhere in my car, they have to bring a toy with them. It doesn’t matter if we’re driving to grandma’s house an hour away, or if we’re only going a few miles to the grocery store. They have to have something to play with in the backseat. Sometimes the tradition of picking out a travel buddy is a fun little activity, but when I’m in a rush, it’s really hard to help them decide which stuffed animal buddy is least likely to get “car sick” or “bored” on the drive.
The worst part though, is when I’m hurrying to get somewhere on time and make them leave the toys in the car because “we’re just going to rush right in” and get/do whatever we need, but when we get inside, we have to sit and wait on something. (Like picking up a prescription—Why are prescriptions never ready when the pharmacy calls me to tell me that they are?) If it’s only a few minutes of waiting, it’s not that bad. But when it drags on and the kids starting getting really bored, it’s rough. I want to go out to the car and let them grab whatever car buddy they brought with them, but then I have to weigh how long it takes to get back out to the car, get the toy, and come back in verses how much longer my estimated wait time is. It’s all very frustrating for me and for the kids.
Here’s my solution: Tiny Toy Travel Totes. (I like alliteration, can you tell?)
Buy three identical sets of small toy collections, like the Dino Toob or Ponies Toob from Safari Ltd (http://www.safariltd.com/), and two small zippered pouches (like a large pen bag or a small toiletries bag). Put one set of the toys in each of the zippered bags and keep the third set separate. Keep one pouch in your purse/backpack, one pouch in your car, and keep the third, loose set at home. That way the kids will already be familiar with the car toys; when you’re in a rush to get out of the house, the kids will already have something to play with in the car; and if you get stuck in the lobby of a doctor’s office or in the waiting area of restaurant, you’ll have the tiny toys they love in your bag, ready at a moment’s notice.
You won’t have to worry about losing the toys in the journey between the house and the car or the car and your destination because each set will stay at its predetermined location. You also have less chance of losing individual toys from each bag since you and your kids will quickly become familiar with the set and will know exactly how many pieces go in the bag. (Bonus: Practice counting or addition/subtraction with your kids while putting the toys back in their totes.)
Tiny Toy Travel Totes are a BIG time and energy saver for me when I’m trying to get the kids back and forth from the car. They say good things come in small packages—in this case, the good thing stuffed in those pouches with the tiny dinosaurs and ponies is my sanity.
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