How to Make a Boredom Buster Travel Kit

Often the worst part of any trip is the boredom associated with traveling. Taking the time to make a well thought out Boredom Buster travel kit can keep any traveler, from toddlers to their grandparents, from losing out to boredom. It is easy to make a boredom buster travel kit and it does not need to be expensive either.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find a small piece of luggage, such as a backpack, to contain the boredom buster travel kit. If flying, reserve space in a carry on bag for the kit.

2. Visit the local dollar store. Purchase inexpensive coloring books, drawing pads and crayons for children or crossword puzzle and sudoku books for adults. If they carry small electronic games, invest in one or two if they can be played silently. For children, magnetic checkers, chinese checkers and tic tac toe games are good bets as well as magnetic doll (action figures, if they are boys) sets. For adults, magnetic solitaire games (such as tangrams) can be entertaining and magnetic chess and backgammon sets can be pleasant diversions and can help the solo passenger meet fellow travelers.

3. Pack a book or two if reading does not induce travel sickness. If possible, leave the bulky, traditional books behind and invest in electronic versions.

4. Include anything from around the house such as MP3 players, PDAs, portable DVD players or handheld game systems that can be loaded with several entertainment options or purchase such an item if the budget allows. PDAs can not only play games but hold books and sometimes even play music and video. Purchase something new for the trip such as a few new CDs to load into an MP3 player or a new game cartridge.

5. Bring the laptop if age appropriate. It is worth investing in an extra battery or cord to power the laptop in the car because a laptop can hold music, games, ebooks and video. Even laptops without DVD drives can play MPEG-1 or VCD formats using common media players.

6. Purchase, if necessary, sleep masks and travel pillows (inflatable versions use very little space) to help facilitate a nap. Sleeping, although not commonly thought of as a form of entertainment, is a great way to overcome boredom and arrive refreshed!

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to include extra batteries.
• An inexpensive headphone splitter allows two people to plug headphones into a single jack and share electronic items.

Resources

• Dedicated to public domain material, free music, books and movies in many formats can be downloaded from Archive.org.
• A great source for public domain ebooks, Manybooks.net offers most titles in several formats.
• Travelingwithkids.com features many great products, including a large line of magnetic play sets and travel coloring sets.

[busykate]

on 8/6/2009 I like this idea. This really does work for kids and adults too. You can never be too prepared.

[newyorkchic]

on 5/20/2009 Headphones splitter don't work for me. I would certainly recommend the new ShareBuds MX twin headphones, if you like to share your iPod's music with a friends or loved ones, perhaps you have children that have to share one portable DVD player in the backseat of the car on long trips during summer vacations. Visit http://www.coolestheadphones.com and http://www.headphonessplitter.com