I spend a LOT of time shuttling my kids hither and dither. I practically LIVE in my minivan. Not like "Matt Foley" …

…but close enough. I spend so much time behind the wheel I might as well live in a van down by the river. At least then I’d have a nice view and could skip paying those pesky property taxes.

My husband wasn’t thrilled about trading in our sedan for a minivan. However, after a few trips to Home Depot and back with his “haul”, my man is now a van fan even though…it’s a base model (yes, I said “base” with my face all scrunched up, with a snooty pffft tacked on for emphasis).

When my neighbour drives up in her Honda Odyssey Touring Edition, I try not to stare, lest she see the lust in my eyes. One day…the Odyssey will be mine and a triumphant honk will ring out across the school parking lot; which will be a nice change from the current honks of spite and animosity. Hell hath no fury like a soccer mom scorned by one who stole the last parking spot at dismissal time.

No matter what you drive, if you have young children, taking the party on the road is a daily reality so –

Here Are Ten Ways to Make Every Family Ride…A Joy Ride

1. Snacks. Bring ‘em and dole them out whenever necessary. The Odyssey (the van of my dreams) has an In-Console Cool Box to keep drinks and snacks chilled and within reach.

2. Keep a snuggly blanket in the vehicle to keep your pint sized passengers warm when parked (heater off) on chilly days.
   
3. A digital camera is a fun way to keep kids busy documenting objects and points of interest along the road (Bonus: you can delete 90% of their shots later when they're not looking. Honestly, I can do without 37 pictures of a highway guardrail thank you).

4. Stow a bag under the seat stocked with a few favourite books, a sketch pad and some fun workbooks i.e. Mad Libs, mazes, word searches. Don't forget the pencils, an eraser and a mini-sharpener.
   
5. Portable lap desks are the perfect surface for activities like sketching, colouring, filling in booklets, playing cards or snacking.

6. It's not a party/road trip without music so keep a stack of fave sing-along cds in the car. If you have steering wheel-mounted audio controls, finding your favourite song and cranking up the volume is a snap.

7. Portable video games (Leapster, itouch, etc.) are excellent time fillers.

8. Word Games. No materials required. Our family faves include:

Story Weaver: Someone begins by creating the first line of a story. For example, "One morning I woke up to find my bedroom filled with guinea pigs”. Each person must take a turn adding a line to the story.

ABC Geography: The first player names a place (country, province, city). The next player must name a place that begins with the letter the previous place ended with. For example, Player One says “Toronto” Player Two says “Ottawa” Player Three says “Ancaster”…etc.

Guess Who?: Give clues to the identity of somebody you know, i.e. gender, hair color or whether or not they wear glasses. Let each person guess and if no one gets it, continue giving clues until somebody guesses correctly.

Fortunately-Unfortunately: One player begins with an unfortunate statement like, "Unfortunately, I ate the last apple." The next player counters with a fortunate twist like, "Fortunately, I brought a bunch of bananas." The next player might say, “Unfortunately, a gorilla snuck up and stole the bananas.” Players continue to alternate between unfortunate and fortunate scenarios until you’ve exhausted a particular topic.

9. After an hour or so of playing any or all of the above, you're going to want to relax and close your eyes (providing you’re the passenger, not the driver!). Audiobooks are perfect.  Play a family friendly book on CD or if your vehicle has a media input jack, listen via your ipod/iphone or other media device.

10. We have a portable DVD player in our van. The kids share. It’s not pretty. This is another reason I want/need/super want an Odyssey - to watch HD movies on the 16.2-inch split-screen. Both kids can watch what they want at the same time. Peacefully...WITH wireless headphones on...leaving me to quietly daydream out the window. Now THAT’S a joy ride…

With a little planning and a few activities up your sleeve (or in the glove compartment) you can make any family road trip, a party on wheels!

Happy travels.