Spring break is finally here! No annoying school work or physically demanding sports practices for a week, getting to sleep in every morning to your heart’s content. It’s everything that a burnt-out student (like this tired senior right here) is craving for. But best of all, many people also get to go on vacations or trips that often include places like Florida or California, far away from our state of Indiana. However, there’s one thing that you’re forgetting: that agonizing car trip through several states that almost seems to never end. What could anyone possibly do to keep themselves occupied during those boring 12 hours? 

   Well, it’s going to depend on what your interests are and what you consider “fun.” 

Car Mad Libs

   Do we all remember the mad libs worksheets from elementary school? Do you remember how fun it was to create your own story or song? Well, they just got revamped to where you can do that again, but in the car! For this, you and your family would go around the car in an orderly fashion and create songs or silly narratives based off of a topic of your family’s choice (or you can just make up all the nonsense you’d like). Your family can also try out a TikTok trend, where you create a sea shanty (which is a folk song traditionally sung by sailors on British navy or pirate ships). Any topic is a good one, such as fictional creatures like mermaids or the Loch Ness monster, and even something like food or candy. The possibilities are endless! You could also record it, and maybe post it on our beloved TikTok for some views. 

“I Spy…”

   Ah, the classic game that we all know and love to play on long, boring road trips! Our introduction to this game as little children was through activity worksheets, magazines and “Where’s Waldo?” books. Now, we have the joy of annoying our parents by picking something obscurely small or uncommon and saying “no” to their every guess. It gets even better if you decide to mix “I Spy’ with “Hot or Cold,” where a characteristic is selected such as “I spy something blue” and players search the car in order to find the item, while the picker tells them if they are hot or cold in regards to the placement of the item. 

Podcasts/Audiobooks/ASMR

   Whether you listen to them by yourself on a tablet or phone, or you turn one on Bluetooth for the entire car to enjoy, podcasts and audiobooks are an excellent choice for when you just want to lay back and relax. Any genre will do. Want to read that one piece of classic literature but haven’t had time to get around to it? Download it on your phone and listen to it as you watch the scenery from your window. Are you intrigued by true crime cases and want to collect as much knowledge as possible so you can try to crack the case? BuzzFeed Unsolved is a great YouTube channel just for you (and their paranormal series is phenomenal as well)! Or, if you need some relaxing ambient noises to lull you into a well-deserved nap, ASMR is an incredible idea. I especially like ocean wave sounds. Nothing like drifting off to sleep to the sound of water splashing onto the shoreline!

License Plate Bingo

   Another classic on-the-road game for those that aren’t driving. This special type of bingo game is where each participant tries to find as many license plates from every state as possible. This may be dependent on where in the U.S. you are, or how popular your destination/route is. Nevertheless, this activity is a good dose of competition while on your way to your long-awaited vacation. However, be prepared for some frustration, especially if you get stuck in highway traffic or you can’t find any of the smaller/less populated states that we all inevitably forget about (such as Delaware or Wyoming). But hey, what’s a good car trip without some playful yelling and road rage? 

Knit/Crochet

   You may be thinking, “What am I, a grandma?” So hold on a minute and let me explain why knitting/crocheting (or learning to if you’ve never done it before) is an activity that is both an entertaining and productive use of your time while you’re on your way to whatever spring break paradise awaits you. First off, the different kinds of items you can make or the designs that you can create are almost endless. What better way to let loose some creative liberty than to knit a cute little sweater for your niece/nephew or a festive Christmas hat for your grumpy old cat that you can store for the colder months? Second, it keeps your brain at work instead of just mindlessly scrolling through Instagram pages of hot actors or playing BitLife (don’t worry, I’m totally about that too). And who knows, maybe your family will end up having a play fight and throw yarn balls at one another. Just avoid the driver, please! 

Journaling

   Finally, we have this good ol’ organizational project that lets us put all of our thoughts down onto pen and paper or your notes/diary app if you don’t want your writing messed up by the bumpy road. Journaling will let you write down anything you see on your trip, including your thoughts (like how you wish you packed some snacks for the long drive), a to-do list for when you get to your destination, and anything you may want to scribble down. This is also a good way to combine leisure time with any assignments you may have over break, such as teachers wanting you to document everything you did. Either way, this activity is a great way to collect your thoughts during an agonizing car trip or maybe even create a fun-filled fiction story! 

   Although I mentioned a good deal of ways to keep yourself occupied during that almost painful car trip that just leaves you begging the heavens to speed up the car so you can get to your vacation faster, the most important thing about entertaining yourself is to do something you enjoy. And by enjoy, I mean something that you REALLY like that won’t make you go absolutely insane two hours into the drive. Good luck! You’re gonna need it.