Family car games may help ease tension

August 20th, 2008

It is that time of the year again when people set off on their family holidays and with the credit crunch hitting us hard, more and more people are staying in the UK.

The BBC are reporting that the camping industry is enjoying an unprecedented surge in popularity as people look for cheaper holiday alternatives. People have less disposable income due to the increase in the costs of basic foods, petrol and the increase in interest rates. The weak pound is also putting people off travelling abroad as it is worth 20% less than a year ago.

Our seaside resorts are also seeing a big rise in bookings with Brighton up 70%, Bournemouth 20% and Eastbourne 66%, according to The Guardian.

So with more people setting off on long drives to their UK holiday destination, how do you keep the children entertained and arrive as relaxed as possible. Well stress-free car insurance company swiftcover.comhave come up with some car games that should keep the whole family entertained:

The Name Game - The first player names a town in the UK and the following player names a town beginning with the last letter of that name, e.g. London -> Norwich.
Guessing Game - Players pick a famous person and other contestants have to find out who the person is by asking a series of yes/no questions.
Description Game - You need to divide into two teams. Each person writes down a couple of names/objects on small pieces of paper, folds them up and places them in a hat/container where they are all mixed up. Players then pick out a paper and have 30 seconds to describe, without using proper nouns, the object/person.
Memory Game - Player 1 starts a sentence including a noun beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. Player 2 then has to extend that sentence and include a noun beginning with the second letter of the alphabet, etc. The game can be made simpler by being put in list form e.g. ‘Yesterday at the beach I saw a sea anemone, a banana boat, a single cloud’ etc.
Spot the Car Game - The children pick a colour/brand of car or type of vehicle and have to spot a given number of that object.
Who’s Next Door? - When stuck in a traffic jam make up stories about the person/people in the car stuck next to you. Give them names, professions, ages, destinations etc.
Number Plate Maths - Children add/divide/multiply/subtract the numbers on number plates.
Map Reading - Give children the road map so they can follow the journey, or make up a trip and let them plan it for you.
Car Cricket - Make a list of different car brands and accord them all different scores depending on how common/rare they are. Children then add up the points of all the cars they see, and the child with the highest score wins.
Bizz Buzz - Players count from 1-100 (or whatever number they choose), naming numbers alternately. Whenever a number comes up that is divisible by two numbers of your choice (e.g. 3 and 5) the player must say ‘Bizz’ or ‘Buzz’. E.g. 1,2,Bizz,4,Buzz,Bizz,7,8,Bizz,Buzz.

And of course for the younger children there is also eye spy. What other car games would you recommend?

Entry Filed under: advice, games, holidays, children