How to have fun on your Christmas car trip!

One of the best things about Christmas is spending time with family! From small Christmas mornings with your immediate family to huge ham dinners with cousins you didn’t even know you had, hanging out with your family is a big part of what makes Christmas so special. If you’re like me, you’ll have to drive a few (or more) hours to spend some time with everyone, but don’t worry! I’ve come up with a list of ways to make that Christmas road trip a great one.

1. Play a game.

If there’s one thing Greystone girls know how to do, it’s how to have fun anywhere! Don’t just scroll on your phone - time in the car is great time to spend with your family! One of my favorite car games is a simple one I like to just call “add three words.” You go around the car and tell a story, three words per person. Guaranteed to produce side-splitting laughter. Another classic is Name That Tune. Put a playlist on shuffle (this Disney-themed one from Greystone’s Spotify is a good one to try) and see who can be the first to guess the song without looking.

Catchphrase is a blast to play in the car. So is Count the Cows - or whatever there is a lot of where you’re driving. Could be yellow cars, Cracker Barrel billboards, fireworks stores…you name it! I guess it isn’t a game, but when I roadtripped from Alabama to the Grand Canyon with friends in college, we made it a goal to take a picture with every state sign - you know, the ones on the state line that are welcoming you. So fun!

2. Listen to an audiobook.

When Cat, Elizabeth, and I were on our recruiting road trip this fall, we picked a suspenseful audiobook to listen to. We were always trying to figure out what was going to happen next, and even though we ended up driving over 1000 miles in four days, I never got tired of driving! Audiobooks are basically movies for your ears, right? You could pick a fun, Christmas-themed one like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I love listening to The Chronicles of Narnia on audiobook. Everyone will be able to enjoy them, from your little brother to your mom. Your local library is a great place to go to check out audiobooks, and if you’re lucky like me, your library has an app where you can download audiobooks for free that will make your time in the car fly by!

3. Have a great conversation.

There’s something about a road trip that makes for a great conversation. Maybe it’s the excitement of going somewhere or the relaxed feeling of knowing you have plenty of time in the car. You could ask your parents about their very favorite Christmas from when they were little, or go around the car and talk about your favorite moments from the past year. One of the Head Table favorites is talking about what your spirit animal would be and why. Another great question to ask is, if you got to have a meal with a famous person (living or dead) who would it be and where would you take them to eat? My friends and I love talking about our perfect day - where are you, who else is there, what are you doing? Add in a pack of Skittles and it’s pretty much a family Shoppe date in the car!