"Are we there yet?" If you travel with your children, you probably hear this phrase many times during a trip…especially a long car trip. I recently took an 8 hour car trip with my 2 children who are 5 and 1-1/2 years old. I asked many people for helpful travel survival tricks. I received some great ideas that I hope help you on your next car ride.

Pack lots of drinks and snacks. Pick some snacks that are "special" so that your child has fun eating them. Choose foods that are easy to eat and not messy: pretzels, animal crackers, goldfish crackers. Put a small amount in a plastic baggie or container that way your child can hold it himself.

Buy a few "toys" that are age appropriate and inexpensive. Wrap each item up and give one out each hour. It is fun just to unwrap the present. The dollar store is a great place to find perfect items. Don’t forget to save some "gifts" for the ride home.

Bring a few sheets of aluminum foil and pipe cleaners. Your children will make all sorts of creations. The good thing about this project is that the pipe cleaners and aluminum foil can be used over and over.

Play music tapes and books on tape. Select a variety of different music. Introduce your children to classical, country, jazz or piano playing. You may be surprised that they really enjoy listening to new sounds. Most libraries will rent books on tapes. Book stores sell them. There are also interesting stories done by Odyssey and Veggie Tales.

Organize the toys, games, markers, etc so they are easy to find. It works well to separate the items into small bags. Put coloring books and crayons together. Put the dolls and accessories together. This method makes clean-up easy and finding the same toys again a breeze.

Find a system so that your child can play easily. I found a "desk" that attaches to the back of the front car seats. A piece folds down so that my daughter can color and write on a hard surface. There are also pockets to store the items that are used most often e.g. crayons, pens and sunglasses. You can purchase this item at an automotive supply store (Pep Boys). A bed tray works well too if it fits around the car seat.

Play games together. You can ask your children to look for landmarks, license plates, signs and animals. You can turn this into a game. Whoever finds the most wins! Klutz also puts out a few game ideas for the car. One is a book with tons of games to play alone or with someone else. My 13 year-old nephew really enjoyed this book during his 13 hour journey.

Be prepared. Make sure to have the following items accessible – kleenex, wipes, garbage bag, change for tolls, maps, directions, candies, sun glasses and emergency phone numbers(car towing service etc.).

Most of all enjoy your time together on the car. There is so much fun to be had as a family. If you can keep laughing, take periodic breaks and talk up how much fun you will have on your trip, you will be surprised how fast the trip will go. It is amazing how much you can learn just looking out of the window. Take time before your trip to learn some fun facts about the areas you will drive through in the car. It may even be fun to pack a picnic lunch to eat in a historic park or near a waterfall. Spending some extra time planning the car ride will make it more enjoyable for everyone. You may also wonder why your child hasn’t said, "Are we there yet?"