When you are planning a big trip by car, you need to consider how you will entertain the kids.

Sure a portion of the trip may be ruled out with sleeping (if you are lucky), your kids will no doubt be wanting some snack time also.

However when they are awake you want to be able to keep them distracted, and focused on something other than 'how long till we get there'.

Sure there are plenty of games on the market to keep your kids amused. Nintendo DS, Leapfrog Leapster, MP3 Players, Portable DVD players and if you can afford them, then why not. They will all offer a great level of distraction for your children.

But in today's financial market, we can not all afford these toys. Some of us are lucky enough to afford the vacation in the first place.

So we need to look at frugal ways to entertain the family in the car.

Below we have listed five games for your family to play whilst traveling to your destination by car. First and foremost they are free, which is what will definitely appeal to the parents and they are fun, which will appeal to the kids.

1/ The Game of Cricket: One person bats and scores a run for every car you pass. However if you pass a truck consider that out and move onto the next person. You decide how many rounds you will have and the person with the most runs wins

2/ Paper, Rock, Scissors: Players count to three then make their hands either, the shape of a rock (clenched fist), the shape of paper (flat hand) or the shape of scissors (hands clenched with index and middle finger stretched out into the shape of scissors). Rock smothers scissors but is smothered by paper. Paper smothers rock but is cut by scissors. Scissors cut paper but are smothered by rock. Winner is the best of three

3/ The Rainbow Game: Each person in the car chooses a colour. You decide what the target is, depending on how attentive the people in the car are. In this scenario lets choose 10. Each time you see a car in your choose colour, say the colour for confirmation and add it to your tally. The person to reach the target first is the winner.

4/ The Letter Change Game: Someone start by saying a word and then work your way around the car, with each person saying a different word, yet only changing one letter. E.g. Game, Same, Tame, Fame, etc. This is a great one for those older kids in the family.

5/ Guess the Animal Game: This is a bit like, 'Who am I' except is based on animals. This is a game aimed at the younger kids in the car. Take it in turns of being the animal and try and get everyone else to guess what you are. E.g. I am gray, I have big ears, I have a trunk etc. Or to put another spin on it, you can get the people guessing to ask the questions and the person playing the animal just answers 'yes' or 'no'. When someone thinks they know what it is they can guess.

Visit http://www.family-travel-made-easy.com/car-travel-games.html for a printer friendly version of these games, that you can print off and take with you on your journey, ensuring you do not have to try and remember all the details.

Why not start your own family tradition and come up with a game you can call your own.

Family Travel Made Easy is a comprehensive guide for mum's and dad's thinking about travelling with kids. With loads of tips and advice, there is something here for everyone.

Mandy Ferry
http://www.family-travel-made-easy.com