Make a Snackle Box : Road Trip Snack Ideas for Kids

When I was a kid, summer vacation was all about road trips. My dad LOVES to drive. Always has. My grandpa did too. Every summer I remember my dad taking a couple of weeks off from his shop and we would hit the open road on long road trips. Sometimes my grandparents would join us on these family road trips and we would talk along the way by CB radio. Thousands of miles logged, SO many sites seen. There were several summers where we would even fly to places like Chicago…far away from our home in San Diego, and then we would rent a car and still drive 2-3000 miles, canvasing the country on long drives.

We drove a Ford Econo-line van with a bench seat in the back for me and my brother and sister. In the back of the van we laid down sleeping bags and pillows so we had a place to hang out while we drove. It was one of our favorite things as young kids. Yikes. I can’t believe we did that! Times were definitely different! In between the front captains chairs was the oh-so-important extra large high-quality cooler. Almost like a coffee table in between the passenger seat and driver’s seat, full of drinks and snacks and enough food to make sandwiches at the rest stop or when we stopped at gas stations for lunch every day.  We didn’t get a ton of junk food at our house growing up, so the cooler full of all of our favorite road trip snacks was definitely a treat on those long days on the road. 

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I was at HomeGoods a few weeks ago and found these fun boxes in the kitchen organizing section. I picked up a couple for some snackle boxes. If you have any road trips coming up, here is a great way to pack up some snacks for the kids (or yourself.) Obviously, this example is full of all kinds of unhealthy snacks full of added sugar…perfect if you have a major sweet tooth like me, but it would be so easy to swap all of these candies out with your favorite healthy road trip snacks, salty snacks…or even a mix of a nutritious option or two and some sweet treats. 

WHERE TO FIND “SNACKLE” BOXES

Here are some similar awesome reusable containers that are perfect for your next road trip. Different brands make different styles of containers. Some are all one piece, others have removable pieces and sections…just pick something that you think will hold the types of snacks you like best and will be the easiest for you to clean. Most are dishwasher safe. 

GREAT ROAD TRIP SNACK IDEAS

​Fresh Fruit – think blueberries or apple slices…something that will survive long trips and be easy to grab

Trail Mix

String cheese ( or any cheese you could cut it up into bite size pieces to fit in your container)

Whole Grain Crackers

Baby Carrots

Rice Cakes

Cherry Tomatoes

Corn Nuts

You could add peanut butter or almond butter to one of the sections of your snackle box to make a great dip for your apple slices or rice cakes

Dark Chocolate Chips

Fruit Snacks

Just try and find good snack options that will do well at room temperature. Or, you can pack your container into a cooler style bag with some ice packs to keep everything fresh. For longer trips this would be a good idea no matter what. If you might be on the road for a few days it would help keep things in good shape. 

Whenever we are boarding a plane or getting started on a road trip, inevitably I am sitting with the kids and being overloaded with questions and requests for help finding something (even now that they are older)…all while I am trying to get situated, get out of the aisle, unpack my stuff, organize my carry-on, and get settled myself…radio, maps, etc. This little snackle box organizational tip is a serious help if you have little kids.  Try to think about what you kids (and you) want most when you’re stuck in the car (these would be awesome for air travel too…pretty much any travel or even a long day trip somewhere.) For years I carried all of the snacks and treats in a backpack or purse, which means every time somebody needs something, I am the go-to. And, as I’m sure you know…they ALWAYS need something and patience is not a virtue most kids have developed! lol! 😉 Being the go-to means that you often feel harried and scatterbrained for the first hour or so of a flight or car-ride until everyone gets settled down.  And then trying to gather all the little things that have fallen into the seat back pockets and been scattered all over the seats when you prepare to arrive is super fun too. 😉

Having these snack boxes prepared ahead of time is a game changer. Customize them to each of your kid’s liking…goldfish crackers for one, teddy grahams for another…whatever they like and will keep them happy. You might have to limit access to them if you have one that will eat everything at once while another patiently eats a little at a time…but you could even turn that into a game. Let them eat one snack every 30 min. That will keep them watching the clock and entertained while extending the life of the snacks. 😉 Whatever you need to do…the secret is just to make your life easier! 😉 These will save SO much headache. They each have them in their own backpacks and are responsible for getting them out when it’s time for a snack, no more waiting on you to arrange everything for them! They feel more in charge of what they are doing and that makes everyone happier. It’s a game changer! 

Looking for more fun DIY Crafts and printables?  You can find TONS of fun Halloween ideas in our DIY Gallery.  Here’s a sampling of some of our favorites…

DIY GLITTER STAR CUPCAKE TOPPERS | CUTE DIY FELTED GARLAND | EASY WASHI TAPE CAKE BANNER | CUTE DIY GAME NIGHT COASTERS | FUN DIY FEATHER CUPCAKE TOPPERS

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Happy travels!

Tammy