Fiona beat me to it… valium all round! LOL Bon courage.
Thanks for the tips Vivien. I’d forgotten about story tapes - we used to use them with our older 2 children when they were little (would have to be CD’s now) and yes BFG is always a popular one. “Has it got a tail” sounds like a good game too, I will try that out.
Nigel, yes I must admit I have considered leaving 1, 2 or all at home, but as it’s our only holiday this year and they are really looking forward to it I can’t be that cruel. Next time maybe …
Thanks for the tip about the TGV John - I didn’t know that. The reason we’re taking the car this time is because it’s cheaper, but it’s worth knowing about the TGV for the future.
Hello Nikki,
I did Wandsworth Common to Narbonne when 8 months pregnant, with 2 little girls 6 and 4. It poured with rain for most of the trip and I didn’t have a DVD player at the time but the cassette player worked (yes a long time ago), so I played lots of story tapes, the Big Friendly Giant was a big hit,requested for seconds. Walt Disney sing-alongs are always welcome and yes, it is worth getting all those tunes stuck in your head for weeks to come!
A dear friend of mine taught the girls a game called ‘has it got a tail?’ where you have to think of an animal/creature and answer questions until someone guesses what it is. Simple, but they loved it.
Of course, food always helps for a while and if something yummy is eaten in the car, it means that the stops at service stations can be used for having fun running around and looking at things, instead of sitting down to eat rubbish and waiting in line.
You seem full of good ideas already, so I’m sure it will be fine.
Best of luck!
Vivien
TGV do unacmpained minors over the age of 4 so send the eldest by train and take the little un in the car he’ll sleep out of boredom 