Amusing children on car rides

Coming up to holidays here we all dread car trips with kids. Here's some ways to keep them amused:

* For especially long trips, print out maps so the kids can mark off each town they drive through. If there are any sort of land marks such as tourist attractions for them to look out for. Plan where you might stop for lunch and have that marked, too.

* Caravans - a game where you have to spot as many caravans as you can on the road. The first person to say 'caravan' when one is seen gets the point. Kids spend so much time watching for caravans that the trip passes quickly.

* Have fun thinking of names that the letters on number plates could stand for.

* Pick a topic - animals, countries, towns, food, etc - the first person thinks of something in the topic, then the next has to take the last letter of the word and think of another. eg, if you use animals, and someone says 'cow'  the next animal must begin with 'w'.

* Have a 'scavenger' hunt. Now, I don't mean they actually collect the items as such, they just have to find them. Make a list of things to look for and the kids tick off each item as they see it. Things like: a train, a motorbike, a plant with red flowers, a church, a McDonalds sign, a service station, etc, etc.

* The internet has plenty of sites where you can find the words to songs. Print some out for the kids to sing. Coming up to xmas, print out some xmas carols.

....That's a few ideas, anyway. Have a great holiday!