Don’t kill the cows! A fun car game for the trip to Grandma’s house

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. How is that possible?

If you’ve got a long, holiday road trip ahead, it’s good to have a few tricks up your sleeve to keep antsy kids quiet. (And sometimes kids get antsy after about five minutes.)

This is a car game to play while driving through the rural countryside. You may remember from your own childhood that while adults just love to stare out the window for hours kids get unbelievably bored looking at fields, telephone poles and yes, cows.

Materials needed: none

Instructions:

1. Each person looks out their window to spot animals on their side of the road. You can play teams with the right side of the car versus the left.

2. For each animal you spot, you get 1 point. (Older kids may assign a complicated point system with unusual animals like, say, a guinea pig, getting the most points.)

3. Grownups should make it a point to imitate all the animals. When a child says, “A cow!” adults should say, “Moooo.”

4. Birds don’t count (except turkeys, which are worth 1,000 points).

5. When you pass a cemetery on your side of the car, all your animals "die." Then you have to start over.

6.  When the animals "die," everyone should be suitably grief-stricken.

7. Play until a set point (like a rest stop) and then announce the winner. 

Prizes are always appreciated, but it might be best to have one for everybody in such close quarters.

Buckle up for safety! And moo!