15 Summer Car Kit Essentials for Families With Kids

As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commission on links in this post.

I cannot tell you how many times we would go somewhere and I would realize I needed something that I didn’t pack. It happened so many times before I got my butt in gear and got organized. In this post, I will share with you the things we pack in a basket in the trunk of our car. I have used these things at parks, on road trips, or at hotels when I realize I forgot something. I’d love to hear in the comments other things that you keep in your car for emergencies!

You will want to start by finding a tote of some kind that you can designate as the car box. It makes it easier to find things and to refill because you can see what is missing. Car totes like this one are great options as well!

Baby wipes
- Don’t skip this one just because you aren’t in a baby phase anymore. Baby wipes are helpful in so many situations. These are great for cleaning up messy hands or spills, or wiping butts because your kids couldn’t hold it until you got to the next gas station on your road trip.
Diapers
- You probably can skip this one if you aren’t in the baby phase anymore. I can’t tell you how many times I went somewhere thinking that I had restocked the diaper bag only to realize I hadn’t. But the spare car diapers came to the rescue!
Change of clothes
- You never know when your kids are going to get wet this summer. Maybe there was a splash pad you weren’t prepared for. Maybe they have an accident in the car. Maybe they drop ice cream down their front on the way to your family Fourth of July gathering. We have used each kid’s spare car clothes EVERY summer.
Towel
- We mainly have used towels to dry slides at parks after it rains.
Sunscreen
- Doesn’t need an explanation.
Bug Spray
- I repeat explanation to #5.
Spare chargers
- You will forget one on a trip and you will get glad that you packed this away. We always have a car charger already in the car, so we just try to keep a wall port in the car box so we can use it inside the hotel if needed.
Pen and paper
- We keep a sticky note pad in the car box with a couple of pens. Sometimes I actually do need to write down something important. But many times it is just used as entertainment for my kids.
Scissors
- You would think by now that companies would make their packaging easier to open. But we frequently have bough something on roadtrips that is zip tied and unusable without scissors.
Assorted bag sizes
- I usually pack a couple of trash bags, a few gallon ziplocs, and a few grocery bags. We have used the trash bags for clothes when our children have gotten car sick. And the grocery bags make for a great way to clean up trash and throw it out at your gas station stops.
Disinfecting wipes
- This mainly gets used for car sickness clean up as well, but its always nice to have on hand for any kind of yucky mess that happens in the car. Or for wiping down tables before eating somewhere.
Water bottles
- We carry our reusable water bottles everywhere but they obviously get emptied so it is nice to have a few that we can refill our bottles with, even if they are a little warm. We have also used them for rinsing sand off of our feet after beach trips.
First aid kit
- Make sure it has the basic necessities of bandaids, alcohol wipes/Neosporin, and any kinds of medicines you or your kids might need. I also like to have one with nail clippers. I linked the one we have, but honestly I would make my own if we did it again.
Tissues
- It is currently allergy season. Need I say more?
Jumper cables/tools
- Even if your car is Ol’ Reliable, you never know who you could help!
Snacks
- Summer is a time to stay out longer than you anticipated at parks, play dates, and special events. We try to save money by keeping a few snacks in the car that can hold us over until the next meal. Some great ideas for non-melting snacks are:
  - Pretzels
  - Applesauce pouches
  - Freeze-dried fruit
  - Dry cereal
  - Meat sticks
  - Hello Panda
  - Goldfish
  - Trail mix
  - Peanut butter crackers.