A.,
On our last car trip, my daughter (15) and I went to the dollar store and picked up various items and put them in different bags. Every so many miles, they would get a new little baggie. This is similar to the little gift bags tht kids often get at a birthday party to take home. They had colors, coloring books, stories on cd, little play things, etc. It gave them something to look forward to along the way. I have found over the years that what they start off with, they can get pretty bored with as the day rolls on. I still had other things for them to start with (like the magna doodles, etch-a-sketch, etc.). We travel a LOT and this is something they enjoy. The last trip we took did not have a dvd player in the car so this was what got them through.