We allow the children to carry what fits in a back pack, a pillow, and a stuffed toy in the passenger compartment. Since this constitutes the toys for the trip, we now check to be sure that there are enough toys. On one trip my daughter convinced my son to fill his bag with her overflow dolls. He had no toys with him for two weeks. Available at most book stores and discount houses, Brain Quest is a fun trivia game for school-agers in the car.
Questions are by grade.
It, too, can get dull but it beats children smacking each othere in rush hour traffic in a strange city. Before leaving we let the children pick tapes they wanted to bring. A point comes, however, when Raffi, or as the children have gotten older Third Eye Blind, has to be turned off. Bring some music for yourself or invest in ear phones. Admit it, sometimes you just have to go in the back seat and sit with the kids.