7 Essential, 6 non-essential accessories every mom wants in her car
You don't need a holiday to do something nice for mom; stock up her car with these essential car accessories
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You don’t have to be a mom to need/want the car accessories — accessories for your car — on this list. You can be a parent (default or not), or just a super-involved aunt or friend, or maybe you just like being prepared for some of the unknown scenarios in everyday life. For example, you don’t have to be a mom to need a phone, but I am a mom, and I do need my phone to connect to Android Auto (or Apple CarPlay, whatever floats your boat — or a simple Bluetooth connection if I’m in my 2014 Honda Odyssey) so I can cue up a playlist to drown out the fighting in the back seats. I won’t put “phone” on this list because I don’t know many people who leave the house without their phone (and charger), wallet (for your licence), and keys (to start the car — though many new cars are doing the digital car key thing), at the very least. All very essential items to most of the driving population, and all not on this list.
Also note that as a mom of young children, but none young enough to still be in diapers, I don’t carry a diaper bag around anymore — and that means a lot of my essential car accessories no longer travel in and out of every place we go. Instead, they need a home, and that home is the car. And much like your actual home needs to be restocked from time to time (remember when people went crazy over toilet paper?), Mom’s car needs to be restocked with a few essential items because moms don’t have time to cry over the inevitable spilled milk — but sometimes we still do.
Tissues, wet wipes, and paper towels!
Yes, I bundled three items into one because a) they’re all tied for first place, and b) their sole purpose is for cleaning, even if they each clean different things in different ways.
Let’s start with tissues, because a runny nose happens far too often when kids are in school. We used to buy small travel packs (and still do, because those fit easily into a purse or backpack) but a full-size tissue box — bought in bulk — will last longer and can be thrown into the front centre console or passed around, as needed.
A pack of Pampers wet wipes no longer travels with us in a diaper bag anymore. Instead, we have a pack of WaterWipes or Costco’s Kirkland-branded wipes on hand for quick cleanups when a tissue isn’t quite enough.
And as for paper towels — thicker than a tissue — just throw a roll into the car, or even better, oftentimes you get a (free) small stack of napkins when you buy fast food. Those can be easily stored in the car for future use (the napkins, not the food), assuming you didn’t use them all during the meal.
Hand sanitizer
The world is full of germs, and kids seem to multiply that by 100. And while we may not be traveling with large bottles of hand sanitizer anymore, it’s certainly still important to have it in some form. Dollarama usually has the small bottles up front by the cashier, those are great for cars and can be refilled once it’s empty.
Throw-up bags/bucket
One of my kids has extreme car sickness, so we tend to have some sort of container ready at any given time because no one, and I mean no one, likes cleaning up a mess of vomit (that’s definitely worth crying over). We usually have a bucket — an Easter egg basket from the dollar store that doubles as a garbage can — that is lined with a disposable bag, as well as a roll of extra bags in the overflowing centre console. However, recently we were introduced to these disposable barf bags that have really come in handy because they’re a lot easier to travel with, and I also pack them into backpacks for school trips.
Kid-friendly snacks
In the summer, this can be tricky because snacks can easily go bad in the heat — have you seen gummy bears clump together to form one massive blob? If you’re going on a long trip, or sometimes even a short one, it’s nice to have a little lunch bag filled with treats for the kids. I know most parents will tell you to pack fruits and veggies, and other healthy things, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that kids will need to poop at the most inconvenient times and well, fruits tend to help encourage that. So, we generally have Welch’s snack packs — the packaging says it’s “made with real fruit” so it’s healthy in my books — and some kind of Ritz crackers, Goldfish, pretzels, Bear Paws, granola bars, or whatever else we have stocked in the snack cupboard.
Note: I generally leave snacks in the car that I’ll like, as well. A couple weeks ago I left home in a hurry and knew I wouldn’t have time to stop at a Tim Horton’s; I was so glad there were a couple packs of Welch’s in the car to hold me over.
Gum
Well, this is pretty self-explanatory. Fresh breath is cool. However, much like snacks, sometimes gum works to postpone full-on hunger in times of severe need. Chewing gum can also help some with nausea, while a minty gum can help perk you up and keep you awake on a long drive.
Bag of reusable bags
We all have a bag of birthday bags, right? And now that most stores no longer give away plastic bags — making you pay for reusable bags — it’s not unlikely that you’ll find a bag of reusable bags in mom’s car. You never know when you’ll need to make a last-minute stop for mid-week groceries. In a pinch, you can always buy extras at the checkout.
Pen/Boogie board
I always have a pen handy, and it’s usually in my purse, but kids get bored easily and digging around my purse for a pen (and some kind of paper) is a huge distraction while driving — and colouring books and crayons are another mess to clean at the end of the drive. Many young kids have used a Magna-Doodle at some point, but when they’re a bit older, a great alternative to travel with is a Boogie Board — but when ours broke, we bought this cheaper version on Amazon. It also fits in the pocket behind most front seats.
Bonus: Playlist
We’re big Disney/musical fans in my household, which means as long as a new movie comes out, we’ve got the album’s playlist on repeat. In the last couple years, we’ve had the following on repeat: Encanto, Zombies 1, 2, and 3, anything from High School Musical (the movies or TV show), and more recently Wish and Wonka.
But if you’ve got a Spotify account, you can queue up some non-kid-friendly music and get your nostalgia on — I love listening to 90s and early-2000s playlists and realizing how inappropriate it was for me to be singing certain songs as a pre-teen (or younger).
6 luxury items for mom’s car
Moms tend to do double duty (often triple or quadruple duty, too). We’re busy and we multitask so we want things that can do the same for us. The following list doesn’t necessarily need to be restocked as often as the previous list but it’s a list of essentials to get mom through her day. Many of these items may start off in the house, but at some point or another, they’ll make it into her car — making them essential car accessories for mom.
The following items would also make awesome presents for mom (hint, hint), and no, you don’t need a holiday to celebrate mom (HINT, HINT).
Travel mug
Your 10-year-old does not need a Stanley or Yeti mug, and honestly, mom probably doesn’t really need it either, but an awesome travel mug (or several) would make a great addition for mom’s car — unless mom specifically told you she doesn’t want one because she’s already aware that she has too many, and it’s become a storage problem. Whichever travel mug you choose, just make sure the handle is high enough to allow it to fit in a car’s cup holder.
Sunglasses
Keep mom looking stylish with a new pair of shades that are trending. My go-to will always be some simple Ray-Bans, but if you’re looking to spend big, check out these awesome Ray-Ban Metas.These smart glasses not only shade your eyes from the sun, but they work as a camera, as well as speakers for music and calls! Go spoil your mom.
Scrunchies, hair clips, and bobby pins
How we manage to lose countless hair accessories will forever be an unsolved mystery — there’s only so many places for someone to undo their hair, so where are all the hair ties and bobby pins ending up? Assuming mom will need them eventually, if not already, here’s a huge pack of scrunchies that has different materials and cute designs. Most dollar stores carry a large variety of hair accessories, so go crazy!
Umbrella
We have a few different umbrella sizes that go in and out of the garage, as needed. But there’s one umbrella I’ve always wanted because it seems like it would really protect a hairstyle, thanks to its shape. It can easily cover your face and hair, because it’s also see-through and won’t block your vision.
Lip balm
I love a good and affordable ChapStick, but you know what I love more? This Sugar lip balm that glides, no floats along your lips. It’s not the most affordable, but it makes me happy. I don’t leave it in my car because the thought of it melting makes me sad — instead it goes in and out of the house with me via the next item.
Purse
A purse doesn’t have to be expensive, but it can be. According to Vogue, Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton are top-sellers when it comes to fashionable purses that have high resale values (something we also look for in vehicles, just saying) — an expensive purse is a great investment, right? Many of the items on this list and the previous one will make it into mom’s purse at some point — well, maybe not if we’re talking about this $2,000 Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag (an awesome name!). You can definitely find cheaper ones, but I won’t list it here because mom deserves the world!
Where to buy:
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments; what essential items are in your car?
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