DIY Road Trip Travel Tray
We were trying to decide whether we should fly or drive to visit family this summer.  On the one hand, airfare for three adults and one child would be over $1600.  On the other hand, it would be a 14 hour car ride with an almost four year old.  $1600? 14 hour car ride?  It was a tough decision, but we finally decided on the 14 hour car trip.  We searched Pinterest for advice on traveling with a preschooler and we thought we were ready for the drive.  We weren’t. But that is a story for another day.  The one thing we did do right was make this DIY Road Trip Travel Tray.  We made it with a cookie sheet and some scrap fabric (it actually was a pretty easy project) and it was a godsend during the trip.
How to make a DIY Road Trip Travel Tray
Project Supplies:
- Large Cookie Sheet
- Spray Paint
- Craft Paint
- Dauber Paint brushes
- 2 pieces of Scrap Fabric the size of the cookie sheet
- Tacky Glue
- Sewing Machine
- Bean Bag Stuffing
The first step is to sand down the non-stick finish of the cookie sheet a bit. Â And then spray paint it with a good primer. Â This is our second cookie sheet. Â The first time we painted the cookie sheet without doing these two things and the spray paint both did not stick everywhere and starting pealing immediately.
But we had no peeling issues with the paint when we used sand paper and primer!
This next step is completely optional but because we are crafters we had to embellish the tray a bit with some acrylic craft paint and our Martha Stewart Dauber Brushes.
Now we wanted to create a cushion to glue to the bottom of the tray that would help keep the  Road Trip Travel Tray steady and stabilized on Allison’s lap when she was in the car seat.  We discussed the best way to accomplish this (one pin we saw on Pinterest added a velcro strap that hooked the travel tray onto the arms of the car seat) and settled on this idea.  We used a some scrap flannel fabric we had used for a couple of other projects and we stole some bean bag stuffing from an old bean bag chair.  I used a sewing machine but this is such a simple sewing project you could actually hand stitch the seams if you don’t have a machine handy.
I didn’t take the time to make a pattern, I just cut a piece of fabric to the size of the bottom of the cookie sheet. Â This pink piece is going to be the piece I glue onto the bottom of the Road Trip Travel Tray.
Then I used the pink piece of fabric as a guide to cut the printed piece of fabric. Â I cut this second piece of fabric larger than the pink piece, there was a border of about 1 1/2 inches on all sides.
To create the pouch like effect for the bottom piece of fabric, I sewed a 1 1/2 inch seam at each corner of the fabric as shown in the pictures above. Â I trimmed off the corner piece at the seam before moving on to the next step.
By creating the corners in the step above, the printed fabric was now the same diameter as the pink fabric.  With right sides together I pinned the two pieces of fabric together.  In the second picture, you can see that now I have a pouch to hold the bean bag stuffing.  Sew around all four sides, leaving yourself a 3 inch opening so you can fill the cushion later.  One you are done sewing, turn the fabric right-side out through the seam opening.
I filled the cushion with the bean bag stuffing, making sure not to fill it too much so there would be some give when Allison had it on her lap. Â I used a needle and thread to close up the opening of the cushion and then I used Tacky Glue to glue the cushion to the bottom of the cookie sheet tray.
I put a couple of books on top the cushion and let it dry for a few hours. Â That’s it – all done and it looked great!
Allison loved the tray! Â The cushion was comfortable on her lap and it was even more stable than we had hoped. Â It never fell off that I can remember.
She used it to play with her toys, color, eat her snacks and watch the portable DVD player.  Huge success!  If you have a car-seat bound kid, we really recommend that you don’t leave home on a multi-hour car trip without a Road Trip Travel Tray!
love this idea, im making a lap tray for people with dementia for my higher school certificate design and technology major work and im attaching a cushion to the bottom of it. was just looking around at what to do to attach it. funny thing, i never thought of glue!!!!!!
I’ve been thinking of getting my kids their own children’s travel trays so that we can go for a long drive without interruptions. Your post came in handy as it provides steps on how I can do it myself. Thanks!
Other trays I’ve seen have a strap … did you have any issues with it sliding off her lap?
We’re driving 32 hours with two boys 3 & 6 in two weeks. We have a dvd player built but I thought it would be good to keep hands busy. I was thinking we could velcro the table on and make a couple tops, one with a lego base glued on.
Thanks!
Wow, 32 hours? That’s quite the trip. We didn’t have any problem with it falling off her lap. As you can see in the pictures, it mostly was resting on the sides of the car seat. Even now that she is older and in a booster seat, she is still able to hold it on her lap comfortably. Good luck on your trip!!
Really great idea! I wonder if you used chalkboard paint, if you could actually add that feature to the magnetic fun. Hmmmm.
That’s a really good idea. If you do it, let us know how it turns out.
Do you think using polyester filling would work as well as bean bag filler?
Sure, that should work just fine.
Glue a magnet to the bottom of that sippie cup to keep it from sliding and tipping over.
What a great idea!! We are trying this on our next road trip.
I have extra fine sandpaper, will that work or should I get some that’s not as fine?
It should work. You just need to rough it up a bit so the paint will stick.
Does the cookie sheet get hot in sun in summer?
We didn’t have that problem. I think the fact that it’s painted helps
Love this idea. My son loves to play with magnetic shapes and build things. A cookie tray would be perfect because it would stick directly there!
Where did you buy the bean bag stuffing?
I like the idea of using velcro to attach the pillow to the tray. Then it can be removed easily for washing.
Attaching the pillow to the tray with velcro is an EXCELLENT idea. Wish we had thought of that. Thanks for the tip!!!
love this idea, totally doing it for our ride (18 hours…eeeek) I would really love to know what DIDNT work your road trip, Im good at prepping fun little things like trays and snacks but sometimes the fear of the unknown is the biggest!!
Hi – this travel tray was a godsend on our trip. Allison had it on her lap nearly the entire time. As for what didn’t work – how long do you have? We tried an idea we found on Pinterest that said to buy a bunch to small toys from the dollar store and hand them out one at a time at various intervals – this was a huge Pinterest Fail. She was so obsessed by the toy that was coming NEXT that she didn’t enjoy the one we had just given her. We brought puzzles, and books and toys and special snacks but honestly, the iPad and portable DVD player were what occupied her the best. We downloaded a bunch of episodes of the Disney and PBS shows that she loves (Curious George and The Wild Kratts) and those were always the best distractions. The most important thing, and something we didn’t do enough of on the first leg of the trip, is to stop often and let the her get out of the confining car seat and stretch her legs. It is so easy to get in the mindset to keep pushing ahead without stopping but we found that even five minutes out of the car seat would buy us a couple of tear-free hours. Hope this helps! Good luck on your trip!!!
Btw I love this idea for my grand kids and for me too when I’m sitting in my recliner knitting playing games on my tablet etc. You are very creative!
Thanks Jane!
How did you plug in the DVD player?
We bought an adapter that plugged into the car lighter.
You 2 are just amazing, and what imaginations you have! I almost wish that I had a child around that I could make some of your treats for (not really– been there, done that). Anyway, I really enjoy your blog/site/whatever.
Mary Jo