(AP) -- Each year, families set out on the country's interstate highways risking frayed nerves, cramped legs and juice-stained upholstery to share a few days of holiday cheer with far-flung relatives.But do road trips really have to turn into your customized sequel to "National Lampoon's Vacation"? Not necessarily, say parents who've mastered the carefully orchestrated mix of creativity and gadgetry that can make long car trips not only bearable, but also fun.Strategies for success vary widely, but one theme is consistent among experienced road-trippers: Plan ahead. While most people think of preparing for the vacation itself, parents with young children also need to map out the way they'll spend time on the road.That's what Vicky Cusick did when her three kids were younger. "We would plan the trip, breaking it down," says Cusick, of Nashville, Tennessee, who makes several interstate car trips each year with her family.The Cusicks would leave home around 5 a.m. "and bank on the kids sleeping for three hours." When they awoke, Vicky would hand out pre-packed cups of cereal while her husband drove. "Finally we got smart and we'd make them go to sleep in their clothes the night before. Because in their pajamas, they'd wake up wanting to stop and get dressed."That's just the sort of planning recommended by Michael H. Popkin, psychologist and author of "Doc Pop's 52 Weeks of Active Parenting," who advises getting plenty of rest before you leave so that parental tension and crankiness doesn't rub off on the children.Dr. Popkin also suggests frequent breaks. "Stop every two hours for a five-minute break," he says. "And bring a ball or a Frisbee."Just about everyone who's done the family road trip or studied it has a tip for smoothing the ride:Combine breaks with meals to save travel time -- and choose places that have play areas. "Let them run, burn off some steam, and then take the food in the car and risk the mess," says Jeanne Murphy, an author of child-care books and program director of the iParenting Media Awards.Burn up travel time by preparing for a meal or snack in the car, eating it, then having the kids pitch in with clean-up.Fill a bag with a mix of new toys and older ones that are awaiting rediscovery, especially for kids below school age. Carla Lev of Chicago, who has traveled across states and oceans with her three school-age daughters since they were born, suggests plundering the dollar store for gifts to wrap up and dole out gradually. "Every hour it's, 'Look what's in the grab bag this hour!"' she says.Read to the kids or play books on tape, then talk about the stories, imagining alternate endings and discussing how characters might have felt at certain moments.Build in special stops that will capture the kids' imaginations. That's Elizabeth Lasseter's solution. "We're going to do our first leg and try to make it to Louisville," says Lasseter, of Birmingham, Alabama, who is planning a car trip to Wisconsin with her two sons. "The Louisville Slugger baseball museum and factory are there."Making the most of 'forced togetherness'But success often depends on children's temperaments. Some families find that brief stops create more stress than they relieve, and prefer simply reaching their destination as fast as possible.Some opt to drive at night. That was the solution for Stephanie Werren of Canton, Ohio, a mother of triplets who wanted to get them to Florida painlessly. "We'd leave at 5 p.m., stop for dinner at eight and they were asleep by 10," she says. "By the time they woke up in the morning, we were there by 10 a.m."The overnight drive can be peaceful, but it can also be exhausting. After a sleepless night, parents may have little energy left to handle their well-rested children.Now that Werren's children are 7, the family no longer drives overnight. But on recent back-to-back trips to New York, Massachusetts and Michigan, they stopped only for a few quick bathroom breaks. Her secret weapon? Consumer electronics."It was so different when we were kids. I came from a family where it was too expensive to fly, so we drove. And my mom would get so mad at us, she wouldn't be talking to us halfway down," Werren says. "But if we'd had a DVD or Gameboys -- they are just amazing."Others, like Lasseter, haven't been helped much by DVDs: Her kids fought over movies and refused to take turns. Besides, movies don't necessarily help families make the most of the hours together."If your goal is to just make the trip not negative, then the DVD is great," says Wendy S. Grolnick, whose research at Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts, explores children's ability to manage their emotions. "But if your goal is to make it especially positive and even educational, then you may not want to go in that direction."Many families also turn to an old standard: word games -- searching out letters of the alphabet on license plates or naming state capitals. That can be a great way to sneak in a bit of education amid the entertainment.On last year's Thanksgiving road trip, Vicky Cusick made paper turkeys with her kids before leaving. "The feathers said all the things we were thankful for. We saved some of it to do in the car," she says. And on the way home, after passing through Washington, D.C., she suggested a poetry contest to occupy her restless kids. "This took them hours, writing and rewriting and trying to win."It may seem like extra work, but the dividends can be enormous."In this busy world that we have, it's forced togetherness," Grolnick says. "These are things your kids are going to remember: a joke-telling contest or a 20 Questions ritual or an 'I'm Going on a Picnic' game. They remember that more than they'll remember the trip."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.