Handheld video games? Rear seat DVD players? Anybody over 40 years of age might think the futuristic fantasy world of The Jetsons has arrived.

But whatever happened to family time in the car? While it might be nice to keep the kids distracted during the long drive to Grandma's house, it's getting harder and harder to spend quality time with our loved ones these days.

So this holiday season turn your travel time into family game time.

"Kids don't want to watch TV for nine hours straight on a long trip so you have to find something else for them to do. My family only uses the DVD player in our van for downtime, when everybody needs a little break (from each other)," said Laurel Smith, founder of the playful parenting website MomsMinivan.com.

Since it's the holidays, carols are a great place to start. Before you leave town pick up a book of simple holiday songs or print out some lyrics from the internet.

You and the family can wile away the hours perfecting your favorite holiday tunes, with or without the help of CDs or mp3s. And who knows? By the time you reach your final destination you might even be ready to treat your relatives to a little performance.

Are members of your family vocally challenged? There are plenty of non-musical activities to choose from.

Smith suggests making a trip journal. "Give everyone a big spiral bound sketch pad and a box of crayons or markers. Each day of the trip or for each event along the way, draw a picture of what you did that day, or draw a map of where you went, and write about it," she said.

Of course you can't go wrong with the classic car games you probably played yourself when you were a child.

Some of the all time favorites include "I Spy," "The License Plate Game," and "Twenty Questions". The basic rules and plenty of other suggestions are available on Smith's website.

"You get in the car with your family and you have these happy memories of playing these games when you were a kid and you want to share them with your children and relive those memories. The old classics never really go out of style," Smith said.