If you're taking advantage of the slight decline in gas prices and taking a family road trip this Labor Day weekend, here are some tips for surviving your time in the car:

--Momsminivan.com has lots of games and some interesting tips on how to relieve car-sickness. (And a good one in case you aren't able to relieve the sickness in time to prevent a mess; stow empty butter tubs and their lids in the car, so you can at least contain the mess until your next stop.)

--This site has more tips, including one we have used: leave in the pre-dawn, before-breakfast hours. If you get kids to sleep in their traveling clothes, you can "swoop" them into the car at the last minute, and with luck they'll sleep for a few more hours. Then you can stop for pancakes.

--This story from the Los Angeles Times suggests giving kids projects or games they can do as a team to cut down on back-seat bickering. For example, they can compose a song for Grandma together, or work together to count green cars, the story says.

--If you can plan ahead, have a grandparent record him or herself telling or reading long stories. Play the tapes or CDs on the long ride.

--And a couple of don'ts: You might be tempted to prop a portable DVD player between your kids' seats if you don't already have a system with two screens in your car, but beware: looking even a little to the side to watch the movie can cause vertigo (and car sickness) in some kids. It happened to us once on a trip to the Outer Banks. Reading can cause car-sickness even faster, so save the books for your destination.