The Ultimate Toddler Travel Entertainment List

Long-haul flights and kids. Say no more. I created a comprehensive list of things to do with your toddlers on the plane. Entertaining activities to keep us all friends at the end of the trip. Here it goes:


1. Food

You would think it's obvious, but sometimes we tend to forget it. Food is definitely the Number 1 distraction for kids on the plane. Well, for grown-ups too. A few tips here:

- Make a Cheerios necklace, it would be easy to carry and chew on;
- Lollipops last longer than gummy bears;
- You don't have to only bring sandwitches, crackers and candy, there are some healthier alternatives: string cheese, carrot, cucumber and apple sticks, grapes, rice waffels, raisins, home-made dates-and-nuts balls, to name a few;
- If you bring empty travel bottles, you can fill them with tap water after the security scan.


2. Books

Especially if you have a favourite book that you read before going to bed (wink, wink). Activity books like the ones pictured also work quite well.

3. DIY stuff
A whole universe of things. For example,

Dry-erase colouring books: mini folders with laminated sheets, crayons and a felt piece to wipe it all off. Cleaning the sheets is more entertaining for my kids than actually drawing on them.

Or, busy wallets: real wallets full with plastic cards, "money", coins, coupons, stickers... Great for pretend play. If you hide a little candy in them for the kids to find, they will keep going through and through for more (that's R's idea, I'm generally not that mean). Best if they have buttons and zippers and many compartments.

A classic, this sticks game that we made some time ago:

Another classic, the button caterpillar. Easy to make, light, and trains that oh-so-hard buttoning process.

If you're not very crafty, but your kids are, just give them some post-its and colourful paper clips to make necklaces and crowns and decorate the plane. And themselves. And you.

4. Things you can buy

Ha! You thought I make it all myself? Yeah, right, with two kids, full-time job and afterwork packing of suitcases? Maybe not. I have some great ideas, though:

Stickers! Lots of stickers. Kids can stick them in the laminated folder featured above, or you can draw in a notebook and ask the little helpers to add to it, depending on context.

Random tantrum-preventing presents (even better, wrapped ones) that can be opened during the flight.

Flashcards with animals, fruits and veggies, colours, alphabet...

Brain games, such as IQ link or Mini squigz.

Story telling cubes.

Scratch boards.

And if scratch boards are not messy enough for you, try Play Mais.

What more?  Mini figurines (Ninjago comes to mind) for pretend play, hair clips/ big tweezers, magnifying glass, magnets and/or magnetic games. If anything else fails, turn to:


5. Best apps

I always try to have a few apps - an educational one (or two or three), a pretty story-telling one, an I spy one, a doodle/colouring one, flashcard one, and maybe something I would like to play myself. A bonus, if the kids don't need me to be around to operate it. An obligatory requirement, pretty graphics.

From the ones we tested so far, my kids' absolute favourite apps are:

Disney storytime

Lego train

and Cubic Frog Edu Paint

Now, a disclaimer: you really don't need ALL of above for one (or even, three) long-haul flights. Just pack what you and your kids like.

What are your favourite tricks to survive travel with toddlers?