As we’ve covered so far, flying with kids requires…
A LOT of crap.
But most of all, it requires planning and preparation for the things you are going to do during the ride.
Here are 10 AWESOME ideas to keep your busy kids, BUSY, during an airplane ride:
1.) Tablet
If screentime isn’t for you, I can appreciate that, but for me on a plane – the rules kinda go out the window. Amazon’s Kid’s Kindle Fire Tablet is such a lifesaver for travel. Outside of videos/movies, we have downloaded a ton of educational games and puzzles. The puzzles were definitely a favorite of Maddie’s on the trip! We have the $99 version.
Don’t forget headphones!
2.) Magic Ink coloring books
These are perfect because unlike the Color Wonder books, there’s only ONE marker. (Less to keep track of.) This easily killed 15-20 minutes on the trip.
3.) Color Wonder coloring books
I know I just dissed Color Wonder books, but my kids LOVE them. (Remember the whole “observing what they like” statement?) Once the magic ink books lost their “magic,” so to speak, we moved onto these bad boys.
4.) Melissa and Doug Water Wow! coloring books
My kids are really into coloring, y’all. I LOVE these books as the water feature makes it fun and exciting, but also… totally reusable!
5.) Etch-a-Sketch
My oldest really enjoys this the most, but anything big sister likes… little sister likes too. Keep that in mind when you’re planning your packing list. 😉
6.) Stickers
Never underestimate the power of stickers, guys! You can definitely get creative with them.
- Melissa and Doug reusable stickers are fun “stickers” that don’t have to end up in the trash after one use.
- Dot stickers, (as I discovered through busytoddler.com), can be used in a million different ways. We stuck them on plane windows, (and removed them of course,) and did color-matching.
7.) Interactive board books
I brought a few of these as Maddie LOVES to read and these keep her EXTRA busy. Here are a few of our favorites:
8.) Mini puzzles
This has the potential to make you crazy, but again, my kids love puzzles and I was prepared to sacrifice one $1 puzzle for the greater good.
9.) Candles and spice container
These next two ideas are totally obscure… but can be done with materials you have at home!
No joke, this activity took up 45 glorious minutes on the plane ride. Why? 1.) It was a brand new, never been done before activity and 2.) it required concentration.
- Using an empty spice container and a pack of 20 mini candles, show your little one how to place the candles through the tiny holes of the container. When they’re done, they can shake it, empty it, and repeat it 100 more times.
10.) Jelly bean container
Similar to the activity above, we used a small plastic bottle of jellybeans from Christmas and the girls took their time counting them, and putting them back into the container. They also got a fun (and chewy) snack to help ease ear pressure!
PRO TIP! (You’ll thank me for this one later.) While I had a pretty strategic plan on how to pack, and play, with all of this stuff, I totally overlooked how to keep everything contained. Particularly with the small candle and jelly bean activities, stuff was falling… EVERYWHERE! And when it fell on the airplane floor, it simply rolled away… for good.
If you have a loose jacket, spread it out on the floor in front of you, and depending on the material, it should catch everything that has fallen down. That way, you can grab things that have dropped during your activity, or simply scoop it up when you’re all done!
What creative ways have you found to keep kids entertained during travel? I’d love to hear about it!
