Holiday travel season is here! Flying with toddlers & little ones can sometimes be a little stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Traveling with your little one can be a fun & exciting experience, especially when it’s their first time riding on an airplane. Preparing fun activities for your toddler to play with on the airplane ahead of time can help easy anxiety and help keep them busy, especially if you are going on a long flight. Today, I am sharing a round up of age-appropriate activities that toddlers can do on an airplane.
Best Airplane Activites for Toddlers
In the post, I will share some great activities for toddlers to play with on an airplane. Most of these toys I have used myself for our little one and they were great! This post is helpful no matter how long your flight is or even if it is not your little ones first flight. Traveling with a little one younger than one? I shared in a previous post travel essentials for one year olds here.
How to keep toddlers occupied on an airplane
Keeping a toddler busy on an airplane is no easy task, especially if it is a long flight! The tips below have helped me to keep my little busy on the flights that we have been on, some even being over 8 hours.
Go to the potty before take off and landing
One great tip I’ve learned is to not only plan to go potty before takeoff, but before landing as well! Making sure your little goes to the potty before they have to have their seatbelt on before landing is sure to help avoid a meltdown.
Space out toys & snacks
Spacing out toys & snacks helps to make sure that your little has things to play with (and eat) for the entire duration of the flight. I do this by telling my little that she has to wait a little bit for her next snack, or for her next toy that she wants to play with.
Encourage a nap on the airplane
Encouraging naps on the airplane is a great thing to plan ahead for, especially if you are going on a light flight that is longer than a few hours. I tend to keep our little awake before a flight, so that if she does get sleepy than she takes a nap on the flight and is able to rest. This also helps with not having to bring so many toys to keep her busy.
Keep 1-2 emergency toys in case nothing else is working
Sometimes no matter how much you plan, nothing works on an airplane ride with an irritated toddler. When all else fails, I like to hav 1-2 favorite toys that I keep hidden for an emergency situation. I keep these in my bag so my little doesn’t see them & only pull they out as a last resort. These are favorite toys from home that are easy to travel with and I know my little loves to play with.
What are the best plane activities for toddlers
Sharing below some of my favorite plane activities for toddlers that are sure to keep littles busy and are easy to travel with. Not only are these all easy to travel with, but they are educational also (mostly!):
Portable tray table
One of my favorite travel must haves when traveling with a little is a travel tray! Most times, the pull down tray is either too far away or just not the right height for a little to use. A travel tray is great because it fits right onto a littles lap and normally is a fun print or pattern that they like to use.
Favorite books
I keep a separate stack of “favorite books” that we only pull out for travel. These are fun interactive books, such as poke-a-dot books and other ones that are long and I know my little likes. We only use these for travel, so when I do pull them out on the airplane or in the car, my little is really excited to read and play with them.
Mess free coloring books & crayons
Mess free coloring books are always a go-to for us when we travel. They are easy to pack and really are entertaining for toddlers. They make for a great toddler travel activity, since they are minimal mess and they can have fun independently. Another great semi mess free activity are water wow books- my little does not like these as much but I have a lot of mom friends whose little uses them and really enjoy!
Yoto Player & cards
This is a new item for us that we got recently, but we really love the mini yoto player & cards for travel! This little player has so many different cards that you can pick from that have both songs & stories that your little might like. We love this because it is technically “screen-free”, but still interactive. We used this on a trip recently to Mexico and it was a hit, both on the plane and at the hotel during down time as well.
Sticker books
Sticker books are always an easy activity for toddlers on an airplane. Nothing fancy is needed, just a sticker book or even some stickers and paper. These are great to pull out at the airport also while waiting to board the plane, since it is very minimal and mess free. Sticker wow books are great & I highly recommend!
Snack packs
Packing snacks is 100% a must when traveling with a toddler! I always bring my Childs favorite snacks in small sizes and have them accessible at all times, especially during takeoff while we are waiting for people to finish boarding the plane.
Travel size magnates & puzzles
Travel size magnatiles & puzzles are great for travel, since they are small and easy to pack into your Childs backpack or even your own bag! We like the puzzles that are magnets, so all of the pieces are easy to keep together.
Water bottle
While this one is not an activity, it is a necessity. I always bring a favorite water bottle on trips for my toddler to be able to put their various drinks in it (milk, juice, water, etc.). Having their bottle of their own helps with spills and other things that are bound to happen.
Favorite stuffed animal
Almost every little ones has a few favorite stuffed animals that they just can’t be without. I typically travel with one of our favorites and am sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get lost. Most of the times, the favorite stuffed animal is seen as security for a toddler, so really helps with airplane travel during times when they might feel scared, such as during takeoff or landing.
A secret toy for just in case
When all else fails, keeping a secret toy that you only bring out when necessary has been a good thing for us! This is typically something that is still easy to travel with (such a play doh) and is a favorite of my childs but might be a little messy or not ideas. I like having secret toys that are familiar to my toddler, giving a sense of comfort if I feel like a melt down is coming.
All of the above are things that I have used when traveling with a toddler and make for great activities for toddler. I hope some of these ideas help you pack for your adventure with your little one!
XO,
B
