plane ideas
February 26, 2010
What toys or crafts do you bring on the airplane for your kids? (other than a dvd!) I sometimes tear out fun connect-the-dot games or coloring sheets but that’s about it. Please give me any ideas! Thanks!
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the concierge mom 
ok, so timely suzanne as I was just at Target today looking for things for our upcoming trip to Florida. The Easter section had fun little Lego kits, and littlest pet shop toys, that looked like they’d be a fun activity for a plane ride. They were all under $6. I figure between those and some M&M’s, my iphone, gum and crayons, we’ll be okay, right?
For our last long trip, I packed Sofi’s backpack with tons of stuff….coloring books, blank paper for drawing,crayons, markers, books, and toys. I did it all in secret and Sofi wasn’t allowed to open the backpack until she got on the plane. The coloring books and toys were new to her so that was a big deal. She also had her own little snacks in her back pack which was fun for her.
For this next trip we are going to play Airplane Bingo (cards can be ordered online). I also saw a cute idea about doing a “scavenger” hunt on the plane – finding easy things like someone sleeping, a pillow, a laptop – you could probably come up with a whole list.
With teaching preschool, I have had parents talk to me about going on the plane and what will their kids do? So I have put together packets that are “from their teacher” that they get to have on the plane. I have included some age appropriate math, writing pages, and coloring pages that go along with what we might be talking about in class or where they may be traveling.
-Play-Doh
-Crayola color wonder finger paints
-Stickers and blank paper
-I always make a new “I SPY” bottle for my kids. I take a water bottle fill it with little trinkets I collect over time and rice and I make a check list for them to check off when they “find” a trinket. Keeps them busy for a long time š
Katie,
You’ve named many of my favorites – color wonder (markers and finger paints!), playdoh, stickers and paper. We also bring a portable DVD player for longer flights. Headphones are a challenge, but it helps at times. StoryReader and books as well, but head phones are needed to avoid stares from other passengers. Polly Pockets are also fun for girls, but we don’t bring the shoes which get lost EASILY.
Justine
I like lots of little things to keep pulling out of his backpack. Snacks, drugstore workbooks, Color Wonder pens that only color on certain paper, maze books, card games, magnetic playbooks, Wikki Stix, stickers and a notebook to put them in, travel Magnadoodle.
Chicken Socks has some great books we save only for travel, like the Eye Find book that comes with a pouch that holds a cool magnifying glass, “flashlight,” etc.: http://www.klutz.com/Chicken-Socks/Eye-Find-Book?merch_location=Chicken%20Socks%20Listing
Have heard that the Dover mini books are great, and they’re $1.50 each.
I want to try some travel games; saw an airplane scavenger hunt game idea on Family Fun: http://familyfun.go.com/vacations/travel-game-scavenger-hunt-on-the-plane-713649/
The big trip to Australia had me in serious plan mode for this. Baden’s favorites were mini puzzles from Land of Nod and pretty much anything from Alex…the Amazing Paper and My First Mosaic kits kept us busy for a few hours! I also found a new puzzle app for my itouch and this was another big hit!
The one thing I will NOT get on a plane without is a five point harness for all three of my kids. My guys are still young…and pretty skinny….so airplane seat belts are useless if we were to hit bad turbulence. I was one of the first to use these so the flight crews had a lot of questions, but now they have sold thousands and the crews are very familiar with their use. I would recommend these to anyone who does any amount of flying with kids. That and Bose headphones…they stay on and they can actually hear!
http://www.kidsflysafe.com/?gclid=COvQo_XYl6ACFQENDQodA0-neA
Silly Putty kept both my boys busy for a while. Also, those small Lego kits Hadley mentioned are great.
Pieces fell a few times, but I didn’t care because Nico was occupied for so long!
We have attempted twice to get playdoh through security and have had it taken away both times! Maybe I will try it again as well as the silly putty~ Also, thanks for the kidsflysafe option…great stuff!
http://www.klutz.com has some great stuff!