Flying with little kids 2.0...
When you think of flying ALONE (!!!) with two kids under the age of 5 and not only for a quick trip to a few states over but to let's say...Switzerland halfway across the world do you get sweaty palms, maybe a little bit heavier breathing and just feel a little claustrophobic all around? I know I do!!
This december I'll be flying for the second time this year to Switzerland with an 18 month old and 4 year old all by myself. (We visited there in february/ march this year for 7 weeks). Last time we flew I only flew the way there by myself, so I had the reassurance that if that trip was a disaster, my dad would at least be there with me on the way home to help out. This time it will be just me and the kids both ways. Both trips there and back ended up going fairly well last time, although I had to drag both kids and all our carry on luggage clear across one of Europe's biggest and busiest Airports (Frankfurt) without a stroller since they checked it clear to Switzerland and Leona (baby girl) ended up having some ear ache and horrible constipation once we got Switzerland. Other than that Ezra was pretty happy with his small Lego set I brought for him and tablet, and Leona was mostly entertained by a playphone and some snacks. I consider myself pretty lucky since the first time I flew to Switzerland by myself with Ezra when he was a little over 18 months went pretty well too. Stay with me, this will be a long post but give you a ton of ideas for your next trip with your little ones. So before we dive in the mother-load of flight entertainment (/roadtrip) options for little kids here a few things to consider:
Last time I had three different carry on bags. Ezra had his own suitcase, a large diaper bag and carry-on bag. This time I'm downsizing to one large bag pack and a diaper bag that can be worn as a bag or backpack (I decided on this one from target: https://www.target.com/p/color-block-backpack-diaper-bag-cloud-island-153/-/A-52859958 ). I liked that this bag was stylish (so I will love using as a bag when in Switzerland), had a wipe able surface (it's almost leather like), lots of compartments to keep organized, a lot of room, the backpack straps can be tucked away and it has stroller straps, I was also able to get it on sale for $25 instead of $50 (hurray for savings!!). My main three reasons for downsizing are :
1. last time I ended up having to carry Ezra's suitcase through most of the airports. He was too tired from all the different flights.
2. I learned a lot from our last trip and instead of bringing a bunch of toys that my kids might or might not be interested in, I filled for each kid one gallon ziploc bag with activities and some small toys I know they will love and besides tablets this is all I'll bring for our 16hrs + trip. So I am downsizing in what I'm bringing for a carry on.
3. I wanted to bring luggage that I could easily carry by myself with Leona on my back if necessary in case we have another fiasco like not getting our stroller in between trips.
The only thing I'm bringing this time that I didn't last time is some specific pillows to make my kids comfortable to sleep on the plane. I will do a separate post on this, which options I considered and why I decided on the ones I choose. In flight comfort with little kids is huge especially when flying cross-country or continent.
So here we go with the HOLY GRAIL of flight entertainment. I think the gallon ziploc bag is a good size guide since it will give you a few toys to rotate through on your trip. Try to think of toys or activities you can add on to or use in multiple ways , or that maybe your kids can even share. The more functions the longer the entertainment. On this post I'm listing all the options I considered when purchasing a few new toys. I just picked a few from each category to bring with me this time, the rest I'm saving as ideas for other trips. I will add the links so you can hopefully find all of these. You will find most of these on amazon, due to some issues we no longer purchase for them so all the links will be mostly from target or walmart.com. I tried to make a few categories to show you some different options:
Coloring and Stickers
This will be a great activity for almost all ages. I tried to find as many mess free options as I could!
You will find these water wow books on almost any travel blog with littles! you simple fill the pen with water and it reveals the colors of the pictures. 12.99 for a pack of 3 is the cheapest I have found them for. They are usually around 5.99 each when you buy them in store
These books come with markers that only work on that specific paper. Other brands like crayola and sometimes even in the target dollar spot have the same concept.
I like these dry erase markers because they easily come off anything with baby wipes. The board is fun for little ones to "finger paint" and smudge around on after using these markers or even erase with a wipe or dry erase pad. Instead of buying this overpriced version I got the dry erase board from the dollar tree and then bought the crayola brand pens separately.
I love these dry erase cards from usborne to go along since they give great prompts on what to doodle!
I like these triangular crayons because they are easier to hold for really little kids and they don't roll around.
These are the cheap version of a magna doodle. I like how small these are.
I love these spiral art set. It is pretty compact and even has enough room to store a bunch of blank pages. I bought the six color pen to go along since it is fun to push the different colors down for my little one, but also the perfect size to fit into the holes for the spiral art.
You can find these stamps in most dollar sections of any stores all year round. They are small but easy to grip for little hands.
These are my favorite sticker sets from the dollar store. they normally come with some puffy and glittery stickers so you end up with some different textures. You can almost make your own touch and feel book. Just don't forget a notebook or few blank pages to stick them on.
These two books by usborne have reusable stickers and a super cute story line. It's fun to read these a few times. All better is my 4 year olds favorite since he is obsessed with band aids.
You can find these play packs at most bigger stores. They are great so you don't have to bring a big coloring book and come prestocked with some crayons and stickers. They are also nice to throw into your diaper bag for restaurant or doctor's visits.
I love these build your own sticker books from usborne. They are a lot of fun for little ones to get creative with.
Books
bringing a few books can be a great way to entertain those little minds and hands. Try to remember that a lot of books take up a lot of room and are heavy though. So try to stick with paperpack or just pick a few favorites. Preferably there will be some kind of activity to go along with the book to keep your little ones interest longer. Obviously there are a ton of options for books. We like any books that rhyme (they are fun to read too), and these books are just supposed to be some suggestions on what to look for. Leave your favorite books to bring along in the comments!
This book has a bunch of stickers to be placed but is also a hide and seek book. Find 10 turtles, 5 clown fishies etc. A great way to practice counting but also lots to talk about! There a few different themes in this serious.
Slide and see books are a great way to practice some fine motor skills. These do not have a story line, but it's fun to make up a new one everytime you read it.
These peek inside books are some of our favorites. They have lots of flaps to lift and easy to understand information or small story lines. They also have an adorable fairy tale series called peek inside, with a few flaps less but lots of cut outs!
Toys
I always like to do a quick check in the dollar section at target or dollarstore to see if they have a few new interesting toys to bring along. I have found lacing cards and pearls, and felt books there before. A lot of the options listed here will seem a little pricey but if you keep your eyes out you can often find them cheaper. Kids will be so excited to get a few new toys and new toys tend to hold their attention for a little longer. If you don't want to buy anything new, simply collect a few small toys a few weeks before your trip and hide them. They will love having a few toys they haven't played with in a while.
https://www.dollartree.com/construction-series-die-cast-metal-plastic-vehicles-2ct-packs/109205
Obviously any kind of match cars work if you have a little car lover, but I liked these because of how cheap they were. I added a little lego construction guy and some felt roads (you could also bring some tape and make roads like that) to make it long lasting play entertainment.
Obviously any kind of match cars work if you have a little car lover, but I liked these because of how cheap they were. I added a little lego construction guy and some felt roads (you could also bring some tape and make roads like that) to make it long lasting play entertainment.
https://www.dollartree.com/robot-transforming-vehicles/263058
These cars are super fun and leave a couple of different options to transform into robots...I added these in with the construction set.
These cars are super fun and leave a couple of different options to transform into robots...I added these in with the construction set.
https://www.dollartree.com/mini-plastic-dinosaurs-8ct-packs/218722
Instead of dinosaurs I found a farm animal set. I printed of pictures of the actual animals for a little matching game ( match the plastic animal to the picture of the animal) and also sewed a little felt barn with doors the can be opened and a slot that leads to a pocket (kind of like the piggy bank quiet page idea you see all over pinterest). Those two add ons should help make these last a little longer.
Instead of dinosaurs I found a farm animal set. I printed of pictures of the actual animals for a little matching game ( match the plastic animal to the picture of the animal) and also sewed a little felt barn with doors the can be opened and a slot that leads to a pocket (kind of like the piggy bank quiet page idea you see all over pinterest). Those two add ons should help make these last a little longer.
https://www.dollartree.com/dress-up-princess-bangles-10ct-packs/120037
I got these bangles, some necklaces, some small cheap makeup brushes, a few hair bows, a pair of sunglasses and a pocket mirror that also has a tiny brush with it all from the dollarstore. I put them into a small makeup bag for a pretend makeup/dress up kid for Leona. She is a super girly girl and loves to dress up. I also plan on bringing a small doll with hair so we can pretend to do her hair and makeup. I think Leo will even just have a lot of fun unzipping the bag. Alternatively you could put a fake wallet with fake money and cards together little ones could go through.
I got these bangles, some necklaces, some small cheap makeup brushes, a few hair bows, a pair of sunglasses and a pocket mirror that also has a tiny brush with it all from the dollarstore. I put them into a small makeup bag for a pretend makeup/dress up kid for Leona. She is a super girly girl and loves to dress up. I also plan on bringing a small doll with hair so we can pretend to do her hair and makeup. I think Leo will even just have a lot of fun unzipping the bag. Alternatively you could put a fake wallet with fake money and cards together little ones could go through.
https://www.dollartree.com/mini-dolls-with-doll-house-furniture-sets/219245
This would be a great small set to bring along for an older girl that loves barbies.
This would be a great small set to bring along for an older girl that loves barbies.
https://www.dollartree.com/licensed-mini-puzzles-4ct-packs/226537
I bought a puzzle pack like this for Ezra. I presorted it into the 4 different puzzles and put into little snack bags so it would be easy to pull one out a time. These only have 12 pieces a puzzle and it's fine to get some of their favorite tv characters ( in our case Paw Patrol)
I bought a puzzle pack like this for Ezra. I presorted it into the 4 different puzzles and put into little snack bags so it would be easy to pull one out a time. These only have 12 pieces a puzzle and it's fine to get some of their favorite tv characters ( in our case Paw Patrol)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/LEGO-Classic-Blue-Creativity-Box-10706/55126202
Here are some examples of our favorite small lego sets to bring along. Lego juniors are easy to builld and take apart and the small creativity boxes are just the right size to throw into a ziploc bag and bring along. In my opinion duplos are a little big too tote along when you want to bring a variety of entertainment.
Here are some examples of our favorite small lego sets to bring along. Lego juniors are easy to builld and take apart and the small creativity boxes are just the right size to throw into a ziploc bag and bring along. In my opinion duplos are a little big too tote along when you want to bring a variety of entertainment.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Janod-Dolls-Chunky-Wooden-Funny-Magnets/171845463
I thought these magnets would be so fun for a little kid! It makes for interchangeable characters and they can in a version of farm animals, jungle animals and robots. It would be fun to even just have them snap together as the magnets attract eachother.
I thought these magnets would be so fun for a little kid! It makes for interchangeable characters and they can in a version of farm animals, jungle animals and robots. It would be fun to even just have them snap together as the magnets attract eachother.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Safari-Pop-Out-and-Play/287639977
https://petitcollage.com/collections/activities-crafts/pop-out-and-play
I love theses pop out sets from petit collage! They would make a fun play scene with some little plastic animals or figurines and are lightweight. There is even a Paris, London, San Francisco and New york version of these on their website. How fun would it be to get these when you are traveling to one of those destiantions??
https://petitcollage.com/collections/activities-crafts/pop-out-and-play
I love theses pop out sets from petit collage! They would make a fun play scene with some little plastic animals or figurines and are lightweight. There is even a Paris, London, San Francisco and New york version of these on their website. How fun would it be to get these when you are traveling to one of those destiantions??
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Melissa-and-Doug-Joey-Magnetic-Dress-Up-Set/19505047
Both these toys are a similar concept and I like them for different reasons. The wooden Mix and Match dress up comes with its own box to store the pieces in and is nice and small, but the pieces are big enough for little hands to use and the molds and the lids makes it easy to fit them in(kind of like an interchangeable puzzle). The faces that comes with these have all different expressions and I will bring a book about feelings along (Sandra Boynton happy hippo, angry duck) to talk about those expressions.It's great way to make connections and add to their vocabulary. The Magnetic Dress up comes in many different versions and because it's magnetic the pieces just stick to it, so you are less likely to loose and pieces, however the figure itself is kind of big and bulky and a lot of the pieces are just tiny accessories which wouldn't be ideal for my little girl.
Both these toys are a similar concept and I like them for different reasons. The wooden Mix and Match dress up comes with its own box to store the pieces in and is nice and small, but the pieces are big enough for little hands to use and the molds and the lids makes it easy to fit them in(kind of like an interchangeable puzzle). The faces that comes with these have all different expressions and I will bring a book about feelings along (Sandra Boynton happy hippo, angry duck) to talk about those expressions.It's great way to make connections and add to their vocabulary. The Magnetic Dress up comes in many different versions and because it's magnetic the pieces just stick to it, so you are less likely to loose and pieces, however the figure itself is kind of big and bulky and a lot of the pieces are just tiny accessories which wouldn't be ideal for my little girl.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Star-Wars-Hidden-Heroes-Blind-Box-Nesting-Dolls-One-Random-Set/976577738
I might have broken my rule about not letting my kids play with their new toys before a trip for these nesting dolls. It's a tiny set that doesn't take up much room and I like that it's plastic. My kids played with these for over 30 min. They also come in some other themes then Star Wars.
What other toys would you add to this list?
I hope this gives you plenty of options to find some good play for your little ones and a relaxed trip! Bon Voyage, The Swiss Miss!
P.S. Here a picture of Ezra playing with his Legos at the airport in Boise:
I might have broken my rule about not letting my kids play with their new toys before a trip for these nesting dolls. It's a tiny set that doesn't take up much room and I like that it's plastic. My kids played with these for over 30 min. They also come in some other themes then Star Wars.
What other toys would you add to this list?
I hope this gives you plenty of options to find some good play for your little ones and a relaxed trip! Bon Voyage, The Swiss Miss!
P.S. Here a picture of Ezra playing with his Legos at the airport in Boise:
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