Entertaining kids while traveling is a marathon. Just when you think you have them settled, another challenge presents itself – someone is hungry, someone needs to go to the bathroom, someone is overtired. I feel I am constantly pivoting between our most effective strategies.
What works best for our family, may not be the solution for others, but here are some of our favourites. We have a 3 year old boy and a 5 year old girl. Both are very energetic and excitable, especially when in new experiences.
Get them moving – whether it’s an airport, or a rest stop along the highway, there is really no substitute for letting the kids run and free play. At the airport, we now make the kids walk and run as much as possible on the way to the gate. Once at the gate, we try to sit away from the concentration of people close to the gate, so the kids can run and play without disturbing too many people. They will usually run in laps without much encouragement from me. Most airports also have kid play zones now, so if we have enough time we will take the kids over to check it out.
Keep the snacks coming – a fairly constant stream of snack is our next go-to strategy. We will pack at least a small cooler bag full of snacks and meals. It’s an extra bag to carry-on on the plane or takes up space in the car, but it’s always worth it. Our kids are picky about what they like, so we bring their favourite things.
- a tupperware box with a meal – this tends to be what we need to use up in the fridge before our trip – a sandwich, their favourite veggies (tomatoes and cucumbers), fruit (berries, apple slices, whatever we have), cooked pasta, cheese slices, cooked chicken nuggets
- bananas
- granola bars and other packaged snacks
- small bags of Goldfish or Veggie Straws
- fruit gummies
- nuts
- water bottles
Once the kids have gotten some energy out and filled their tummies, it’s usually time to bring out the activity kits. When it comes to travel activities, I’m influenced and inspired by Mini Jetsetter and her instagram account. She has wonderful ideas and tips for traveling with children. I highly recommend her content.
When gathering activities and toys to pack, I try to cover 7 main themes: art, fidget toys, sensory materials, building, small world play, puzzles & games and stories. Variety and novelty can be the key here. I keep most of these items separate from their regular toys, so they only see them while traveling, I will also rotate items and activities within each category, so they are not the same activity every time.
Here are the kits I brought with us on our recent flight just after Christmas. Most items are from Dollarama unless otherwise listed.
Travel Activities for 5 year old girl
Art
- small blank sketch pad
- stickers
- stencil
- small spirograph (Aliexpress)
- Ooly Switcheroo markers (Amazon)
- washi tape
- pens, crayons, pencils (from our art supplies at home)
- glue, scissors (not pictured, added after)
- self inking stamp
- spy pen (Zellers)
Fidget Toys
- squishamallow (Costco)
- stretchy, rhinestone bracelets (They were gifts, I think from Joe Fresh)
- mini Etch-a-Sketch (Chapters)
Sensory Materials
- bead bracelet and necklace kit (Michaels)
- playdough and tools – plastic knife and roller
- small box of add-in charms for playdough (Michaels)
Building
- mini magnetic tiles (Aliexpress)
- suction toys
Puzzles & Games
- Go Fish cards
- magnetic puzzles
- On-the-go activity tin with tic-tac-toe and other games
Small World Play
- My Little Pony figurine and hairbrush
Stories
- Yoto mini player (Yoto Store)
- headphones (not pictured) (Amazon)
- Frozen Yoto card and Brain Bots Yoto cards (Yoto Store)
Travel Activities for 3 year old boy
Art
- small blank sketch pad
- stickers
- stencil
- washi tape
- markers, crayons, pencil crayons, pencils (from our art supplies)
- glue, scissors
- self inking stamp
- spy pen (Zellers)
Fidget Toys
- squishamallow (Costco)
- mini Etch-a-Sketch (not pictured) (Chapters)
Sensory Materials
- bead bracelet and necklace kit (Michaels)
- playdough and tools – plastic knife and roller
- small box of add-in charms for playdough (Michaels)
Building
- mini magnetic tiles (Aliexpress)
- suction toys
Puzzles & Games
- Matching card game
- On-the-go activity tin with tic-tac-toe and other games
Small World Play
- Small construction vehicles (these were a gift)
- mini monster truck (my son got it as a gift after getting a vaccine shot)
Stories
- Mini Yoto player (Yoto store)
- headphones (Amazon)
- Make Your Own Yoto card with music, Funny Stories for 4 Year Olds Yoto card (Yoto Store)
Kits to carry the activities
I have 2 different toiletry bags I use as kits for the kids activities. The purple stripe bag is an old Venus razor bonus bag that I must have received as part of a promotion many years ago. It is my favourite for its ability to hold lots of stuff and fold up into a more narrow bag. The second, blue and white stripe bag is from Amazon. Because I shove so much stuff in the kit, I find it folds up into a bulky bag. I also find the zipper to be of cheaper quality than I would like for something a child is going to zip and unzip often.
Playing with Activities in Transit
We use these car travel trays both for the car and on the plane. I like that they have a stiff bottom that is also a dry erase board because the kids can draw, colour and play on them without it moving around too much. It can also hold up a water bottle in the car and on the airplane tray. The sides stay up with velcro and keep toys and activity pieces, especially small ones, from falling on the floor.
The trays are bulkier than I would prefer, but just like the snacks cooler, well worth hauling with us. We use also use them as a “clean-er” surface to eat on. The flight attendant on our most recent flight had never seen this type of tray and couldn’t get over what a brilliant idea they were for kids.
A Word on Screen Time
When all else fails, we give the kids screen time. We have one ipad that we bring with us on trips. It has some downloaded shows and movies that the kids like. Usually my husband and I use screens as a way to preserve our own sanity. To us, screens are preferable to losing our tempers. Screens and screen time are a controversial topic among parents, so obviously do what works best for you. Happy Traveling!