Extra Travel Activities for Kids

We traveled for my dad’s Celebration of Life last week and I knew it would be a difficult week for the kids, so packed some extra materials to help keep the kids occupied during the event and other appointments.

On-the-Go Activities

We will sometimes bring these activities to a restaurant, on the rare occasion that we go to one. But, they also worked great for travel. Once again, many of these ideas are inspired by Mini Jetsetter.

For each one of my kids (3 and 5), I put together a pouch with art materials, a sketch book, mini colouring book, mess-free painting, water ring game, and at least one animal figure.

I also gave them each a mini lego set in a pencil case.

Everything above is from Dollarama or was a gift from the hairdresser or came from friends’ goody bags. The water ring game is from Jean Coutu (a drug store in Quebec) and the mess free painting sheets are from Amazon. Nothing is precious. I include things in these kits expecting them to get dropped, left behind and gifted to other kids we meet.

On-the-Go Sensory Activity – Pluffle

I packed an extra sensory activity, in case we needed to occupy the kids for a while at my mom’s house. I brought a ziplock bag full of Pluffle because it’s very light weight and you can squeeze the air out in the bag so it packs up small.

At my mom’s house, I dumped the bag into a bin and brought out some of the play kitchen dishes – and voila, a Pluffle tea party. It kept the kids busy for 2 hours. To me, that counts as a success. The only drawback to Pluffle is that it can be messy. We needed to do some sweeping and vacuuming after the activity.

pluffle travel play

Kids Travel Activity Kits

I have mentioned before that we love Mini Jetsetter and their awesome travel tips and kit ideas. Using their ideas for inspiration, here are 2 kits I put together for a recent trip. We traveled to see family, so I went with a slight Valentine’s theme.

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 try to rotate some items and activities within each category, so they are not the same activity every time. Most things listed below are from Dollarama, unless otherwise noted.

Travel Activity Kit for 5 Year Old

My daughter is more entertained by arts and crafts activities, so I tend to put more of those in her kit, while of course trying to maintain the balance of “same-ness” for siblings. If the differences between kits is too noticeable, there will be problems.

travel activity kit 5 year old

Art

  • blank sketch pad
  • stickers
  • stencils
  • note cards and envelopes for making valentines (white ones from Michaels)
  • pencil case with markers, pencil crayons, scissors, glue, washi tape, self inking stamp
  • Only Switch-eroo markers (Amazon)
  • Mini Etch-a-Sketch (Chapters)
  • pipe cleaner and beads for bracelet making
  • sewing heart craft
  • Spy pen (Zellers)

Fidget Toys

  • stretchy bracelets (these were a gift, but I think they are from Joe Fresh)
  • Tangle toy

Sensory Materials

  • Playdough jar with trinkets
  • playdough roller, knife and cutter
  • Wiki Stix – wax covered strings (Amazon)

Building

  • mini magnetic tiles (AliExpress)
  • Heart links (Michaels)
  • building flakes
  • suction toys

Small World Play (I was a little light on small world play this time)

  • pull-back vehicles

Puzzles & Games

  • Tin with dry-erase tic-tac-toe

Stories

  • Yoto mini and cards

Travel Activity Kit for 3 Year Old

My son is mostly entertained with vehicles and play dough, so his kit has a few less options.

travel activity kit 3 year old

Art

  • blank sketch pad
  • stickers
  • stencils
  • note cards and envelopes for making valentines (white ones from Michaels)
  • pencil case with markers, pencil crayons, scissors, glue, washi tape, self inking stamp
  • Only Switch-eroo markers (Amazon)
  • Mini Etch-a-Sketch (Chapters)
  • pipe cleaner and beads for bracelet making
  • Spy pen (Zellers)

Fidget Toys

  • Tangle toy

Sensory Materials

  • Playdough jar with trinkets
  • playdough roller, knife and cutter

Building

  • mini magnetic tiles (AliExpress)
  • Heart links (Michaels)
  • building flakes
  • suction toys

Small World Play

  • pull-back vehicle
  • airplane

Puzzles & Games

  • Tin with dry-erase tic-tac-toe

Stories

  • Yoto mini and cards

If you’re interested in more information on the travel kit bags and travel trays we use, see my other post here.

kids playing with travel activities

The kids dug into their kits as soon as we got to the gate at the airport and my daughter played with her kit during the flight (my son slept). We also brought these to an event while we were traveling and they helped keep the kids busy for a long time. Activity kits have become a must for us while traveling. We’re always looking for new ideas to add to the kits. What are some of your favourite travel activities?