I thought it might be helpful to collect all of our travel tested favorites in one area! This certainly isn’t exhaustive and I always love any new suggestions you might have as well, so send them my way! But if there’s one thing I have learned, there is no shame in letting them watch shows and play games on a tablet on travel days. It is such a small amount of time in the scheme of things, on a day that is probably going to be rough no matter how many toys or activities you bring. So if you are low on space and your kid will watch a show, there is no shame. I love to read on my kindle or watch a movie on a flight, and Cameron enjoys playing games when we travel. And no one will judge either of us for using a screen. You do what works best for you!
Airplane/Road trip entertainment
First up, from the reel I posted, I’ll list out and link what I can of the travel pouch items I pack for the kids on most flights.
I love these to keep their backpacks somewhat organized (they are also great at home for games and toy organization)
I found mine at Walmart in the party favors area for a few bucks but I also really like the option I linked with multiple games. Magnetic is key here! You don’t want to lose pieces on the floor of an airplane.
These little coloring book packs also been a great item in the diaper bag for restaurant activities, but probably wouldn’t be as useful for older kids. You can also find them as singles in the bullseye section of Target and occasionally in the seasonal aisles at Walmart.
You definitely don’t need all of these similar items, you could choose 1 or 2. Jackson loves to write menus and lists right now so I like to be sure he has note paper to use. The girls are starting to color more and Jackson loves the activities in the coloring books. Stickers are always a good idea too. Obviously, you can get these items by the single at the dollar store too.
Also, don’t discount the freebies you may be given. I also included a coloring book we were given before our last Delta flight back from Europe when the kids just slept so they didn’t need any activities. We’ve been given small kids packages from AirFrance before as well. Save them if you don’t need them!
I just found a set of these at Ollie’s so we haven’t used them yet but I think the kids are going to love them. There’s activities to fill in or the girls will just look at the pictures. In the past, I have packed these look and find books, which would be good for younger kids.
I found these at Walmart in the seasonal aisles so you could also keep an eye out. These are a fun screen free game that good for motor skills.
I got the soap box at Walmart for 1 dollar, so please do that if you are able, save your 4 dollars.
Small but fun activity. I plan to put a few in a ziplock with the wooden stylus.
There are so many options out there but I really liked this set because it is only the 2 pages, instead of a trifold like so many others, and it fit on the airplane tray better for small hands.
These are probably the number one travel item I recommend. We take them to restaurants, soccer practice, doctor appointments. You name it. Love them!
These were a fun addition for our latest Europe trip. The girls were still able to find all of the little things and they were a good level for Jackson to read.
Small animals and clay
The tiny animals were added because I gave each of them a packet of clay that we acquired from the kids club on the cruise we did in February 2023 (I’m a squirrel, what can I say…) But they of course needed 2 friends to play together. Cassidy has requested that her adventure tiger accompany us going forward, it’s just a shame he keeps disappearing (but he is actually in my pocket as I type this ha! I wasn’t going to let him get away again!)
Kindle and headphones
We don’t typically use Kindles while we are at home, we have used it as part of a reward system in the past or if Jackson had to join Cameron while he was working from home, but we love to use them while traveling, with some breaks here and there. And a note on the headphones, the ones that I bought for the girls actually have cat ears on top and light up but one of us (Cameron) would not suggest anything that lights up. It’s distracting for the driver in the car, and I’m sure it’s not appreciated by neighbors on flights.
Le’s be real, snacks will be the real MVP for any trip. And a snack box might make it more fun, but if you don’t want to wash it or deal with it on the other side of your trip, I’d skip it. The ones we have I actually found in the Target bullseye section, so maybe you’ll get lucky! I’ve been keeping any eye out for affordable options, but the one I linked is definitely on the lower end for Amazon. I have also I used a disposable type Tupperware that has a few compartments, and that served us well for our first big trip to Scandinavia when I actually packed a few pbj sandwiches in the larger compartments and then snacks in the smaller side. It saved our behinds when we were stuck in the baggage check in area at JFK because we were too early to drop our bags for our long haul flight (as we had booked on separate itineraries, we had to collect our bags from the DFW to JFK flight. We expected to be able to check in and go but nope. And because of all of the baggage and construction going on, we were just sorta stuck. BE PREPARED!). I also grabbed a second set of these because they were a dollar, and I may use for a play dough kit or to hold small toys or games.
Everywhere on our list 
[…] I highly recommend. If you’re looking for more ideas or specific links, please also see my post on travel activities. Specifically on this trip for each kid I […]
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