Activities for the plane ride

[Tamsyn]

We're leaving in 7 days bounce: ) and I'm struggling to find things to bring for dd on the plane.

She'll be 3 in 5 weeks and she's very excited about going. She's never been on a plane before but it's a long ride. We're coming from the UK.

What can I bring that is:

• small and lightweight
• inexpensive
• not too noisy
• doesn't have lots of pieces
• and has a good entertainment value?

All ideas gratefully received


Tamsyn

 

[metivier]

My daughter is 3 and her favorites on airplane flights are:

Magnadoodle (get the clip on kind and you can attach it to a diaper bag/backpack so it is less likely to get lost)

Colorforms stick-on kits (plus these are relatively inexpensive so you can get one of two new sets and pull each out when the time is right/whining has commenced ;-) )

Toy catalogs (she loves looking at the pictures and the catalogs are free)

DVD player with movies and her own headset earphones

Don't forget the snacks can be "entertainment" too -- bring lots of different snacks in plastic "zip" bags, and bring cups for water or juice

Have a great trip!

 

[frstimer128]

I printed out several Disney coloring pages and made a little personalized coloring book. My DD4 will have her own backpack and I have it filled with lots of new things. I grabbed a few toys that she hasn't used in a long time as well as a couple of new things I picked up for her. Having new/different things seems to keep her more interested than if she had her same old toys/games.

We have view masters and tons of reels and we take turns looking at each pic and making up the story to each other.

She is a big Go Fish player so cards are fun for us. Your 3y/o might be able to get this game.

My DD loves books on tape. We have several Disney ones that comes with a CD, tape and book. We use them in the car but you can also use them w/a walkman.

We love stickers. You can pack a little box with a bunch of stickers and let her decorate a piece of paper.

Enjoy!

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

We took our 3 and 4 year olds to WDW in August. This is what I packed for the plane:

One backpack for each kid:

portable CD player w/ headphones ($10)
Disney music CD's
Disney Pez dispensor with extra candy
Gum (I don't normally let them chew it, but it helps on the plane)
Activitiy or coloring books with letters, shapes, numbers
Sticker, Stickers, Stickers
Healthy snacks (raisins, granola bars, etc...)
Plastic cup with lid/straw (won't spill)

I bought an inexpensive plastic zippered pencil pouch and filled it with markers/pencil/stickers. Then, I put the zipper case in a 3 prong folder with a stack of plain white paper behind it. Close up the brads and you have a great little art pack. The zipper pouch is easy to get to and keeps the markers, etc... from rolling or falling on the floor. As my daughter finished a picture, I tore it out of the folder and placed it in the side pocket of the folder. That way, she always had a fresh paper at the top to draw or put stickers on.

If you put the zipper pouch in the brads upside down, then the zipper side is accessible on the left and the paper is on the right. This fit perfectly on the seat back tray on the airplane. DD loved it. She used every sticker I packed! DS was happy listening to music the whole flight.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

We took just about everything listed here, but I also wanted to add that we took plastic slinkies and spinning lightup toys from the Disney Store. I kept all of the toys and gave them a new one every 1/2 hour or so as needed.

Good luck!

 

[tjmw2727]

We have used all of the above - except the binder - awesome idea.

My girls also loved books on tape and dh and I also made our own recordings of favorites that didn't come on tape, that was fun for us and a surprise for them.

Model Magic - dosen't make a mess or smell like playdough and comes in nice plastic bags - even my 7 and 9yos still use this.

Roll of scotch tape- when my youngest was 2-3 yo this would keep her busy for an hour!

Stay away from milk and milk products esp on a long (UK) flight and stick with lots of clear liquids. Pack a few special snacks they don't get at home, ours were tootsie pops and character fruit chews. Lots of chewing to help the ears and sugar helps with air sickness. Also the novelty of something they are not allowed to have at home.

Its often the one little happy meal toy or roll of tape that keeps them busy when you have a bag full of stuff! Oh and I so wish we had a portable DVD when my kids were small. If your child will watch then its IMHO worth it to buy, rent or borrow.

TJ

 

[sarahsmom73]

I have a great one! Sticker books! We were stuck on the runway in Chicago for 1 hour in the plane before we took off and DD (2 1/2) at the time loved the disney themed sticker books! (We also had some magnet books with animals and disney characters! She loved it!

 

[BevS97]

we also fly from the UK - my dd has always amazed me with how well she has done (been flying over to Florida since she was 3 1/2)

I pack 1 present per hour, and I used to wrap them, but haven't since security was stepped up.

The BEST thing by far, is a walkman and storytapes, there are some great Tweenies ones, she has quite a variety and they keep her occupied for a long time

Also sticker books are very good

Plasticine was a big hit too - and also pipe cleaners, you can get coloured ones from the cheap book stores like Book Depot - they can make loads of things out of them, little people etc.

Colouring is ok, except the pens tend to fall on the floor and you spend a lot of time scrabbling around finding them. I quite like those sets of 3 crayons you get a pizza hut etc, I save those up and then I can dish out a new set of crayons as required. Also useful in restaurants on holiday if they don't provide any colouring (many places do)

LeapPad is fab, but it is quite bulky - I think it's probably worth the weight if you have one though. Do remember to pack some headphones so noone else has to listen to it.

Most airlines from the UK also have seat back tvs, so your dd may just watch telly all the way - my dd watched the same 2 hour loop of tv over and over one trip - she didn't seem to mind that she had already seen it 3 times.

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

I second (or third) the MagnaDoodle.

We also took along (new) flashcards and paperback books.

Mrs. PB

 

[gigi1313]

when dd was four/ds was two the biggest hit for us was long "shoestring" licorice and fruit loops... dd kept very occupied making "jewelry" and even gave a few necklaces to the flight attendants! plus it was a snack at the same time!

now we bring cd players and game boys... books, esp disney themed books, would be a great thing to bring (maybe some princesses and their stories?) even better if you could get the books on tape...

good luck and enjoy!

 

[wils]

(Sorry if this has been mentioned above - I've had a scan but may have missed it)

The biggest hit on our recent plane journey was a reusable sticker scene set - where you can use and reuse stickers on a background. We had a Pooh one but I know there are various Disney themes available.

Also I second/third/fourth... playdoh & Pez sweet holder!

Jo