If you are reading this then I am guessing that you will be off on holiday soon with your little ones. You have been scouring the internet for weeks looking for travel toys to entertain your toddlers on a plane. The thought of keeping them occupied in their seats for hours is terrifying. It does not matter if you are taking a quick flight or a long haul one, keeping children entertained on an airplane can be a full time job and you always need several pairs of hands to deal with their demands. The best travel toys for toddlers can make the difference between a cherished family holiday and a long journey you’d rather forget.
But never fear! I’ve scoured the internet for you, tried and tested that flight with toddlers, just about survived it with a few tantrums along the way and created the ultimate list for entertaining toddlers on an airplane! However, you know your child best. If your toddler loves to draw, stock up on the art supplies. If they love problem solving, pack the construction toys and give them little challenges. If you have any inspiring travel toys for toddlers, you can let us know at the bottom.
Table of Contents
Travel toys for toddlers – suggestions
I highly recommend wrapping a few of the smaller items in wrapping paper as this provides extra entertainment for your little one and their inquisitive fingers. Obviously it is not practical to wrap loads if you have several tots – but a couple of surprises really does go a long way in moments of need, and there will be some of those for sure!
We took a Trunki for each of the girls full of their own supplies. Some things were the same, like the colouring and crafts but I mixed the games up so they had different ones for the return journey. Here’s what we survived with!
Puzzles
Keep your puzzles small. A 24 piece puzzle isn’t going to work on an airplane tray but one like this from Gifts for Little Hands is perfect. We didn’t take all of the pieces. Just numbers from 1-5 to keep the size down.
Hot Dots from Learning Resources
The Hot Dots toys kept the girls engaged for ages and make the perfect travel toys for toddlers. These come highly recommended and Learning Resources do a range of subjects for all ages. We had two different sets, phonics and numbers to try. The child simply touches the interactive pen to a Hot Dot and the talking pen responds instantly with a green light and positive sounds. Incorrectlyi answers receive a red light and a gentle wrong sound or phrase. Again I just took a selection from each pack.
Orchard Toys Travel Collection
Orchard Toys mini games are perfect for plane play and you can make up all sorts of games with them. I didn’t take the box but popped the pieces in my famous draw string bags!
Story Telling Characters & Busy Books
These are fabulous time killers and the girls enjoyed playing with them. The Goldilocks and the Three Bears set is from Through Play, We Learn which can be found on Facebook and the busy book is from Tescos. I told or read the story to the girls as they acted them out. They loved making silly voices for the characters and I think it made a few other people chuckle too!
Colouring with a small selection of craft materials
Colouring books hold attention well especially if you slip in a few stickers, a pair of safety scissors, with a mixture of colouring tools – these are also great to take out in the evenings too. Place everything in an activity tin or zip bag to keep it all together.
Water pens & Aqua Doodle
No mess, no fuss – fabulous for on the plane and a new surprise for the girls!
Playdough
Take a few cutters, a rolling pin and surprise them with some playdough scissors. The girls loved Grandma making worms for them to chop up!
Fuzzy Felts
These come in all different themes; farms, the zoo, Peppa Pig, In the Night Garden for example and are are the perfect plane toy. No mess and the don’t roll anywhere!
Drawstring bags with a selection of toys
Fill each of the small bags with duplo, Farm animals, bugs, shapes to make pictures with and threading. Easy to grab, play with and put away again.
Books
A few favourite stories always go down well before naptime!
And let’s not forget the Kindles!
Download your children’s favourite games and Cbeebies programs before you go – remember you can’t use the Wi-Fi on the plane. Believe me, you will be so glad to hear that whingy black bunnies voice or the squeaky pink pig after a few hours!!
I hope some of these suggestions help you on your flight. If you have any other toys you would highly recommend, please do share them with us!
I hope you have enjoyed this travel article? You might also be interested in reading some of the following travel articles too;
Surviving the Airport with Twins
8 of the Best Holiday Packing Tips
Surviving a Flight with Two Under Two
HAPPY TRAVELS – WHERE ARE YOU OFF TO?
GO ON, PIN IT!
** Outfits by Frugi
** Some of the toys were gifted for the purpose of this article, but all opinions are Popitha’s.
Great article 🙂
Was great to read, and very helpful!
Rose @ OurHouseofLove
Thank you! I am always on the look out for new toys to help us survive long journeys!
That’s a great list of toys! Thanks for putting it together. I haven’t tried the playdough yet, but will sure do on our next travel, especially that my little one is now bigger and started to play with it!