Packing for a 2.5 hour flight on Friday

Jack and Lily are 13 mos. and I will bring plenty of snacks; however, what the heck kind of toys do you bring? All of the toys they play with now are big and not appropriate for a flight. Even if I do find some I would imagine they will just throw them or drop them on the ground the entire flight. I can bring a few books and their loveys but other than that I am at a loss. They do not color yet. Any advice?

Thanks,
Amy

 

I love our small travel doodle pros. My girls use them all the time when they are in the van and they are just the size of their laps. They can draw to their hearts content. They were about 9.99 a piece at toys r us. The doodle pros go with us everywhere. Plus its a quiet toy.

 

No advice...we do our 1st trip in 3 weeks.
Hope all goes well and everyone has fun.

 

I second the doodle pro suggestion! My girls loved that on our last flight (at 13 months!). I also brought cloth books (including two that we actually puppets so they couldn't throw them!), toy cell phone, and their comfort objects (M has a bunny and A has an old hanky she uses when she sucks her thumb).

 

Oh I will be watching this! We are doing a 2 hour flight and my two will be 17 months old. I'm dreading it...we did it last year but they are SO active now.

 

QUOTE(Leighann @ Jul 1 2008, 08:28 PM) [snapback]855776[/snapback]
I second the doodle pro suggestion! My girls loved that on our last flight (at 13 months!). I also brought cloth books (including two that we actually puppets so they couldn't throw them!), toy cell phone, and their comfort objects (M has a bunny and A has an old hanky she uses when she sucks her thumb).

Last Christmas my girls were 11 months and we went on a 8 hour Flight to Europe and I just bought alot of small toys books, and just small stuff at Target it kept them occupied or else bring along a portable Dvd player..

 

I was just going to ask this... we have a 4.5-hour red-eye scheduled tomorrow night, which could turn out to either be a brilliant or insane idea, depending on whether or not they sleep. The return flight is in the middle of the day, and I am really at a loss as to what to bring!! Sorry I'm not much help.... good luck on your flight!

 

I'll 3rd the magna doodles. I bought them for a cross counrty flight when the twins were 18 months old and they were such a hit that we now keep them in the diaper bag for restaurants/dr. waiting rooms etc. The little people lift a flap books, these were a big hit. Wooden puzzles, but they may be a little to young for those. Finger puppets. Picture albums of familiar people. Anything that will hold their attention for a while.

 

This almost fits into what I was going to ask, except we will be flying with 3 year old boys!!! If anyone has any tips/suggestions, please share I'll definitely be getting some of those aqua doodle pads.

Happy Traveling!!!
Emily

 

I travel cross country every year with my kids. Oregon to BOston, it's an all day affair.

The important things to pack are:
LOTS of snacks, wipes, extra shirt for you

books they have never seen an dtheir favorites too. Pop ups work great for mine.
I also go to the 1$ store or some other cheap store and pick up some little things they've never seen so the plane ride is the first time they see them.
3 hours will go by very quickly. Don't stress over it, you'll do great.

When my kids are 3, They have their own back pack they carry. It's usually filled with snacks, coloring things paper, books and some of their favorite nick-nacks.

If your flying frontier or JEt blue pay the $5 so they can watch their private TV. IT will be the best $5 you ever spent.

 

Okay-- I just packed our boys' carry-on for tomorrow's flight, and here is what I've got... books, snacks, a little mirror (not breakable) from one of their toys-- my kids are vain! :lol: I also packed some little stuffed animals, and playsilks-- colorful pieces of fabric that we can play games like peek-a-boo with. I still feel like I'm missing some good stuff, but no time to go buy the doodle pads-- I guess I'll live and learn!

 

We fly a lot because we live far away from friends and family.

For snacks I usually pack small graham cracker cookies/sticks. I prefer them over cheerios because they are larger and I can fetch them off the floor. I like to avoid crushed cheerios on an airplane. Other snacks -- string cheese, and mac n'cheese shells. Weird snack but it works for my two. I wash my hands and then feed it by hand. I pack a little freezer thing that keeps the stuff cool. Blueberries also travel well.

For activitivies, I pack small board books and then other small toys that they typically enjoy. I try to take not overly hard/bulky toys so that when they fling it they don't give a bruise to a fellow passenger.

Other entertainment -- we look for teeth and noses in the magazines in the seat back pocket, dogs, and colors. Seems to work for a while.

This is off topic a little but I highly recommend introducing yourself to the people in the row ahead of you to try to diffuse any tension that might arrise from your two jiggling their seats (or touching their hair!). Works very well for me.

Another suggestion is to see if the flight is light and if the flight is not crammed, then ask if you can take at least one of the car seats seats on the plane (I'm assuming you are going to have two lap children here which might be a false assumption). I've had less luck with this in the summer as the flights have been pretty full, although I got lucky last Sunday and got both car seats on the plane.

Run them around as much as possible before you get on the plane!

The flight should go well, it isn't too long.

Good luck and have a great time.

Sotto

 

Great topic...going on a 2 hr flight Sunday with my 3 year olds!!!

 

QUOTE(Fashionable Mommy @ Jul 2 2008, 12:22 AM) [snapback]856125[/snapback]
This almost fits into what I was going to ask, except we will be flying with 3 year old boys!!! If anyone has any tips/suggestions, please share I'll definitely be getting some of those aqua doodle pads.

Happy Traveling!!!
Emily


We bought the aqua doodle and hated them. The pens would leak and the girls would constantly suck on the pens to try to get the water out. The doodle pros are no mess and you don't have to wait until they dry to use them again.

 

update ---- I went to Target today and hit the jackpot in the $1 section. I think every Target it has one of these areas right when you walk in. I picked up some books, some sprinkles in a jar for shaking, a bead maze thingy, some stickers, and some other little toys for next to nothing. I also bought the doodle thing. Thanks for all of your suggestions and for those of those traveling, try the Target dollar section!

Happy travels!