plane toys for 2.5 yr olds

I need recommendations for toys on the plane for 2.5 yr old girls. I was thinkng of bringing coloring books, but the crayons could be potentially messy. I'm going to buy them each a Barbie doll to play with that will be brand new that day. I need recommendations that are non messy and will keep them occupied. We have 2 adults and 3 babies (the 2.5 yr old twins and a 9 month old) so we REALLY need to keep the girls busy! LOL

Some ideas I thought about but then scratched due to potential messes:

-Sticker books (very entertaining, but stickers would be EVERYWHERE, probably get kicked off by the stewardess)
- Puzzles (even large piece puzzles, the pieces could be thrown and/or lost under seats, etc.)
- Coloring books (potential for everything around them to be colored, plus a good weapon if they get mad and want to throw)


We are bringing 2 laptops and a bag full of DVD's for all of them to watch, as the baby LOVES watching Backyardigans/Mickey Mouse. The girls wil be entertained for about 5 minutes with this though......


Thanks for ANY ideas you can give me!!

 

We flew a couple of times this year and we brought all new things:

travel size doodle pros
a few books
my little pony
crayons (just one pack of 8) and coloring books

When we flew, I brought out a snack, then an activity, then we sang songs, etc. then repeated the cycle.

 

Magna-doodles! They have smaller travel ones. This, plus a few books, and a DVD player kept my girls occupied on our last trip (at just 2).

 

Thanks!!! The doodle pro is a GREAT idea! Totally forgot about My little Pony, that might be better than Barbie. Bumping for more!!

 

The Wonder Color markers - they only show up on the special paper. They sell them anywhere you can Crayola stuff. I have bought them at Target and Office Max. They are great because they CAN NOT make a mess with them. They have lots of different themes, princess, dora, etc.

 

I did color wonders and crayons with coloring books. (You can get triangular crayons that don't roll!)

Absolutely do the stickers!!! Get a couple tiny spiral note books and let them go to town putting them in there!

Cheerios and Pipe Cleaners - they can string the cheerios on the pipe cleaners forever!!! (Kate, thank you for this!)

A few things they have never seen before!! Small stuff. They'll be pretty darn entertained on the plane!! Some use a movie etc. on a dvd player. You'll be fine!

 

I think the best thing is to have lots of random little things, and bring them out one at a time. Matchbox cars, plastic bracelets, little mirrors, bandaids (I'm mentally roaming the aisles at Target as I type!).

Also, if crayons seem too messy, you might actually do better with ballpoint pens. It depends on your kids, but one of mine has loved writing with real pens since about age 2, and she knows to only write on paper or her own skin (I had to compromise somewhere). It's a little scary, but at least they don't break and leave little wax bits everywhere.

I think sticker books are OK as long as the stickers are removable (which most sticker books are). You'll lose some, but who cares.

When I flew with Sarah at 23 months, one of the biggest hits was a small dog collar. She just loved buckling it and having me unbuckle it for her.

A small photo album with pictures of people they know is also great -- you can be occupied for half an hour talking about the pictures.

If my two trips are any example, don't expect anything to entertain them for very long without your involvement. I spent almost the entire flight talking to her, and the same thing when I flew the next year with Amy. On the other hand, it was just the two of us both times, so they didn't have each other to talk to.

 

We're taking our first flight in a few weeks. My boys just turned 3. We've got:

*New (cheap) crayons and coloring books
*Leapfrog Tag readers & books
*magnetic travel set (like stickers but they come with a magnetic background and magnets)
*small travel-size (like the kind you see available for halloween trick-or-treating) play dough
*dollar-store photo albums with family pictures, clip art of interesting things (I spy things we'll see on our trip), favorite songs, etc.
*BrainQuest quiz cards.
*scotch tape.

Love the pipe cleaner/cheerio advice. Will be adding that to my bag of tricks, thanks Diane and Kate!

 

Snacks, snacks, snacks.

Wikistiks are great -- they are a bit sticky [good on the plane], but quite entertaining, small, and indestructible

Crayons and paper/coloring book

Mine also love ballpoint pens

Post-it notes

Books

I always bring sticks in case of an emergency