The Ultimate Guide to Travel Entertainment For Kids
We’ve been flying with our children since my youngest was 6 weeks old. They’re now 5 and a half and 3 and a half and we’ve taken lots of long road trips and long haul flights. Here are our tried and tested toys/books/games/suitcases for keeping little one’s entertained… contains ad affiliate links at no extra cost to you.
For Babies;
Everyone dreads flying with a baby, obviously it depends on their age and temperament but I really think that it’s almost always going to be better than you expect it to be. Travelling with a baby before the weaning stage felt like the easiest time, they’re so portable, they adapt really well to any time difference by adding extra naps in and they love the enforced contact of being held or in a carrier!
These fidget spinners that stick onto windows or high chair trays are great for at home or when you’re travelling. We used these for our flight to Mallorca when my son was around 10 months and ended up passing them around the plane as the other babies/parents loved them!
This baby sensory toy kept my two busy for ages, it’s really satisfying for them to pull and has a few different functions.
These are a good size for travel and busy little fingers
Don’t forget straps like these for keeping favourite toys/dummies/comforts within reach otherwise you’ll constantly be trying to reach down onto the not exactly clean floor every 5 minutes when they drop/lob something.
A teething necklace is a great thing to keep a chomping bub happy and distracted when they’re sat on your lap. I used to wear mine for every flight, it did both kids!
Wrap things up. Unwrapping things is the best novelty factor to keep them busy.
This travel Calpol is great for teething.
The plane has built in white noise. We always took a carrier to bounce around at the end of the aisle with if a nap was needed or I’d feed them to sleep - I found a huge benefit of breastfeeding was the ease for travel!
Snacks! If weaning. Don’t underestimate how long little puff crisps and wafers can keep a baby busy - read quiet - for.
Request a bassinet if you’re on a long haul flight. Not only for the cot but it will give you so much extra legroom and space for a crawling/pulling themself up babe to move around a little/play too.
We would always take our baby’s sleeping bag for a flight to signal bedtime. These have clever harness cut outs so you can strap them into a car seat or bassinet with.
For Toddlers;
We had an expensive LoveEvery version of this buckle toy and it’s great for problem solving
Stickers! You can’t have enough. We used to buy these sets and they’d stick them onto paper or on the plane - obviously we’d remove before we left!
These reusable sticker books are good too
And these build your own sticker faces work out great value, you can just take a couple in your bag to a restaurant or in your plane/car pack.
If they’re past the stage where they put things in their mouths then these suction toys are fun for sticking onto plane windows or tray tables and building funny stacking people. Great for car windows too.
Road Tape is one of the best things you can take away with you. Super small for a bag but you can reuse the tape bits by rerolling it onto the roll after. We use this on plane trips and also at any accommodation whilst we’re away with a couple of cars or aeroplanes. Keeps my children busy for ages! They do parking and train track versions too.
Don’t underestimate magazines. Yes, they’re expensive these days and have plastic rubbish on the front but they’re actually really good for travel, they’re lightweight, have lots of stickers and activities in and weirdly my children do play with the tacky stuff on the front for long enough both on the trip and when we’re back home after. Crucially they’re something new for them!
Magna tiles are such an amazing open ended toy. We’ve taken edits of our bigger home collection - these - before in small draw string bags as I know it’s something they’ll play with when we are away also. But I’ve bought this small travel tin recently and it’s such a perfect size for slotting into a bag if you’re short on luggage allowance!
Play doh. Either tubs of your regular play doh or these special tubs of sensory dough with mini figures in.
These electronic drawing pads are such a bargain and great for toddlers upwards.
When my son was between 1 and 2 years, he would spend ages looking at these picture books! Adapt to your child’s specific interests, my son was MAD for transport!
The ULTIMATE screen free entertainment that my children use every single night on holiday and at home to listen to before bed. We also listen to these audio books in the car on road trips. Can’t recommend more. BUT be aware that you must load the cards into the player whilst on wifi for them to work offline. So make sure you check they all work before you travel!
And use with these headphones. Or you can get these child free wireless ones that are super comfy but it’s a trade off between whether the wires will annoy your child but will you remember to keep them charged?
Take a bag with a piece of string in and some cheerios to thread an edible necklace. It’s something that keeps little hands busy and doubles up as a snack. Win!
I always take a few small cars and aeroplanes for my children to play with or a few small animal figures.
For car journeys, we bought these over the seat entertainment holders and they’re great for having everything organised and within easy reach.
You might have seen the viral travel hack of packing a folding washbag {we have these} with kids bits in for the plane or car so that you can hang it and easily access everything. We’ve done this a few times but it depends which airline you’re flying with as to whether you get a suit hanger or not and also depends on how much luggage allowance you have. We tend to fly hand luggage only more these days to keep costs down so can’t take something as bulky as this. But if you’re on a package holiday or have a suitcase and a hand item they’re definitely worth packing and taking!
Once your child is out of a carrier, these pull along suitcases double up as a ride on and a bed box for extending aeroplane seats. They’re genius. We’ve used ours a lot and they’re so great for transporting children through the airport on as well as them being able to pull their own. Be aware that not every airline allows them as a bed extender, BA didn’t used to but I think they might have just approved them, and because they count as a hand luggage item we only use them now when not on hand luggage only - if we fly as a package with extra luggage included or when using points to fly business. On a recent trip to NYC we actually put the kids washbags in these so it was easy for them to access their toys.
For Children;
As a rule we try to keep our kids screen free for as much as possible but since my daughter is in year 1 she’s had homework on an ipad. This educational set with these characters called Edurino is great for travel and will last for a few years from around 4-8. It’s hard to find good apps for kids but this is one that I trust and we use that’s been designed by teachers. nb I partnered with this brand on an Instagram reel but not in exchange for this mention.
These linking cubes are great for building without the tiny pieces that LEGO have. Come with a handy bag too.
We also have these which are great for taking away with you, a great STEM toy.
Talking of LEGO, we have these travel cases for our kid’s lego. I probably wouldn’t take it on a plane with me as they’re bulky but great for camping or taking out to a restaurant.
Air Dry Clay has been our latest discovery for flying with, it’s super lightweight and keeps our kids busy for ages! Just take a few different colours with you and the creativity is endless. My son loves moulding volcanoes and dinosaurs out of this. The packs often come with small sealable bags to put it into to stop it drying out.
These really clever books have watercolour paints built into them and come with a brush, you just need a small cup of water. My daughter loves them! Great for taking to restaurants or on a plane.
These Play Press sets are a really lovely, sustainable construction option and as they start off so small so are great for packing.
My daughter, aged 5 and a half, is really fond of these dress up sticker books at the moment. The smaller size are great for travel.
My Children both had these foil art kits for Christmas and have spent hours on them so far. This is a great travel version.
And these scratch art sets are plane friendly too if you take just a couple.
Don’t underestimate simple paper and pens or colouring books for drawing/writing practice.
Yoto would come definitely come under the children’s age group too! So many amazing cards and children’s podcasts.
I’ve bought these really good value craft activities and this for my children for our next long haul flight. Only £1 for a set and should keep them busy for a while and they look mess free. The trinity!
As much as we try to go screen free as much as possible, long haul flights in my opinion are not the time for this. So utilise the in flight entertainment as much as needed! It means we don’t need to pack quite as much either.
Also, take as much food as you can as travel days can often have delays or my kids just don’t really eat plane food! I try to give them the perishable stuff first whilst saving the packed goods for later on as an emergency back up. We try to take these in tuppaware so things don’t get completely squashed and then the tuppaware doubles up as a good buffet food saver on holiday or for taking snacks/sandwiches out with us to save time or money - and because let’s face it, kids are always hungry!
I would also caveat this list by saying how nice it is for children to be bored occasionally. It’s kind of a right of passage in childhood to stare out of the window for a while. Bring entertainment by all means but they don’t always need it endlessly!
Let me know if there’s anything you’d add! Or if this is helpful.
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