Airplane Activities for Toddlers

Recently Tim and I went on airplane trips down south with our 2 kiddos, Madelyn (3) and Theo (almost 2)...see here and here.  I was a little nervous about how they would do on the flights.  Madelyn had flown once before, but she was only 6 months and slept pretty much the whole time.

I prepared several activities for both kids. Madelyn had her own seat, which helped a lot.  Theo was on Tim's lap most of the time. I knew Madelyn would be okay watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood the whole time, but I didn't want her staring at the iPad for 5 hours straight!

Here are my Top 10 Favorite Activities for toddlers on an airplane....

1.  Crayons and coloring books
Both kids love coloring.  Theo's still learning, but he likes to hold the crayon in his hand and "practice" coloring.  I bought brand new crayons and coloring books from the dollar store.

2.  Puzzles
This was more for Madelyn than Theo.  She has recently really gotten into doing puzzles.  I bought some new ones from the Dollar Store.  I had her put down her tray table and do the puzzle on there (same with the coloring books).  It was the perfect fit.  She would do the puzzle, break it up and do it again.  Success!

3.  Plastic Container Game
I used 2 sour cream containers I already had in the fridge, poked holes in the lid and filled it with fuzzy balls from the Dollar Store.  Both kids loved fitting the fuzzy balls in the lids, dumping them and doing it again.  The hardest part was keeping all the fuzzy balls from falling on the ground.  Easy game to make.

4. Books
I bought several new books and brought some of their favorites.  Madelyn loves "reading" to herself and Theo likes to look at the pictures.  Again, they put these on the tray tables and entertained themselves for awhile.

5. Leap Pad (with headphones)
This was for Madelyn.  We recently purchased a Leap Pad for her.  So far, her favorite thing to do is the paint game, but also enjoys her Leap Frog game as well.  We purchased headphones for her several weeks before we left and had her practice using them.

6.  Snacks
Goldfish, cheerios, freeze dried fruit and water.  We stuck with no sweet snacks.  Didn't want the kids bouncing off the walls.  Having snacks was a huge way to occupy the time when they grew restless and were ready to get off the airplane.

7. iPad (with headphones)
Like I said earlier, Madelyn loves her Daniel Tiger.  I downloaded a couple episodes along with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  She also enjoys playing Starfall and Reading Starfall on this. (I recommend these games even when not on the airplane)

8. Flash Cards
I bought some flash cards from the Dollar Store.  They were for preschool age and had shapes, color, numbers  and letters on them.  We haven't worked on shapes very much with Madelyn and she loved learning them.

9. Favorite Animals
We brought both kids' favorite stuffed animals they normally sleep with.  This helped both of them to stay calm and feel comfortable.

10. Pictures
Our kids LOVE to look at pictures and videos we've taken on our phones and cameras.  I would suggest bringing a picture album (small!) or make sure and have pictures on your phone/camera.  This kept our 21 month old still for quite awhile.

*Make sure and bring strollers as well.  This really helped us get from terminal to terminal in he airport!

Hope this helps if any of you are going on a plane ride soon!

And remember a good attitude and LOTS of coffee :)