things to keep kids busy...

[lrab1126]

What things are a must have for you to bring on the plane to keep your kids busy. I have a 5 and almost 3 year old who have a terrible time sitting still and have never flown before. I have packed the standard crayons, coloring books, playing cards, mp3 players etc... but what other things have you found to be entertaining?

 

[CEDmom]

One great thing I've found to keep my DD7 busy almost anywhere is pipe cleaners. I bring several packages of different thicknesses and colors and she makes all kinds of things with them. They can be reused and aren't messy - definite pluses.

BTW, DD has been making things with them for a few years now so your girls would likely enjoy them as well.

 

[Nanu57v]

We borrowed a portable DVD player.

 

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

I was at Radio Shack the other day and found Disney Princess Magic Wand Laptop for 19.97 (reg. 49.99) and I bought my son a Spiderman laptop. They have been non-stop with those.

We are taking the Auto-train down so that will keep the kiddos busy for awhile.

 

[CraftyCrissy]

I've found that my kids are always fascinated with the plane, in general! The drink cart, the window, some snacks I packed. My kids are 5, 6 and 6 and this time when we fly I've made up fun bags for them with coloring books, new markers, new mp3 player, and I made up activity books for them (dot to dots, mazes, etc. - all free printables.) Also, we're flying JetBlue and each seat has their own little TV with a few kids' channels. My kids will be out of control with excitement when they see that. For my daughter (6) I've also packed some Polly Pockets and for my sons (5 and 6) I found two little handheld computer games (SpongeBob Yahtzee and Battleship) for $2.49 each at Target's clearance!

We're in NJ so the flight is just over 2 hours and pretty do-able. Maybe some Floam, paper dolls, pipe cleaners, stickers and a notepad to stick them all on to. My biggest concern is always the delay in the airport and entertaining them there! But then again, they're old enough now that I can bribe them with ice cream adn Burger King if they use decent behavior!

 

[kitsch4]

My 4 year old son loves his Leapster. It is like a Gameboy for littler ones, and it has educational games they can play. He also likes activity books with stickers. I've found Disney ones at Sam's Club before. My daughter loves to read, so I may buy her a couple magazines to look at.

 

[all4fun]

This is always a tough one for us because it seems like I pack a bunch of stuff that he ends up having no interest in most of it which is somewhat annoying because we're already lugging around a lot of stuff. One thing that always takes up some of the time is a portable DVD player. Make sure it has a decent battery esp if your flight is over a couple of hours long (ours are 6+if you add up both legs). On one trip he'd never played with Crayola ColorWonders before so the pens and special paper kept him occupied for a bit. The key there was NEW. Regular crayons wouldn't have cut it because they were familiar (btdt). You might consider buying a couple of new small quiet toys and keeping them hidden until the trip (or let them know you have them but they can't play w/them until you're on the plane). SNACKS! Mainly because you can't count on the airline having food they will eat, nor can you can you count on them serving it when they are hungry. Plus it will help eat up some of the time (no pun intended).

hth!

 

[myAAbatteries&aTD]

The Leapster that someone else mentioned is a LIFESAVER on long trips! Definitely recommend it, plus it's educational and very portable.... we have several game cartridges w/ ours since we've had it a while and I pick them up on clearance, but just the Leapster by itself can keep them busy for a long time...

 

[FoundMyPrince]

Books, stickers, and snacks! For our plane ride when DS was 3 and DD5, we bought several of the Disney sticker/coloring books. They had Nemo, Princesses, Pixar, etc. They loved the stickers.

Portable DVD players with headphones are great, too.

 

[chefkellyb]

I found jel window clings somewhere, I think the dollar store or Target. The kids had fun putting them on the window and arranging and re-arranging them.

 

[Perditamarie]

The Leapsters are a lifesaver (don't forget the headphones!), as well as portable DVD players. Also sticker books,and consider downloading books/stories on the MP3 as well. It could also be fun to pull out the camcorder and "interview" the kids coming/going from WDW.

 

[DreamDelta]

I bought my kids Disney sticker books. The kids had to find the outline of where each sticker belonged and underneath the sticker was a caption for the kids to read. It kept them busy for a long time and it added to their Disney excitement!

 

[Astro Orbiter]

Post-it Notes.

Sounds odd, huh? But they stick to the seat, the window, everything. And then come back off.

We pack twistables crayons, couple packs of stickers, kiddie scissors (yes, they are allowed), her 4-color ballpoint pen (high novelty factor) and a couple medium-largish sized pads of post-its. She makes pictures, cards, cutouts...

And for the crayons/pens/scissors - ask for a plastic drink cup, and mash it in between the tray and the seat in front of you. Minimizes chasing crayons off the floor...

Deb

 

[kldmom2000]

In the past I've done coloring books and the portable DVD player and leapsters.... still planning on doing that this time and probably my ipod for my little Hannah Montana fans to use (I downloaded the 2 cd's onto it for them)

 

[kitsch4]

And for the crayons/pens/scissors - ask for a plastic drink cup, and mash it in between the tray and the seat in front of you. Minimizes chasing crayons off the floor...

Great idea!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I'm interested in this myself. I am dreading our flight, more so because of (almost) 3yr old. Our flight is 24hrs from the time we board here, until we disembark in Orlando. I don't know how I'm going to cope. I have enough problems with her at home as she literally can't sit for 2minutes. I can't imagine what will keep her interested on the plane.