Favorite Travel Toys

As promised a few weeks back, here are some of our favorite airplane toys. I've arranged them in order from easiest to schlep along to hardest. We generally bring only one carry-on for simplicity; either a small duffel bag or a backpack. All of the toys mentioned here fit, along with snacks and the items mentioned in my previous travel post.

Keep in mind these toys were brought along for a 9 hour flight plus 4 hour layover. We've found that for shorter flights, all you really need is one or two small toys to entertain your little one. Any of these are good picks.

I have to apologize for how boy-centered this list is! I'll try to gather some recommendations geared towards girls for a future post.

Stickers

Stickers are generally favorites with toddlers. The great thing is they can be stuck on anything - the tray, airline magazine, barf bag, or anywhere else. (I recommend removing them if you opt for the tray!) I up the entertainment factor by drawing a simple scene on a piece of paper. Tip: Remove the white part around the stickers until your little one gets proficient at removing stickers from the sheet, making it easier to peel of stickers.

Matchbox Cars

Ok, so this one is pretty specific to my kid, but give N two or three matchbox cars, and he's good to go for the next hour or so. I give him the minimum he'll accept (usually three) and he has fun driving them around his seat (and ours).

Mini Board Books

The more detailed the pictures are, the better. These are great for little ones to look at on their own, or together. Good ones include Dr. Seuss's ABC, Are You My Mother?, and Big Red Barn.

Sticker Activity Book

There are a variety of these; our collection includes Elmo, trucks, and an Usborne version. These books have stickers that go on specific activity pages. They are great books because they get kids to think a little bit, can be looked at independently or together with a parent, and keep your kids occupied for awhile.

Matchbox Cars Playset

Pictured above, this little playset has gone on every airplane trip with us. While I haven't seen this line in stores anymore (and it's now expensive on Amazon), they sell similar ones at Target for around $12. With just enough moving parts to engage car-loving kids, this will fill many hours - and help your child make friends on layovers, we discovered.

Melissa & Doug Maze Puzzle

This puzzle is flat, so it's really just a matter of how tall and wide your bag is. They're all around 10"x13", and come in a variety of themes: transportation, farm, colors, and shapes. There is also a numbers version in which one uses a magnetic pen to guide little balls around the maze. The best part of these is they have no removable parts, which means no scrunching down to find dropped items on the airplane floor. N essentially uses the transportation maze puzzle as a playset, telling elaborate stories about why the different vehicles are going to the different buildings.

If you have any recommended travel toys, I would love to hear about them! Bon voyage!