The Best Airplane Activities for a Toddler and Baby
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The best activities and toys for flying with a toddler and baby.
We’ve taken our toddler on flights multiple times throughout her life from traveling to Europe when she was 4 months old, to a wedding in San Antonio, to a family vacation in California to name a few. She has always traveled through airports and on airplanes like a champ! We recently traveled to Glacier National Park for a vacation with some family friends, which was our first flight with our second baby who was 6 months old when we traveled. I think that’s the perfect age to travel with a baby because they aren’t crawling or trying to get away yet, and are pretty happy just sitting with you. I’m expected her to be easier to keep busy than our toddler and that was pretty accurate.
What should I pack when traveling with a baby or toddler?
When planning your next vacation with your baby and/or toddler, be sure to grab my baby packing checklist, which can be used as a starting point for your next trip with your baby. This baby packing checklist has all of the essentials and then you can add whatever you need to the list depending on where you are traveling to, whether that’s to a national park, the mountains, beach, or to Europe. I understand traveling to the beach is popular this time of year, especially with young kids, so if that’s you head on over to the best beach essentials for traveling with a baby to the beach.
Tips for flying with a baby and toddler
The two secrets to keeping children content through travel are activities and snacks. I repeat: activities and snacks! I like to buy a few novel toys and activities that your toddler or baby has never seen before because new activities seem to keep their interest for longer. I keep a basket stocked that has lots of little toys, coloring books, etc. and I generally just pull something from that basket for a longer road trip. For the plane I tend to pack a little more. I’ll plan to have something new for every hour of travel, generally speaking. When planning for our trip to Glacier National Park, I knew we would have two flights so I planned accordingly and made sure I had plenty of things to keep both my toddler and baby busy and happy. I also knew that my baby would be happy with pretty much anything so when preparing for the flight with my baby and toddler, I focused on getting activities for my toddler. I just passed the toys to my baby whenever my toddler got bored with them.
For an added bonus activity, you can wrap the new toys and activities like presents. I don’t typically do this for a short road trip but since we have longer travel with our toddler and baby on the airplane this time, I decided to wrap everything in some super cute pink wrapping paper for Marshalls. The green checker zipper pouch you see below was perfect for my baby’s little toys and teethers.
Wrapping toys and activities for the plane adds an extra layer of fun and will keep your toddler busy for longer.
What are the best activities and toys to bring on the airplane for baby and toddler?
I order many toys and activities from Amazon but will also browse places like Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, Dollar General, and the Dollar Store. Below are the things I brought on the airplane for my toddler and baby to Glacier National Park. I’m happy to say we made it to day 4 with 9 little “surprises”!
The toys and activities I’m bringing for my toddler and baby on the airplane!
Airplane Activities for Toddler
Play-Doh and Play-Doh toy - I bought a 3-pack of Play-Doh from our local Target and found this Play-Doh dog toy at our local Dollar General. You push the Play-Doh in the dog and it makes the dog’s hair grow! I couldn’t find this exact toy but linked a similar Play-Doh pack here. I suggest putting everything in a reusable plastic storage container so that everything is easier to contain and clean up on the airplane. This was my toddler’s favorite toy on the airplane.
Busy board - We have a felt busy board we keep in the car and I highly recommend getting one of those! Since my toddler has been playing with the felt one for a while though I wanted to find something different for the flight. I found this super cool light up busy board! It has different switches, knobs, and buttons to turn on and off colorful lights. My toddler played with this for long periods of time and my baby found it super entertaining too!
Coloring and sticker play pack - I always buy these at Target and keep them on hand. They’re small and easy to pull out at restaurants or in the car. I got the Princess one this time. I’ve linked a similar color and sticker play pack.
Pop-it bracelets - Here is a large pack of pop-it bracelets. Side note, these make great Easter egg, Christmas stocking, or Halloween fillers for girls too.
Sensory fidget toy - within this set of 3 sensory fidget tubes I brought the lightest weight and most quiet one for the airplane (the one with the sand). I will save the other two for future road trips or plane rides.
Imagine Ink coloring books - I looove Imagine Ink books - girl set / boy set. Coloring but without the mess.. sign me up. These are a staple for us and I always try to keep them stocked up in a basket so I can pull one out for the car, airplane, restaurant, or other outing.
Candy treat - my daughter is all about the “treats” these days and although we don’t do this for every trip, I thought having some candy would be a good break between activities. She had never had a bottle pop before.
Dog fidget toy - I found this at Target in the dollar bin. Here are some similar dog fidget toys that are actually way cuter!
Reusable sticker book - I bought this same Pet shop sticker book for our family vacation in California last year but I think my toddler was a little too young at the time to really enjoy it (she was about 18 months). She was very into it this year.
Airplane Activities for Baby
As I previously stated, I planned to hand down the same toys I bought for my toddler after she got bored with them to my baby. I did bring a couple other toys and teether specifically for my baby though.
Suction spinner toys perfect for clinging to the airplane window, tray table, or car window.
Teether sticks - She loves these teether straws and they are super lightweight and small to throw in the diaper bag whenever we are out and about
Rattle travel toy - This rainbow travel toy was perfect for the long car rides we had to and within the park.
Crinkle sensory toy - We have a different one we took on our trip but this acts the same way
