Fun things for kids to do on the plane-Any suggestions?

[devine5829]

What are some ideas for mu kids to do while we're waiting for the plane and on the plane. I have two girls 51/2 & 7.

Looking for some ideas other than your traditional coloring ideas .

Thanks

 

[jksmom]

One fun thing we have found is playdoh. I bring new cans and a bag of playdoh tools. Also my ds(7) loves to listen to music cd's and my dd(3) will sometimes listen to books on tape. They do like the coloring, but also word searches and maze type books(all from the dollar tree). Do they like Barbie type dolls? You could put clothes etc in ziplocs to keep them together. For younger children I once wrapped individual toys for them to unwrap on the trip(I did this when traveling alone with ds(3 at the time and before 9/11) I'm not sure if they allow wrapped packages now. Also I have a plain ruled notebook for kids to draw in. They each had their own, worked very well. The other thing is various snacks and water.

 

[BevS97]

I try and bring one thing for each hour, and my dd gets a new thing on the turn of the hour. She is quite good at checking my watch to see how long she has to wait (we have a very long flight ,so I have to ration the treats like this, or they would all be gone within the first hour).
Playdoh was popular, so were pipe-cleaners, and sticker books, but the thing that keeps her the most occupied by far, is a walkman with headphones and story tapes - we got some great Playhouse Disney tapes (she was a bit younger than your kids, 4 1/2) and she sat and listened to Playhouse Disney over and over, she also liked some proper stories, ie just a voice reading short stories. I would say with a bag of tapes to choose from, she would have been happy without the rest of the stuff.

bev

 

[GRAYWIFE]

Keep in mind, Sydney is a 5 year old girl!

We pack a backpack that is special for the trip only, including:
1.Cheap sheets of stickers
2.new Crayons and 1 or 2 Disney coloring books
3.plain paper notebook (for stickers, coloring and tic tac toe!)
4.deck of cards to play "Go Fish"
5.clear nail polish (we did a manicure and that kept her occupied for over 30 minutes!)
6.Playdoh, they sell party packs of 10 colors and they are small. We give her 5 for the trip to WDW and 5 on the way back (for variety)
7. mini magnadoodle
8. snacks
9. we made lists of all the fun things we were going to do at WDW, she used the lists to "check-off" things on the return home.
Have fun!!

 

[EthansMom]

Not an idea for in the airplane, but one for the wait at the airport. On our last plane trip, I deflated my son's small beach ball and packed it in my carryon. Inflated it while we waited at the gate for our plane to arrive etc. He had a blast playing catch with all of the other people waiting for their planes. We'll definitely be packing his beach ball for our Sept. trip to DW.

EthansMom

 

[bmr12]

Graywife had a good list. I would supplement it with:

*Big magnadoodle (more activities--a lot like coloring).
*Costco sticker books (relatively cheap vs. traditional book stores)
*Laptop w/DVD player if you have one--DVDs from the library, ebay, or netflix. Personalized TV on the plane. Can't beat it, but it is heavy and expensive.
*Food--junk food bonanza! Quiet, fun for the kids, and it makes your bags lighter with every bite.
*Workbooks from Target/Walmart--a mental challenge, small, and quiet.
*LeapPad and books. Not terribly small, but with headphones it is quiet and occupying. Haven't actually hauled this on the plane yet (laptop is heavy enough), but it has been good for a while in the car.

 

[BevS97]

I forgot about the leappad - we brought that last year too, and it got a fair bit of use.

Bev

 

[callaghan]

When my little one was three, we packed some watercolor paints and paper. The flight attendant got us some water and she was quiet for the rest of the flight. She thought this was the greatest, as did some fliers who were not too happy to see her.
callie

 

[sln88]

not trying to start a fight, but if someone close to me on a plane had open nail polish, it would puch me over the edge from queasy stomach to needing the barf bag.

It is too cramped in a plane for that kind of stuff.

 

[pinktink83]

I agree about the nail polish! I wouldn't bring that on a plane. The smell, the spills, just wouldn't do it.

How about those Mad Lib notebooks? My friends and I could spend hours doing those at that age, in fact, we probably still could!

 

[GRAYWIFE]

Regarding the nail polish: I knew I should have said it was child-friendly, odor-free polish that my older daughter gave my younger one. It was clear and non-toxic, my daughter said she got it at Target. I wouldn't have used regular nail polish it would have made me sick!!

 

[Strings]

I have to second the laptop with DVDs. We keep the volume low, and have never had any complaints.

 

[Chuck-PA]

We have used the Travel games in the past.
My son's favorite the past few times has been card games and UNO.
Also, somewhere on the boards was a printout for Disney Word Searches. My wife and I also got in the fun of doing this with our son.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

The only thing I can add is window clings. DD4 loves playing with those, and it will keep her occupied for an hour or longer.

 

[eeyoreforever]

The word searches are a great idea. We make our own using Disney characters or rides or whatever you want in it. It is really easy to do. Just go to this website and on the pull down window select word search. Type in your list of words and tell it how big you want the puzzle to be. The site is [/url] http://www.edgate.com/d.pl?url=http://www.puzzlemaker.com
Have fun with it!

 

[pinktink83]

Oh, well, odor-free nail polish is a whole diff story! How clever! I'll have to keep that in mind for when my daughter is a little older!

I luv the window cling idea, and also the homemade word search. Thanks for the link! Too cool!

 

[AuntMinnie]

I like thw play-dough idea. I found small play-dough w/ the Disney Princesses ( Cindy, Snow white etc.) at target.

I also like the invisiable ink books they use to be "Yes and No" books I think but now they are with the kids fav characters (Barbie, Dora the Explorer) the have them in Toys-r-Us and I've also seen them in A.C. More craft store. The pages ask a question or have puzzles and you use a "Magic Pen" to make the correct answers appear. I hope you understand what I mean it's hard to describe LOL.

they make a lot of games that are travel size, I'd check Walmart/Kmart/Target toy dept. to see if they have a game your dd love (or would love) in travel size.


Snacks too! Pack their favs., I don't think airlines pass oout too much any more, I find out soon too!!

 

[llp479]

My girls play with their Fashion Polly Pocket dolls. I can fit an entire collection in one gallon size zip-lock. Keeps them entertained for hours. I usually by one new doll each- around $3 at Target- for our trip.

They will also play "GO Fish" with a deck of cards, or the memory game.

Be sure to bring snacks. You basically get nothing on the plane, and many times it isn't something most kids enjoy. I also have noticed that they don't seem to have milk on the planes anymore. My girls usually end up having water as they don't drink soda.

 

[kaseyC]

Our girls love our portable DVD player. Its smaller than a lap top so its really easy to carry. We got it on sale at Target in Jan. As long as they sit next to each other, the volume can be kept down really low. For our trip in August I just picked up a "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" DVD at Walmart for 9.99. It will go in the " Goody Bag" I make them for the plane ride.
I also picked up some the party size play dough with tools at the Dollar Tree. Wordsearches and coloring activity books are always popular as well.

 

[figment95]

I vote for Mad Libs. They keep my kids (6 & 8) busy for hours. DH and I play too but it passes the time for all of us. My kids also love pipe cleaners. You can keep re-using them for the whole trip. Sometimes we play a game where one person starts and bends the pipe cleaner into a shape and passes it to the next person who has to add another pipe cleaner to the shape. We keep passing it back and forth until all the pipe cleaners are used up. We usually end up with a very interesting blob!