Traveling with a toddler soon and wondering how to entertain a toddler on a plane? Well we encourage you to book that flight, because we are sharing the best toddler airplane activities to help keep your little one entertained.
Of course, traveling with a toddler comes with challenges. But it is always worth it to experience a new place together and make incredible memories as a family.
We’ve been traveling with our now 4 year old since she was 6 weeks old and we’ve learned a ton along the way! We’ve since added a second baby to our family and it’s a whole new learning curve figuring out multiple kids. Even though some travel days are tough, I’ve never once regretted doing it.
Looking for more tips for flying with a toddler? Check out how to survive a long haul flight with a toddler, how to protect your stroller when flying, and our flying with a toddler checklist.
Now let’s get into the best toddler airplane activities that are all screen free and organized by age. Don’t stress about how to entertain a toddler on a plane. First we’ll go over how many toddler travel toys you’ll want, what makes a good toddler travel toy and finally a list of the best toddler airplane activities to make your flight go as smooth as possible.
How Many Travel Toys Do You Need?
Okay, you’ve booked the flight. Congratulations! Now how many toddler airplane activities do you need? The answer is probably less than you think!
For shorter trips 2-3 will be plenty and for long haul trips 3-6 will suffice. Don’t forget there are so many things that can be entertaining for your little one that aren’t necessarily advertised as toys.
Snacks will be your best friend. Have a variety packed of your toddler’s favorites. We love the snacklebox, memory snack tray and the snack spinner because they all allow for a good variety and act as a toy on their own.
Besides snacks, tell your toddler stories, let them go through your purse, stack the cups after drinks are served and look out the window. These are all great toddler airplane activities even though they aren’t toys you bought at the store.
What Makes A Great Travel Toy
There are a few qualities you want to look for when picking out and packing your toddler airplane activities. Each toddler travel toy should check the following boxes.
- Compact
- Lightweight
- Quiet
- Multi Purpose
- Mess Free
- Doesn’t Require Charging
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Watching the sunset together in Maui, Hawaii
Best Toddler Travel Activities
We’ve organized the best toddler travel activities by age. Toddler change so much between age 1 and 4, and so do their toy preferences.
We’ve seen our daughter love these toys at these specific ages and we want to share what worked well for us on our many trips.
1-2 Year Olds
Water Wow! Pads
The Water Wow! Pads are a great, no mess travel activity that is compact as well. All you need is water in the brush and your toddler can use the brush to make the pictures come to life. Plus as they use the water they can search for the missing things on each page.
Check the price and availability of Water Wow! Pads here!
Lock and Keys
Your toddler needs to use the correct key to unlock each car, encouraging problem solving! Each car has dots to count which is a clue as to what key to use.
Check price for lock and keys here!
Let you child act out a safari with this animal toy set. Practice naming each animal or counting the animal on the airplane. Or have a high quality battle to see which animal is the toughest of them all.
Check price and availability for the animal toy set here!
Pull String Crab
Hang the crab on the tray table and let your toddler explore the many cool things this crab can do. Let your toddler practice their fine motor skills as they try to slide the buttons from one hole to another. It’s compact, lightweight and the perfect toddler airplane activity.
Check price and availability for the pull string crab toy here!
Magnetic Fishing
Have your toddler sort the fish by color and insert each fish through the correct colored slot. Then go fishing with your toddler and see who can catch the most fish. Try going for a certain color fish first, or just see who can be the fastest.
Check price and availability for magnetic fishing here!
2-3 Year Olds
Doodle Tablet
This is the perfect toy for traveling with a toddler. Let them draw pictures and erase it with the click of a button. Draw pictures for them and let them guess what you drew. The options are endless with this toddler airplane activity.
Check price and availability for doodle tablet here!
Mess Free Coloring Books
If you’re toddler enjoys coloring, this is the perfect mess free travel activity for them. This perfect set comes with magical markers and paper that only draw on the paper. You won’t have to worry about your toddler drawing their portrait on the back of the seat in front of them!
Check price and availability for mess free coloring books here!
Small Disney Figurines
Reenact movie scenes and sing Disney songs with these tiny Disney figurines. There are so many options to choose from so be sure to check for your toddler’s favorite. Encanto, Frozen, Toy Story? What will entertain your toddler on a plane?
Check price and availability for Disney figurines here!
Mini Magnatiles
If your toddler enjoys magnatiles then this is the perfect travel set. It’s compact and lightweight and comes in case to keep all the pieces together. Build towers or small boxes for their snacks. The options are endless with this toddler airplane activity.
Check price and availability for mini magnatiles here!
Magnetic People
These little magnetic people pair great with the mini magnatiles or on their own. Connect them all over your toddlers big magnatile tower they built, or play around with connecting the people in all sorts of designs.
Check price and availability for magnetic people here!
3-4 Year Olds
Tape Activity Book
What toddler doesn’t love wasting tape? This activity book is perfect for letting your toddler go wild with tape. The best part is each page is reusable so your toddler can design each one over and over again.
Check price and availability of the tape activity book here!
Search and Find Book
Let your toddler search for the missing things on each page and use the dry erase marker to circle each one. Then wipe the page clean and let them do it again. Or they can use the dry erase markers to color the pages instead. Whatever keeps them entertained on the plane.
Check price and availability for the search and find book here!
Watercolor Painting Kit
We recently received this as a gift and it quickly went to the top of my toddler airplane activities. All you need is a little cup of water and your toddler can water color each individual page. Their are so many options so pick a book your toddler will enjoy. Will it be Disney, Christmas, Dinosaurs?
Check price and availability for watercolor painting kit here!
Make A Face Stickers
We recently bought this book before our trip to Hawaii and not only did it keep our toddler entertained on the plane, but it was also great for the car! She loved making a face and then showing us the final product and we loved it too. Some of the faces were pretty hilarious!
Check price and availability for make a face stickers here!
Magnetic Puzzle
If you haven’t caught on, we love magnetic toys for toddler airplane activities. They just stay together better. I can’t imagine a regular puzzle would work very well on an airplane. I can picture myself having to fetch pieces over and over again, but this magnetic puzzle stays together wonderfully and helps us keep all the pieces in one place.
Check price and availability for magnetic puzzle here!
Enjoy Traveling with a Toddler
That concludes our list of the best screen free toddler airplane activities to help entertain your toddler on a plane. We hope we found some to bring along on your family trip.
Check out more family travel tips before you embark on your great adventure!
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