Traveling is hard when you have little ones in the car or on a plane. It’s important to keep them occupied and constantly having something to entertain them. But that can be a little overwhelming trying to figure out what would be best and what they would really enjoy. What are the perfect items for traveling with little ones?
We love traveling, and now that we have a toddler and a eight month old it makes it even harder to find things that they will love and will keep them excited when they are stuck in the car for hours on end.
Here are our favorite items for traveling with little ones that have saved us on flights, road trips and sometimes just going to grandma’s house on Sunday.
Melissa & Doug | U.S.A. License Plate Game – $19.99
We have all played it many times on our road trips, you look for all of the 50 different license plates that you pass along your journey. Melissa & Doug have made it easier to track and a little more fun than just trying to remember which plates you’ve seen already. And maybe the parents will enjoy this one more than the kids (my wife was obsessed with getting every plate).
Star Kids | Snack & Play Travel Tray – $27.99
Having a toddler and keeping them entertained is probably the hardest part about traveling. You have to constantly give them things to do, but it’s hard for them to do things on their lap when they’re strapped down. We got the snack & play travel tray and it was just what our son needed. He was able to keep his guys on there, was the perfect table for those meals on the go and he could set his iPad on it for watching his favorite shows. It’s also great because it has side pockets which are great for storing toys, treats and a water bottle that they are able to grab everything on their own.
The Twig Co | Wooden Toy Camera – $40
We’re in a day and age where we have to take pictures of everything, and our kids are no different. That doesn’t mean they need to pull out their Cannon and start shooting pictures of everything they see. Grab them a wooden toy camera from The Twig Co so they can feel part of the fun of snapping shots all while using their imagination.
Little Toys | Free Because You Have Them – $0
This is probably one of my favorite things my wife does for our kids whenever we go on trips. She will take some of their toys that we already own, wrap them up individually and put them in a bag to give them along the trip. When we went to Disneyland she put groups of little wrapped toys that consisted of some of the characters of my son’s favorite Disney shows. I also love this because it costs us nothing.
Apple | iPad Full of Movies and Educational Games – $0
We’re lucky enough to own an iPad and we are also lucky enough to have a brother-in-law that knows how to fill that thing up with every single Disney movie you can think of. As much as I hate throwing an electronic to keep my child entertained, that’s the world we live in and this can take up plenty of time on the trip. Maybe you don’t have an iPad, but you have TVs in your car for watching these same shows on DVD. Work with what you got and use it when you know there’s nothing else to entertain.
Books | BabyLit and Others – $9.99
We love to read in our house, so we have plenty of books for every occasion. Traveling to Sea World to see the whales? Get your child the BabyLit version of Moby Dick. Maybe you are going to California, New York or London. Don’t worry, they have BabyLit books for those too. Are you taking the bus to get across the country? Why not bring The Wheels on the Bus. Do you have a little baby that can hold things, but reading is clearly not in the cards for them yet? Get some Indistructibles and your life will be forever changed. Your kids will love being able to see the pictures, the fun colors and it’s always good to put books in your child’s hand.
Melissa & Doug | On-The-Go Water Wow! – $4.99
Art is huge in our family, but taking paint in the car or plane just doesn’t sound like a smart idea. I bet even the first time parents can agree on me here. Thankfully, Melissa & Doug have created Water Wow! It makes painting for your little ones easy. You add some water to their paint brush and let them go to town, never having to worry about getting paint anywhere but the page.
