Top 5 Travel Activities to Bring Along for Toddlers

Traveling with babies is all well and good, and then they turn into a toddler on the move, which requires more stimulation than a rattle or a crinkly book. Our first trip with Baby Fuller was fairly easy to keep her occupied on our flight, as she was about 8 months, so not walking yet, just pulling herself up on everything and crawling. The coolest thing for her to look at were all the people at the airport and on the plane. We were spoiled and didn’t have to try hard to make sure she was kept busy. If we fast forward 12 months to our last trip, planning entertainment was a little more involved, making sure she was kept occupied and wasn’t bored on the flight. Knowing our flight was 3x as long as our last one, we knew there was work to be done beforehand to prepare. The good news was, tt really wasn’t too hard and nothing that we brought with was overly expensive or large. We already had a lot more luggage than we usually travel with, so we tried to keep in mind that whatever we brought with us for our toddler was lightweight and could all be put in her diaper bag. So, what were these affordable and lightweight activities? Here are the top five activities that we brought along that helped keep our baby girl occupied throughout our trip.

Having older nieces, we knew that stickers were a cheap and easy way to keep a toddler occupied. We have stickers everywhere in our house. Peeling them off and then sticking them on something else keeps our girl engaged and helps with her motor skills. Before we left, we went to the Dollar Store and bought multiple different sheets and rolls. We probably got 500 stickers for $3, so money well spent.

She likes to stick them everywhere, so we made sure she only put them on her coloring book. Which brings us to the next thing we brought.

Baby Fuller loves art, with coloring being her favorite. One of our favorite ways to keep her occupied was bringing coloring books and crayons. Again, we made a Dollar Store run and picked everything up for $4 for 2 books, a box of crayons and a zip pouch to dump all the crayons in. Our girl not only colored on the flight, but also when we were at the apartment too.

I became a true believer in the busy board after seeing it work its magic. The concept is a basic one, have a board with all different activities to work on motor skills. Most boards have zip, clips, buttons and buckles. I thought she would maybe get a couple minutes of enjoyment out of it, but honestly it was HOURS. I was shocked and so happy to cut down on screen time. Now word of caution, our board was new so I needed to help unbuckle/undo some of the buckles, clips, etc. so while your little is playing with the board, you will be too.

Our busy board is a soft felt one that folds up like a brief case and has a button to keep it closed. You can find them on Amazon if you just search “busy board”, most are around $20.

We try to limit screen time but know that it’s going to happen. We had Santa get Baby Fuller a tablet for the trip.  We also downloaded some educational games in addition to the movies/shows we downloaded to give her a break. She really likes puzzle, shapes and matching games and we found the app “Baby games” to be a good one. She’s getting really good at it and getting bored, so while it says 2+ year olds, I think it probably maxes out at age 3. There are different apps under the “Baby games” umbrella so make sure to read the description to find one that’s right for your little. The pricing for the full version also varies from about $1.99 up to $7.99.

Baby Fuller loves to read. She loves to cuddle in while we read together, or she loves to take a book and “read” in bed. Because of this, we figured we would bring some of her smaller books to keep her busy. We read books on the plane and also kept up our tradition of reading at least one a night before bed. In order to get the most bang for our buck, we brought a book that was a collection of 10 different stories.

Bonus: Fidget toys

If your little likes pop-its or any sort of fidget toys, bring those. They’re usually lightweight, don’t take up too much room and will keep your little occupied and out of your hair for a bit.

We’re sure there are many more ideas/activities on how you can keep your little busy while traveling, but these are the ones that not only worked best for us but were also inexpensive and were easy to pack. Whatever you bring for your little to keep them busy on the flight, drive, etc., make sure to pack it in a carry-on, their diaper bag or a bag that you can easily access. It does you no good to pack some fidget toys for the flight in your checked bag.