To say that our family has done their share of traveling would be an understatement. Over the years we have traveled both for pleasure (visiting family/friends) and business (sports competitions). We have taken planes, trains, and automobiles anywhere from two hours to eight hours.
Having family at a distance means that our kids have been doing 2+ hour (one way) roadtrips since they were born. When they were small I would time the drives to coincide with naps making it easier and not necessary to include activities or busy work.
Over the years we have taken 12 hour roadtrips, 8 hours train rides, and 6 hour flights. This means planing to keep the kids entertained for lengthy periods of time. Through a lot of trial and error, I have found a few fun things that are sure to keep my kids (at least semi) quietly busy.
reusable stickers/puzzle books
There are a ton of different kinds of sticker/puzzle books to pick from. Ahead of any trip we take I seek out a puzzle and/or sticker book to fit the kids interests at the time (specifically because that can change so often). The Brain Games sticker by letter/number books are very fun for young kids use while practicing their recognition skills. My girl really loves the Usborne Sticker Dress Up which give her the ability to dress up dolls, pups, parties, etc.
wiki sticks
We’re big fans of Wiki Sticks and the ability to let their imaginations go wild. They can use the various colors to bend, twist, and fold them into all kinds of shapes. Cam’s favorite thing to create are silly glasses!
magnetic games
Some of your favorite board games come in a compact, magnetic version. This lets your little backseat gang play hangman, tic-tac-toe, checkers, battleship, connect four, and so much more! With the pieces sticking on you don’t have to worry about dropped pieces.
card games
The Spot It game is a lot of fun to have on hand (including having it shoved in your bag for longer dinner waits and doesn’t require experience. I tend to keep Uno with me as it’s something we can all play, pretty quietly, with a small space.
sensory toys
Let me preface this by saying I would NEVER recommend something that could be even remotely messy. Traveling is tough already and adding a messy sensory toy would be diabolical. Tons of trim and error has told me that Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty is NOT messy. It’s a satisfying way to keep idle hands busy without a mess no matter the transportation. Also, the Stickikubes (which are new to us) allow kids to build and create without their build falling over or their sticky cubes being an unnecessary mess.
magnetic tiles
We have spent countless hours building with magnetic tiles indoors and out. It’s super satisfying to build and create. They come in a mini version for easy to take building. For our upcoming trip I’m going to give the Crayola Pip-Tiles Mini pack with us.
My busy activities have evolved over the years, as everything does with kids, but it remains pretty simple. Until our most recent trip, I still packed the standard coloring books and crayons. At their ages now, our kids will also be taking their summer journals with them. A lot of this will continue to be used during downtime at the hotel then back at home afterwards.
Next time you have to plan entertainment for travel plans with your kids, I hope this will have helped you even a little bit! Check out my Amazon storefront for links to the goodies I mentioned above.
