13 Ways to Entertain Your Kids During A Flight

FabAve tested and approved – 13 ways to entertain kids during plane or car travel!

My anxiety level prior to our family trip to Lake Tahoe was at an all-time high. The main culprit: flying across the country with two busy-body kids, one of which has never been on a plane before. So I did some research and reached out to the FabAve community on IG for some advice and y’all came through! Many of these ideas were implemented for our 5-hour flight to and from California and worked like magic!

Whether you’re gearing up to close out the summer with some family travel or if you’re taking a road trip with your littles for a long weekend away, here are 13 ways to entertain your kids during a flight or for a long car ride!

13 Ways to Entertain Your Kids During A Flight

My ultimate tips would be to break up the travel time into chunks. I feel like it helped pass the time easier. We started off coloring, snack time, activity book, tablet time, etc.
Wipe clean Usborne books – these books come equip with a wipeable marker and have fun tracing activities! Theo LOVED this and it kept him entertained for a good 30-45 minutes.
Coloring is a MUST for my kids so having a blank notebook (I picked up colored ones from the dollar section at Target) and a pouch with washable markers and colored pencils was a lifesaver.
Match It! Puzzles – the set comes with 20 3-piece puzzles and kept both kids busy for a while. I put each in Ziploc bags and distributed evenly between the kids. This was a great spelling activity for Remy and a fun puzzle for Theo. I switched the sets for the plane ride home.
We packed something very similar to this Melissa and Doug bead set from Target for Theo and this was a big hit! This is a great developmental activity and great for practicing fine moto skills, too.
We downloaded a few new movies, shows and games on the tablets. If screen time is an issue, save this one for emergencies;) Don’t forget the headphones!
Colored Pipe Cleaners – I bought a massive bag off of Amazon for next to nothing and this was super fun for both kids. They made shapes and our family out of pipe cleaners for at least an hour.
I thought it would be a good idea to let the kids bring along one stuffed animal and a blanket. I think this helped ease the fact that they were sleeping somewhere other than home.
Melissa & Doug Tape Activity Book – this was probably one of Remy’s favorite things. The book comes with 20 reusable activity pages.
Ziploc bag with Large Building Blocks
I hit up the Dollar Store and pick up a bunch of little toys to keep the kids entertained. Having something “new” to play with is always a novelty. I also appreciated that I didn’t have to spend a ton of money.
Melissa & Doug Water Wow Activity Pads – This was another thing that kept Theo quiet and entertained during travel. The pen comes with the pad and all you have to do is fill it up and the color shows up when water hits the page. The color disappears when the page dries so these are reusable!
I packed all the fun in backpacks for each kid. I picked this Skip Hop one for Theo a month ago and he loves it! Each child carried their own backpack which made it easier for mom and dad!