Airplane Activities for Toddlers: What Actually Worked for Us
Travelling with a toddler is very different to travelling with an older child.
When our daughter was a toddler, I spent far more time thinking about how to get through the flight than I did about the destination itself… Looking back now on those early years of travelling as a family, I realise I probably overthought a lot of it.
I packed too much. I bought too many activities. I worried too much about entertaining every minute of the journey.
The truth is that every flight is different. The activity that saves one flight might not get touched on the next. The snack you carefully packed might be rejected.
And the thing that ends up providing the most entertainment could easily be the safety card.
A friend once told me that you’re only as good as your last flight. I think that’s one of the most accurate pieces of parenting advice I’ve ever received.
What follows isn’t a list of miracle products. It’s simply a collection of things that genuinely worked for us during the toddler years, along with a few lessons we learnt along the way.
First Things First: Snacks
Before we talk about activities, let’s talk about snacks.
Because if there’s one thing I learnt during the toddler years, it’s that no activity is going to save a flight if a toddler is hungry.
Some of our most successful flights had very little to do with the activities I’d packed and everything to do with having the right snacks available at the right moment.
One trick that worked surprisingly well was simply changing the container.
The exact same crackers, raisins or fruit suddenly became much more exciting when they appeared in a different snack box.
For years we’ve travelled with a trio of Sistema containers and still use them today. They’re lightweight, durable and easy to refill before boarding.
The snacks themselves changed. The containers didn’t.
One of my favourite travel tips actually came from a chef at a hotel in the Maldives. On the journey home, he handed me a can of tuna, a can of sweetcorn and a can of chickpeas.
British Airways didn’t provide food for lap infants at the time, even in business clas, and he told me he always travelled with a few simple pantry staples for his own children — and often for himself too.
His logic was simple: if flights are delayed, connections are missed or plans change unexpectedly, these are nutritious foods that don’t require refrigeration, survive being thrown into a suitcase and can be eaten almost anywhere.
As it happened, our little one loved all three.
For years afterwards, I often travelled with a few small tins tucked away in our luggage. We rarely needed them, but they were reassuring to have.
Travel has taught me that sometimes the best snacks aren’t the clever ones.
They’re the ones that are still edible when everything else has gone wrong.
Activities That Worked
Looking back, I think I spent far too much time searching for the perfect airplane activity.
The truth is that toddlers are wonderfully unpredictable. The activity that keeps them busy for thirty minutes on one flight might not get touched on the next. The biggest winners for us were always the simplest ones.
Toddlers don’t necessarily need complicated activities. They often just need something different.
A Backpack of Their Own
One thing I do recommend is a small backpack.
Not because they’ll carry it very far — there’s a good chance you’ll end up carrying it yourself — but because it helps keep a handful of special travel activities together.
Sometimes the backpack itself was part of the excitement.
My tip: dedicate a specific travel bag, we did it for years and continue to use the same one today.
- Shop our Joules backpack (which inevitably will be carried by one of the parents). This is also a good alternative.
- Shop our Little Dutch backpack – EU only (perfect to be carried by little people when they are a little older).
We still use the same Joules backpack years later. I had never owned a Joules bag before, but when we found this particular backpack, we loved the interior organisation.
If the Joules backpack is no longer available, don’t worry too much about the brand. Just look for something with plenty of compartments, a couple of bottle pockets and enough structure that you can actually find things quickly.
For a while, I used a Longchamp backpack and, whilst it looked great, it simply didn’t work for us in real life. Everything disappeared into one large compartment and I was constantly digging around trying to find wipes, snacks or a spare outfit.
When you’re trying to find something at 30,000 feet, organisation matters far more than the logo on the front.
Creative Activities
LCD Drawing Tablet
One of the best travel purchases we made during the toddler years.
No mess, no paper, no lost pens and endlessly reusable.
Perfect for drawing, scribbling and practising letters as children get older.
- Shop LCD Drawing Tablet
Water Wow Books
If I could only choose one activity for a toddler flight, this would probably be it.
Mess-free, reusable and compact enough to fit into even the smallest travel bag, Water Wow books travelled with us for years.
- Shop Water Wow Books
Usborne Sticker Books
We’ve been remarkably loyal to Usborne over the years.
Simple, affordable and consistently successful.
Stabilo Cappi Pens
We still use these today.
The genius is the cap ring that keeps all the pens connected together.
Less time looking for lost lids. More time colouring.
- Shop Stabilo Cappi Pens
Foam Stickers
Lightweight, inexpensive and surprisingly entertaining.
They often stayed interesting long after more expensive activities had been abandoned.
- Shop Foam Stickers
Sticker & Sensory Activities
Busy Boards (Best for Ages 1–2)
If you’re flying with a younger toddler, a busy board can be worth its weight in gold.
Buttons, zips, buckles, laces, clips and fasteners provide exactly the sort of hands-on entertainment that many one and two year olds love.
Ours travelled everywhere with us during this stage and was particularly useful during take-off, landing and those moments when little hands simply needed something to do.
Like most successful toddler activities, it didn’t need batteries, screens or instructions.
Just lots of opportunities to fiddle.
- Shop Busy Boards
Reusable Sticker Books
The fact they can be used repeatedly makes them particularly useful for travel.
Sensory Board
This was particularly useful during the younger toddler years.
Buttons, zips, buckles and fasteners can keep little hands busy for surprisingly long periods.
- Shop Sensory Board
Games & Fidgets
Dobble
A travel classic.
As toddlers became preschoolers, Dobble became one of our favourite travel games.
Quick rounds, small packaging and easy to throw into a backpack.
- Shop Dobble
Fidget Toy Sets
Not every fidget toy survives the test of time, but having a small selection available often worked well.
Especially useful during waiting periods at airports.
- Shop Fidget Toys
Organisation
Colour-Coded Travel Pouches
One of my favourite travel hacks.
Activities, snacks, spare clothes and practical items each had their own pouch.
It made everything easier to find and much easier to repack.
- Shop Travel Pouches
Fidget Pencil Case
Nothing glamorous.
Just somewhere to keep pens, stickers and small activities together.
- Shop Pencil Case
Screens & Headphones
Amazon Fire Tablet
At the time, it cost well under €120 and I simply couldn’t justify spending close to €1,000 on an iPad for a toddler.
The Fire Tablet was excellent value and gave us peace of mind on longer flights.
If I was making the same decision today, I would probably buy an iPad, with entry-level models now available for around €300.
- Shop Amazon Fire Tablet
- Shop Apple iPad
Belkin Wireless Headphones
These have survived years of travel and are still in use today.
Simple, reliable and child-sized without looking overly childish.
Snacks & Practicalities
Sistema Snack Containers
We’ve tried some of the large snack display boxes popular on social media and found them too bulky for travel (you can see them in the image above but they rarely leave our house).
Instead, we’ve always preferred smaller containers that fit easily into a backpack.
Sistema Water Bottle
Small enough to carry, easy to refill and still travelling with us years later.
- Shop Sistema Water Bottle
The Unsung Heroes
These aren’t activities, but they’ve probably saved more flights than some of the toys combined.
| Item | Why It Earns Its Place | Shop Link |
|---|---|---|
| Spare Clothes | You don’t need them on every trip—until you do. Pack two complete changes of clothes (underwear, leggings, socks, a top, and a cardigan). I also highly recommend a spare pair of shoes or flip-flops (a lesson learnt the hard way), and don’t forget a spare top for yourself, too! | (Pack from home) |
| Neck Pillow | Not every toddler will use one, but when they do, it can make a big difference, particularly on longer flights and airport transfers. | [Shop Neck Pillow] |
| Antibacterial Wipes | Essential for tray tables, armrests, sticky hands, and everything in between. | [Shop Antibacterial Wipes] |
| Hand Sanitiser | One of those things that quietly earns its place on every trip. | [Shop Hand Sanitiser] |
| Travel Toilet Seat | Particularly useful during potty training or for toddlers who are nervous about unfamiliar, loud public toilets. | [Shop Travel Toilet Seat] |
| Toilet Seat Covers | A permanent resident in our bag, even still packed today. | [Shop Toilet Seat Covers] |
| Wet Wipes | You can simply never have enough. | [Shop Wet Wipes] |
| Dog Poo Bags (or Nappy Bags) |
Perfect for wrappers, empty snack boxes, tissues, wet clothes, and general travel mess. We used dog poo bags, but any spare nappy bags work just as well. | [Shop Dog Poo Bags] |
| Extra Snacks | Always pack more than you think you’ll need. Trust me on this one. | (Pack from home) |
Final Thoughts
We are also big on thoughts and prayers.
I prepare as much as I possibly can, but I also understand that I have very little control over what will actually happen once we’re on the plane.
We are both very hands-on parents and will always be there to support, guide and entertain our daughter when needed. We also feel strongly that it’s our responsibility to do our best to ensure she doesn’t disturb other passengers. Whether we’re travelling in Economy or First Class, that responsibility doesn’t change.
Whilst we can’t control everything, being present, prepared and paying attention counts for something.
And remember: you are only as good as your last flight.
And here’s to many travel adventures with our little ones.
xo
Mrs. O
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P.S. Flying with older children? It is a completely different experience. Once your little one grows out of the toddler stage, you can see our updated strategy and the best airplane activities for 5-7 year olds here.
