Plane Activities for Toddlers: 60+ Screen-Free Airplane Activities for Toddlers

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One of the things I get asked a lot as a mom traveling with 6 kids is how we to entertain infants and toddlers while flying – from travel essentials with baby to toys for plane travel with toddlers. Having flown with all 6 of our kids since they were little babies, I’ve learned a ton about what actually works and what doesn’t when traveling with kids. It’s safe to say that after 13.5 years and 6 kids over literally hundreds of flights, we’ve gone through lots of options for airplane activities for toddlers.

Here’s my list of the best airplane activities for young kids! Almost all of these work for a variety of ages, but are especially great for those younger years. All of these would make for great screen-free road trip activities for toddlers, too! Definitely don’t feel like you need to take all of these – usually just a few are more than sufficient for a trip, so think about which ones might work best for your family.

Here are 60+ screen-free airplane activities for toddlers!

How to Pack Travel Activities for Toddlers

Our very favorite way to pack up toddler travel activities is in a…toiletries case! We absolutely love doing this method because it keeps everything organized and it’s easy to see exactly what you have through the clear zip pouches. Keeps things so streamlined, they use them more (because they actually know what we have along), and makes clean up a breeze. We love the large size, but you could easily do the smaller one if you have fewer kids or are going on a shorter trip.

Activities For Toddlers on Planes

  1. Yoto Player (also available here, and here’s the Mini) + Headphones (these are also great to use with a tablet or airplane screen for movies)
  2. LCD Drawing Boards – these are so great for drawing and re-drawing with no mess
  3. Stuffed Animal – I love watching all the little games my kids create with a simple little stuffy
  4. Toy cars – a perennial favorite for a variety of ages
  5. Suction spinner or suction toys – stick to window or tray table
  6. Mini toy animals – my younger kiddos love these
  7. Reusable stickers book
  8. Lacing toy or Lacing cards
  9. Buckle toy
  10. Squigz – so fun for toddler hands
  11. Beading – this is also great just with a shoelace and some Froot Loops (they’re slightly bigger than Cheerios) – plus, then it’s a built in snack!
  12. Indestructibles board book – I love that these don’t tear or get soaked
  13. Window clings
  14. Numbers Magnatab – we love this little magnetic board, and the shapes and letters are so fun. There’s also a plain one.
  15. Pop it – it’s amazing how much time my current toddler spends on these
  16. Finger puppets – so fun for play and stories
  17. Glow in the dark temporary tattoos – fun for overnight flights
  18. Wax sticks – these have bought us so many hours of focused fun for a wide variety of ages
  19. Mini magnetic tiles – regular magnetic tiles are probably the most-used toy in our house and have been for the last decade. The mini ones are perfect for travel!
  20. Dot stickers – perfect for counting, working on letters, or just sticking on things
  21. Magnetic dress up doll – I love this one that has several different career outfits. I like just putting all the pieces in a little ziplock to save space.
  22. Counting Bears – I don’t know what it is about these little colorful bears, but my kids under age 7 are all obsessed with them. So fun for counting or pretend play. I throw a handful in a ziplock.
  23. Magnetic dinosaurs – little builders love this set
  24. Magnetic puzzles – so great for on the go
  25. Alphabet drawing cards
  26. Water Wow books – so great for mess-free art
  27. Erasable doodle book – so cute, love that it has different colors, and it won’t tear
  28. Travel size Magna Doodle – do you remember these from decades ago? Turns out they’re still awesome.
  29. LEGOs – we love just plain LEGO bricks in a ziplock or this old metal snack container was perfect for me to hot glue some small flat lego bases to the lid and include LEGO bricks inside
  30. Glowsticks are especially fun on overnight flights that get dark
  31. Air dry clay – we love this soft magic clay because it’s really lightweight and easy for little hands to use. We usually play with it and store again in the container (especially when traveling), but you can also leave it out to dry.
  32. Rainbow scratch art – another 90s throwback that’s still just as awesome today. My 4 year old got a scratch art notebook from grandparents over a year ago and still loves it!
  33. Stamps – toss a few of these fun animal stamps and a stamp pad in the bag – they’re so fun for little hands

Activity Books

  1. Reusable sticker insect book
  2. Mess free Color Wonder coloring book
  3. Bluey aqua art
  4. Reusable sticker pads
  5. Mess free painting

Simple Craft Supplies

One of the great things about toddlers is that they can find a way to play with virtually anything! Here are a few simple ideas to grab from what you may already have. These are all great because they’re open-ended and get hours of use for us.

  1. Plain paper – don’t underestimate the power of this! My 4 year old could literally spend an hour just drawing with a plain pen or pencil. I always stick a few sheets in our bag. A small/cheap notebook is also a good idea.
  2. Triangle crayons – perfect for travel since they don’t roll
  3. Colored pencils
  4. Glitter gel pens – my 4 year old loves these
  5. Aluminum foil
  6. Mini markers
  7. Blue painter’s tape â€“ this is the best on flights. Kiddos love to stick it everywhere and it peels off easily. Perfect for attaching little animals, making loops, taping down window shades, and a million other uses.
  8. Pom poms – sort by color, count, hide/guess how many in hand, etc.
  9. Colorful pipe cleaners to poke into an empty spice container with large holes
  10. Post it notes
  11. Paint sticks – we absolutely love these for their gorgeous colors and no mess!
  12. Fun shape crayons – the best for little hands

Airplane Items

Beyond that, we just use other things we find on the airplane. Virtually anything can be made into a toy for a toddler!

  1. Safety Pamphlet
  2. Cup
  3. In-flight magazine
  4. Wrappers – ask your toddler to be in charge of unwrapping everyone’s snacks and then handing them to the flight attendant when it’s time to clean up trash.
  5. Cup of ice
  6. Vomit bag (empty, of course) – this is great for drawing or making paper airplanes if you don’t have paper!

Snacktivities: Airplane Snacks for Toddlers

I always pack plenty of snacks to bring on an airplane for a toddler. I like to bring small snacks that take a while to eat . This is one of my best tips for traveling with toddlers. And it’s even better when the snacks double as an activity!

  • Cereal necklaces (explained on Busy Toddler)
  • Mini pringles – the container provides entertainment, too!
  • Snack sized mini cookies (like Teddy Grahams or animal crackers) – so fun to play with

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