We all know travelling
with kids is a challenge..but travelling with tiny-always-want-attention-and-never-listen-ever kids is even more demanding. Packing their favourite toy or perhaps a new one, especially for long journeys sadly isn’t always enough. 

You need energy, patience and a box of magic tricks to survive.
Here’s mine! 😉

1.Slot box
Your little ones can be kept occupied for a long period of time with a simple DIY ‘slot box’. Easy to make at home or on your journey, from any spare containers (a how-to guide can be found here)

2.Pouring
From a very young age my boys absolutely loved water/pouring. It is the ultimate tantrum solution or a cure from boredom! So, I always carry 2 small plastic cups with me, and pour in a very tiny amount of water and let them go wild. A trick I’ve found is NOT to show the kids the whole bottle of water, as they will want more and more! If you don’t want to risk the mesa with water, you can also allow them to pour mini pom poms or uncooked pasta from cup to cup.

3.Lids
My little one had awesome motor skills from a young age, he loved opening and closing jars! So 2 jars, different sizes/colours ( which double up as the two cups from the pouring activity above) and let him open and close as much as he liked.

4.Velcro
On a small notebook/card, stick some velcro strips down, and allow your toddler to remove and stick it back down to the other side of the velcro. (or get Popsicle sticks and sticky Velcro dots, and stick the opposite material on opposite ends) Hours of noisy fun!

5.Buckles
Dog collars are excellent long pieces of material with buckles, also the teddy toys with zips. Great for motor skill development and hopefully distracts them from their seat belt. 

6.Duplo
Any simple, larger Lego pieces. Space-Consuming but so many ways to play.

7.Drawing/Stickers
For young kids look for Large crayons, easier to grip and less likely to chew on! Scribble pads or spiral notebooks are best.

8.Lift the flap books
Spot the Dog and Dear Zoo are the classics but noisey books and sensory books work too.

9.Hide and Seek
You don’t actually need much for this, just a cloth to play peek a boo with your tiny treasure.

10.Sensory Bottles
Fill small empty bottles (small mouth wash bottles work best, as they have a child safe lids) with different objects (marbles/glitter/small toys/sequins etc) then on the flight fill it with water for even more fun.

11.Finger Puppets
Ikea have awesome little finger puppets that are excellent to play with the kids or give them to play on their own.

12.Koosh ball
Excellent stretchy balls, that kids will enjoy ‘throwing’ and stretching. Slime (for older kids) works too but can be messier!

13.Threading
Another fun activity is threading string through a lid with a hole (link to slots activity) allow your child to thread through string/ribbon/straws. (A simple how-to can be found here)

14.Wrapping
Wrap any or all of the  activities if your little one enjoys unwrapping gifts! Adds another 5 minutes to any activity!

There are sometimes a need for a little extras to make the journey more comfortable, apart from the obvious (nappies, wipes etc) I carry the following to make every journey as comfortable and smooth as possible for the kids and us!  
Check out my little extras here 

Also if you have older children (pre-schoolers) To view the contents of my typical hand luggage that I have with me currently for a flight or a trip away, click here.