Toddler 101: Traveling with a Preschooler (Airplane / Road Trip Bag Ideas!)

We have several upcoming trips that will involve flying with our preschooler and infant, so I am stocking up on kid supplies for the flight!  C got a Pottery Barn Kids backpack for Christmas, so I'm planning to fill it with snacks and entertainment to keep him busy (and hopefully quiet) on the plane!  

While we own all of the items below, I didn't buy them all just for this flight!  We've acquired some of these over the years for other flights, road trips, Christmas gifts, etc; I keep them stored away in a closet so they maintain their novelty factor on airplanes or long road trips :)

My Little World Sticker Books - these sticker books are great - the price point (~$3) is great for the quality and the number of pages/stickers in these books.  Most cheap sticker books only have 1-2 pages of sticker activities and are tiny; these are a normal children's book size, provide several pages of activities, and the pages are coated so that you can move the stickers around.  

Make-an-Animal Sticker Sheets - these come in a 96-pack and are the cheap 1-page, smaller sticker sheets; however, these are great for "quantity over quality" - C can complete one and then move onto an entirely different animal.

Color Wonder Travel Kit - I love Color Wonder - mess-free markers that only work on the special Color Wonder paper!  No stressing over marker getting on the airplane seat!  This one is great because it comes in a hard plastic travel kit; you can store the Color Wonder markers and paper inside, and there are clips on the outside to secure the paper.  These are also great for road trips when there's no tray table to use - perfect for coloring in their lap!  There are blank Color Wonder pages for free drawing, as well as character-themed Color Wonder pages for coloring.  

Melissa & Doug Water WOW Books - these are great for travel - the fun of paint without the mess!  The little water paintbrushes are easy to refill at a water fountain or from an airline cup of water, and the pages dry quickly so they can be painted and re-painted!

Contigo Kids Water Bottle - I pack this in C's backpack so we can fill it at a water fountain after going through security, instead of buying overpriced airport bottled water.  I also like that it is spill-proof, so I don't have to worry about him knocking over an entire bottle of water on himself, me, or our bags!

Wipe-clean ABC book - this is great for practicing letter tracing, and the marker easily wipes off with a baby wipe!  This book is a compact size with sturdy pages and several opportunities to trace each letter (both lower and uppercase) on each page.

I Spy 4-in-1 Book - C loves doing these I Spy books, and they provide a great opportunity for independent play.  I like this one because it has 4 books in 1, which is both less expensive than buying the 4 books separately but also occupies him for longer since there are 4 times as many pages.

LilGadgets Volume Limited Headphones - these headphones are great because the volume is limited to a safe level, so I don't have to worry that he's damaging his hearing.  There is also an extra jack for another set of headphones to plug into the child's headphones (a parent or a sibling), so two people can listen to the same audio simultaneously.  Although we REALLY try to limit iPad use, we usually bring it on long road trips or flights for times of desperation - we load it with episodes of Daniel Tiger, a movie or two from Netflix, and a few children's audiobooks.

Wet Ones Resealable Antibacterial Wipes - I never go anywhere without these!  I like these slim, flat, resealable packages - I keep them in my car, purse, diaper bag, and there will most definitely be several packs coming on the plane with us! These are great for wiping hands before and after snacks or meals, as well as wiping down the germy airplane armrests and tray table.

And all the snacks!  I usually bring small bags of goldfish, small boxes of raisins, and Dum-Dums for a treat (and to help with little ears popping!)