Flying with kids can be a very stressful experience, especially when you know that your routine is going to go out of the window! We're not here to sugar coat it, what we are here to do, is provide you with the best tools to keep the tantrums to a minimum and to keep them from running up and down the aisles (for at least take off and landing).
Our flight is at 7am on Sunday, which means a 4am wake up for the kids...
Below is a video all about what we are taking on the plane to keep the kids entertained on our upcoming trip to Greece!
1- Play Doh
2-Sticker book
3-Water magic colouring
4- Peppa Pig magna doodle
5-Little animal toys
6- Ipad ( make sure you pre download all of the videos before the flight )
7-Headphones
8- Snacks and more snacks ! ( See below )
And here are some snack ideas to take with you:
The snack pot!
The most genius snack pot by Skip Hop. You can put anything in here from little biscuits to cereal. We generally put dried cheerios in here and they can help themselves all day and the best thing about it, is that nothing falls out even when they tip it upside down.
Snack ideas for the plane
Dried cereal (in snack pot)
Raisins
Kids snacks (organix rice cakes, cheese puffs, veggie sticks)
Yo Yo Bears
Fruit - Banana , Orange, Apple, Grapes (already cut up)
Mini sandwiches (we always stick to jam, as we wouldn't want to make anything that smells bad, or include any ingredients that could cause someone else an allergic reaction)
Cooked pasta in a Tupperware (could bring a little cheese or put it in to begin with )
Fruit / yoghurt pouches
Soreen, Banana flavour
Bread sticks
Dairy lea dunkers
Animal biscuits
Brioche (individually wrapped)
Mini cheddars
Cheese strings
-If you're lucky enough to be travelling with someone ( ideally your husband ), rather than both of you running running up and down the whole flight, take it in turns to watch the toddler so at least one of you gets a rest every now and then ( this most likely only applies if you have one child, if you have two then sorry, you might be screwed... :D )
-As much as you love that window seat, give it to the toddler. Distracting them with the lovely views, especially with take off and landing, will be a saviour for you and you can try and keep the aisle out of view from them for as long as possible (cue; it's time to whip out the I-Pad!!!)
- Put everything in their own rucksack so you don't have all their stuff taking over your bag. Having their own bag can also be fun for them! Let them know its 'their very own bag' and they have 'all their lovely things in there!'
-If you can, bring a travel buggy; our favourite is the City Tour 2 by Baby Jogger - it's compact enough to fit in the overhead lockers on the plane so you can take it through with you, which then means it's there ready and waiting to help you at the other end when you have to wait in the line at customs, which is another bonus, because no one wants a toddler running away screaming when you're in the queue and lets face it, they will! (even if it means whipping out the I-pad again to keep them in it!)
TIPS
-If you're lucky enough to be travelling with someone ( ideally your husband ), rather than both of you running running up and down the whole flight, take it in turns to watch the toddler so at least one of you gets a rest every now and then ( this most likely only applies if you have one child, if you have two then sorry, you might be screwed... :D )
-As much as you love that window seat, give it to the toddler. Distracting them with the lovely views, especially with take off and landing, will be a saviour for you and you can try and keep the aisle out of view from them for as long as possible (cue; it's time to whip out the I-Pad!!!)
- Put everything in their own rucksack so you don't have all their stuff taking over your bag. Having their own bag can also be fun for them! Let them know its 'their very own bag' and they have 'all their lovely things in there!'
-If you can, bring a travel buggy; our favourite is the City Tour 2 by Baby Jogger - it's compact enough to fit in the overhead lockers on the plane so you can take it through with you, which then means it's there ready and waiting to help you at the other end when you have to wait in the line at customs, which is another bonus, because no one wants a toddler running away screaming when you're in the queue and lets face it, they will! (even if it means whipping out the I-pad again to keep them in it!)
We hope this has helped you somehow! And remember to just 'let it go' on travel days as much as you can! The more stressed out you are, the more likely they will play up! Good luck and just think of the destination!