Are you planning on flying with your toddler or preschooler? You’re going to need some Airplane Activities for Toddlers to help you keep them entertained. Here are 50 plane friendly busy bags, toys and activities for your kids to play with while you travel.
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Airplane Activities for Toddlers
1. Space Lacing Cards
Preparing for family travel, especially when you have toddlers, is tough. One of my go-to activities is lacing cards, like these free space themed lacing cards. Not only are they fantastic for fine motor skills, but they’re so easy to make and store when traveling.
2. Montessori Activity Busy Book
Busy books are amazing. While originally designed for toddler quiet time, they’ve also proved to be one of the best travel toys you can get. If you don’t have the time to make your own, you can always buy a Montessori Busy Book instead.
3. Plane Travel Puppets
Turn the airplane tray table into an activity center and let your toddler make their own pilot and air hostess puppets. These small toys are great to color in and play with afterwards.
Photo: Moms and Crafters
4. Giraffe Sensory Bag
It can be difficult to minimize screen time with a busy toddler on a regular day. When you’re all on an airplane, it can seem almost impossible.
One no-mess play idea is to try this easy giraffe sensory bag (it comes with a free printable giraffe for you to use). Your toddler can give the giraffe rainbow spots while you fly.
5. Vegetable Lacing Cards
Do you also fight about eating vegetables with your kids, like I do? One thing that helped with the dinnertime struggle was having healthy eating play ideas to do during the day. These free vegetable lacing cards helped us talk about nutrition without any arguments.
When you’re preparing all of your airplane activities for toddlers, place the activities in separate bags. I like to use these clear zip envelopes to keep everything organized.
6. Magnetic Drawing and Alphabet Board
This magnetic board is reversible. One side lets kids engage in free drawing, while the other contains the alphabet. Who knew learning the ABC’s could be so much fun.
7. Peg-A-Sponge Matching Colors Activity
I love this fine motor activity for younger children. All you need to do is to peg the clothespins onto the same colored kitchen sponge. It’s so simple and will help on a long flight.
Photo: Learning 4 Kids
8. Color Match and Clip Cards
These free printable color match and clip cards are a wonderful way for toddlers and preschoolers to practice identifying different colors.
If you have older children too, you can use the same idea to help with letter matching and counting too.
9. Finger Puppets
Finger puppets are one of my favorite airplane activities. These cute little guys are perfect for some imaginative play, and can be used for kids of all ages.
10. DIY Cardboard Busy Board for Toddlers
Learn how to make a cardboard busy board for a long haul flight. You can customize the size and difficulty of these boards to suit your child. These are perfect for 1 year olds and up.
Photo: Team Cartwright
11. Magnetic Color Sort Puzzle
Magnetic play ideas are a great option when working in a confined space. Take a cookie sheet along in the car or plane and keep everything all in one place.
Alternatively, glue all of the color pockets onto a sheet of cardboard in this simple color sorting activity.
12. Quiet Book for Toddlers
Quiet books like this are a wonderful way to keep little kids entertained on a road trip. They’re also easy enough to just slip into your handbag while you’re traveling.
13. Felt Caterpillar Busy Bag
Fasten your seat belt and get ready for long-haul flights with this build a caterpillar busy bag. This is such a good idea for toddlers and preschoolers.
Photo: Toddler Approved
14. Farm Animal Shadow Matching Game
I love this activity. When I was first introducing my baby to single piece puzzles, they really struggled. Instead, I printed this farm animal matching game. They were able to match the animals (and feel encouraged) even though they couldn’t rotate the pieces to fit them in correctly yet.
15. Toy Car Road Mat
Little cars road mats like this are perfect airplane activities for toddlers. Grab some toy cars and let them drive around the tray table.
16. Rainbow Sorting Busy Bag
This is the right place to find play ideas that you can try when traveling. Sort the rainbow activities like this will keep your toddler happy and make the flight easier for you, everyone around you and the flight attendants.
Photo: The Educators’ Spin On It
17. Paper Plate Color Match Activity
This is one of my most popular activities. In fact my kids loved this play idea so much the first time, that I’ve adjusted the same idea to include letters, numbers and more for older kids.
Learn how to turn a regular paper plate into this easy clip the color matching activity.
18. Sesame Street Matching Game
While cards are one of the best toys around, there aren’t too many card games that toddlers can play too. However these sesame street themed cards can be used for matching, memory and snap games.
19. Instruments Busy Bag
The last thing you want in an enclosed space, like an airplane or a hotel room, is a toddler with a bunch of instruments. Fortunately this instrument themed busy bag gives your child the benefits of learning about music, without the need for any noise.
Photo: Line Upon Line Learning
20. Craft Stick Shape Mats
Use craft sticks to make different shapes with these free printable activity mats. This is one of the best ways to teach toddlers about shapes, through hands-on play.
21. Water Wow
All you need to make these pictures is to paint them with water. These paw patrol water wow pages are a hit with my kids because it features one of their favorite shows.
22. Heart Number Matching Busy Bag
I love how all you really need for this number matching busy bag is a ruler and some wooden clothespins. You can change the hearts to flowers or anything else that matches your child’s interests.
Photo: Coffee Cups and Crayons
23. Farm Lacing Cards
These free printable farm lacing cards are one of our old favorites and one of the best airplane activities you can get.
24. Under the Sea Window Clings
Looking out of the airplane windows is one of the special treats you get when flying. Let your toddler temporarily decorate them with some sea animal window clings.
25. Mini Felt Christmas Tree
This tiny Christmas tree busy bag is the perfect size for an airplane tray table. If you’re traveling to see family this holiday season, make sure to include Christmas themed airplane activities for toddlers.
Photo: Live Well Play Together
26. Garden Animal – Home Matching Game
Draw a line from the insect to their home in this simple matching game. This is a great way to talk to your child about the different places animals live. It’s also a great game for developing pre-writing skills.
27. Boogie Board Writing Tablet
I love how this looks like an iPad but isn’t. The boogie board is a great way for kids to draw and feel like they’re playing with something special. I’d like to keep this down by the arm rest so that it can be easily accessed whenever needed.
28. Rainbow Lacing Busy Bag
Lacing is a great activity for little hands. Keep it simple by making a lacing rainbow out of cardboard and ribbon.
Photo: Coffee Cups and Crayons
29. Sticker Shapes Fine Motor Activity
Draw different shapes onto a sheet of paper and then use dot stickers to trace the lines of the shapes. This is an easy activity to prepare and perfect for toddlers.
30. Bluey Sticker Playset
Kids of all ages love Bluey. Heck, I’m an adult and I think I love it even more than my kids do. This Bluey Sticker Set comes with reusable stickers, which means the fun can last over the entire trip, not just the flight.
31. Rainbow Fish Printable
You’re going to have a great time with this free rainbow fish printable. Use it as a coloring page or a portable sticky wall activity. Either way it’s nice to have some free toddler airplane activities to try.
32. Button and Sponge Busy Bag
Cut some holes into a sponge and place the buttons inside. Ideas like this are great airplane activities, but be careful with the small pieces as they are a choking hazard.
Photo: Hands On As We Grow
33. Dinosaur Stickers Matching Game
This is a great way to use dinosaur stickers. Place a row of dinosaurs down one side of the page and another row of matching stickers on the other side. Then get your toddler to draw a line between the two matching dinosaurs.
34. Coloring Books
Coloring and drawing books are a classic activity for all kids. Make sure to include books with blank pages so that your kids can try drawing new things from their own imagination.
35. Free Jellyfish Mazes Printable
Can you draw a line from the clownfish to the turtles, without hitting any jellyfish? These mazes are perfect airplane activities for toddlers because they can find their own path, but still need enough pencil control to avoid the jellyfish. Get your copy of these free jellyfish mazes to help with your trip.
36. Paper Clips and Colors Busy Bag
Slide the paper clips onto the matching colors. The best thing about this toddler play idea is how simple it is. All you need are some paper clips and colored paper to get started.
Photo: Learning 4 Kids
37. Transport Lacing Cards
Why not get a plane lacing card to play with on a plane? I can’t think of more appropriate toddler plane activities than free transport lacing cards.
38. Books
Books are without a question essential for any kind of trip. My son loves construction sites and all the amazing vehicles involved in building, so this Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site Book is perfect for him.
39. Space Silhouette Art for Kids
I don’t know how you feel about trying arts and crafts on an airplane. But this outer space silhouette picture is fairly mess-free. All you need is some glue and paper (and maybe some star stickers), for some easy no screen flight entertainment.
40. Plant A Heart Garden Busy Bag
This easy heart garden busy bag is great to use while flying, or even if you need an extra nap to combat jet lag.
Photo: Best Toys 4 Toddlers
41. Spring Bugs Fine Motor Activity
This is a wonderful sticker activity to take on a plane ride. I turned dot stickers into bugs using a sharpie and got my kids to decorate garden themed toilet rolls. However, for a plane trip, just grab some flower themed wrapping paper and place your sticker bugs over that instead.
42. Reusable Sticker Books
My little girl loves stickers. So much so that I now have to lock them away because she will break into my sticker drawer and use all of them in under 5 minutes.
Reusable stickers and reusable pages are perfect for younger kids who also have an obsession with stickers.
43. Spring Flowers Collage Art for Kids
Collage art is a wonderful way for older toddlers to make art while in a plane or car seat. Give them the pre-cut spring flowers to make their own collage artwork.
44. Pom Pom Caterpillars
Make sure you place this busy bag in your hand luggage because your toddler or preschoolers are going to love it. Not only do they get to make these cute pom pom caterpillars but they also get to practice counting and fine motor skills at the same time.
Photo: Growing Hands On Kids
45. Cut the Grass Activity
What’s hiding underneath the grass? Practice scissor skills while you discover what bugs are on this cut the grass free printable.
46. Spring Flowers
Build a felt flower with this easy busy bag idea. This is a wonderful way for you children to pass the time while they fly.
Photo: Best Toys 4 toddlers
47. Planet Match Activity
Do your kids love outer space? Learn about our solar system with this free printable planet matching activity. While I made it with pebbles, you can always just print and laminate the pictures instead. This will make it much easier to put in your carry-on bag.
48. ABC Letter Matching Busy Bag
Learning to read and write takes a long time. Fortunately, something as easy as matching the letters is something that even toddlers can start learning.
Photo: The Stay At Home Mom Survival Guide
49.Paper Plate Dinosaur Number Match
Give the stegosaurus its back plates by matching the numbers. This dinosaur number match activity can also be done with letters and makes a great name recognition activity.
50. Octopus Fine Motor Activity
I love this octopus and thought it was a great idea. Toddlers and preschoolers get to practice doing up buttons while making the octopus’ legs longer and longer. This octopus is my favorite fine motor activity to do with my kids during summer.
FAQ’s
How do you keep a 3 year old entertained on a plane?
When flying with a 2 or 3 year old, you’re going to need to be prepared. Airplane activities for toddlers, such as busy bags, quiet time books and yes, even some screen time, will help to keep your little ones entertained while on a plane.
What helps with toddlers on planes?
Airplane travel is difficult for many adults, so you can imagine what it’s like when flying with a toddler. But there are a few things you can do to make the trip more comfortable for you, your kids and those fellow passengers around you.
1. Pack plenty of snacks. There’s no guarantee that your kids will like the food they serve on the flight. Make sure your kids don’t go hungry with some well prepared snacks.
2. Play ideas that are easy to transport, like busy bags or quiet time activity books are a great way to cut down on any boredom you kids might feel.
3. Airplane ear plugs can help kids with the changes in pressure. This is particularly something to invest in if your child is prone to ear problems.
4. Flying at night can help as it’ll mean your child will rest for much of the way.
Are you going to try any of these Airplane activities for toddlers?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.
