In a couple of weeks me and the kids are going to be flying to Washington to spend time with my family! Unfortunately, my husband isn't able to take time off work so he will be staying home this time around. Even more unfortanate is the fact that I will be traveling alone with my 12 week old baby and a 2-1/2 yr old rambunctious son - scary!
Traveling with my baby shouldn't be too difficult...considering she is still at the stage where the movement of the plane combined with the humming engines should lull her right to sleep.
However, flying with my 2yr old is a little terrifying. I have traveled with him alone in the past (which is never fun but we survive :) yet, now that I have a baby too, things might get a little tricky.
I have been searching the internet for different travel/entertainment ideas for toddlers and I think I have found a few activities that will be great for the trip. Here are some of the ideas I have come across, as well as a few tips that have worked for me in the past...
1. Lacing Cards, via The Rigneys - A quiet time activity that requires full concentration and is easy to store in your carry on or purse.
2. Fun Snacks - I realize it would be a lot healthier to pack carrot and celery sticks, but honestly my 2 year old won't touch that stuff. Instead, I am planning on bringing him some fun halfway healthy snacks like these Twisted Fruit Sticks, they taste great and he will love to pull them apart!
3. Button Snake - Via Second Story Window - Another great hands on activity that will keep my little guy busy.
4. Travel Doodler - A small sized magnetic doodle board (like THIS one from Fisher Price) is perfect for traveling with toddlers. It's great because there's no mess and no need to awkwardly collect crayons that fell underneath the seat in front of you. My son and I like to play Pictionary with it and he thinks it's hilarious to slip the eraser bar over my drawings before I have a chance to finish them!
5. Sticker Book - Sticker's are always hit with my little guy. He usually ends up looking like a sticker monster with crumpled up stickers placed randomly all over his clothes, arms, & legs...but as long as he is entertained by it, I say it's ok! He loves curious George so I think THIS sticker book will be perfect for him!
6. Media Player - I will NEVER travel alone with children without one of these. I don't like the thought of purposely gluing my toddler to the TV, but when he's throwing a fit on an overly cramped airplane and kicking the grumpy lady's seat in front of him, I will do just about anything to get him to stop. Something like an iPod touch is great to bring along because it's much smaller and easier to pack compared to a portable DVD player, and it has a great battery life! I load it up with all of his favortie movies and always bring headphones because the built-in speakers aren't loud enough to be heard over the airplane noises.
It's going to be a rough trip, but seeing my family is definitely worth it!
Do you have any good travel tips for me? I would love to hear them!
