These are a few of my favorite things...for long flights

These are a few of my favorite things…for long flights

In honor of a long flight I have coming up, I figured I would share my advice for how to entertain kids on really long flights. I have family in Japan and Hawaii, so I am used to long flights with children at this point, but it is never easy. Plan for months ahead if you know you are going on a long flight so that you don’t have to spend loads of money or time last minute scrambling to find things for the kids to do.

Obviously, when it comes to flight travel, the easiest thing to do is give kids technology to distract them. However, in the case of my kids, I’ve learned that after a while it might make them grumpy and keep them awake longer than they should be awake, so it is good to have lots of technology free items too. If you have technology, make sure to get headphones so you don’t bother others on the flight, and no noisy toys!

Here are some specific ideas:

• Pack all of the toys in a small roller bag that can fit under the seat in front of your child but that is also small enough your child can pull it around. That way you can carry your bags and don’t have to worry about theirs (but it is rolling and easy for you to grab if your child gets tired).
• Snacks in a craft box. Every half hour or hour, let the kids pick a new snack from one of the sections and pull it out for them to eat. Make sure to clean the tray tables on the airplane before doing anything else! That’s where the worst germs are to be found!
• Lots of hand sanitizer- my kids don’t get sick much, but after a flight to Hawaii, we all got massively sick and the girls got ear infections. Better safe than sorry. Lots of cleaning
• When it comes to toys, let them reach in the bag and pull a new toy out every 20-30 minutes. Otherwise, they will go through all of the surprises in the bag super fast and will have no surprises for the flight home!
• Dollar store toys- some great things I’ve found are small animals or dinosaurs in bags, dolls with accessories, card games, small knockoff lego kits, puzzles, small art kits, and markers/crayons with coloring books
• Target dollar section- for this coming flight, I hit the jackpot with some great small tubs full of fairies and unicorns. I also found some great art packs with paper, crayons, and stamps together.
• Preschool quiz booklets to pass the time learning in a fun way
• To make sure that any art the girls do doesn’t stay on the plane, I made sure to get ultra washable markers and crayons so that I can easily wipe off any messes made
• This time, I am also making Aria carry a small backpack with her blankie and any dolls she wants inside of it. I’ve had trouble getting Aria to limit her stuffed animals when traveling, so I figured that she would self limit this way based on how heavy it was for her.
• Check the car seats. Carrying them through the airport is possible, but in my opinion it is so not worth the struggle. Dealing with your kids and stuff is plenty on your plate. Plus, it is not only free, but from what I understand, if an airline loses your car seat, they have to pay for a replacement.
• Set rules ahead of time and emphasize that your kids must behave over and over again. Set periodic rewards or let them know there is a really cool place they will get to visit if they are good during the flight
• If you are potty training, make sure to bring pull ups even if your kid is in panties. Reason being, your child may be terrified of the airplane bathroom. In the case of Aria, she was so terrified of using the bathroom at the airport (automatic flush) and on the airplane (loud noise), but she hated pull-ups, that she held her pee for 14 hours once. If your child isn’t quite so stubborn or doesn’t have as strong a bladder, it is good to be prepared!
• Bring extra clothes. After hearing one woman’s nightmare of being covered in a blow out poop but not having a change of clothes on a 10 hour flight, I always make sure everyone in the family has a change of clothes in our bag! Doesn’t hurt to pack sweaters too in case the plane is cold

But the best advice I can give you is to expect that things will go wrong. Long flights are hard on adults, so they are bound to be twice as hard on kids. Prepare for crying, exhaustion, and perhaps even temper tantrums so that when they occur, you have the patience to deal with them without anger! I’ve had flights where Aria or Skylar cried for hours, where everyone but me got sleep because the kids took turns sleeping, and flights where nothing seemed to go right with the electronics on the plane so we relied solely on the toys we brought. But, if you are prepared that anything can happen, it is far easier to go with the flow and adapt. Remember: the flight might be long, but the destination is sooo worth it in the end! ​