In a few weeks, we are heading on our family vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Because of puppy logistics, rather than flying together as a family, Colin and I will be flying down on our own and meeting Mr. C in Georgia. Here is what I plan to bring to help us pass the time for our four flights:
Needless to say, there are a few givens when flying solo with a little one. We are definitely splurging to check our luggage, I will pack a zillion more diapers and wipes than I will likely need, and I will be sure to have an extra change of clothes on hand for both of us plus our bathing suits and C’s lovey, not just for disasters on the plane but for the worst-case-scenario of lost luggage. Oh yeah, and there will be Purell. Lots of Purell.
While it’s not a given, I will check our car seat when we arrive at the airport as well. I plan to put it in a borrowed car seat travel bag and then use tape to mark it FRAGILE to encourage airport staff not to bang it around too terribly. Because we are going to be gone a week, we will be renting a car and will likely need a stroller as well. There is no way to lug both, plus our carry-on bags, and the stroller can double as a baby-containing device/sprinting tool in case we are delayed and have a tight layover situation.
All of those notes aside, my biggest focus will be containing and entertaining my little baby monster. While that is a term of endearment at our house, I fear that it will be an accurate moniker on this trip. I plan to come prepared, and while I don’t intend to use it any more than necessary, I’m not 100% averse to parking him in front of the iPad if I have to.
Clean and Contained Crafting Supplies: Colin is getting more and more interested in crafts like coloring and decorating paper with stickers. Since this bag will likely contain not just his entertainment for the flights but for the week, I am including a diverse range of options that are small, not too messy and diverse, so that each activity, while fairly similar, can occupy him for another chunk of time. I love these stick-on place mats, and think they will be great for preventing craft messes on the airplane tray, and I will also bring along some old freebie notepads with an 8-pack of washable crayons for coloring as well. C is just getting interested in stickers, and at Michael’s, I found a giant pack of sports themed stickers (similar pictured above) for a dollar. Best. Deal. Ever. Band-aids are a similar yet just different enough option.
1) Classy Kid Coloring Creative Placemat | 2) Crayola Washable Crayons | 3) Eureka Sports Motivational Sticker Book | 4) Aquadoodle | 5) Scratch Pads | 6) Mickey Bandaids
Cars and Boats: While C is not infatuated by cars the way that some kids are, these are my go-to restaurant toy, and he will happily zoom the car (in his hand – not rolling everywhere) across the table, on his chair and on my arm. I think that having a few of these handy will help pass the time for sure. The boats might be fun on the plane too, they stack compactly and they will double as bath toys on vacation.
7) Stacking Boats | 8) Hot Wheels
“Tigey”: Colin is just getting into pretend play, and while I certainly don’t have room to be schlepping his lions and tigers and bears, this tiny stuffed tiger has been nicknamed “Tigey” after Daniel Tiger’s best buddy, and he likes to “make believe” with him. Too cute.
Snacks: Not only will these help keep Colin occupied, but they’ll prevent him from getting “hangry” too. Due to timing, our meal and nap schedule will be a bit off, so loading the little guy up with snacks will be a necessary evil (or a fact of toddler life, depending on how you look at it). Rather than using the Munchkin Snack Pods we often use, I will be packing in reusable itsy ritzy snack bags, which will help maintain a smaller profile in my bag with less mess. Our go-to’s are whole grain goldfish, pretzels and raisins, and I will probably try to find some novel unique snacks for extra distraction appeal as well.
13) Itzy Ritsy Reusable Snack Bag | 14) Goldfish | 15) Raisin Boxes | 16) Annie’s Fruit Snacks
iPad: Oh, the screen. This is going to be my last resort plan, since I am sure that once it comes out, it will be a battle to take away. I plan to load it with a few educational apps, a handful of Daniel Tiger episodes (definitely the “Stop and Listen to Stay Safe” one about beach safety) and the movie Frozen (…for both of our benefit).
17) ipad | 18) Daniel Tiger | 19) Frozen
Children’s eBooks for Kindle: We are going to try to pack light, and won’t be able to check out library books once we are there, so I did a bit of research and discovered that they make children’s eBooks. I am still digging to see if I can rent eBooks for kids from our local library, but the good news is that there are TONS of free and inexpensive (less than $3) options that I can pull up in the Kindle for iPhone app. (Clearly I know my audience – focusing our titles on sports helps me keep him engaged in reading – but that is a topic for another post).
10-12) Curious George at the Baseball Game, Pete the Cat Play Ball, A Kid’s Book About Sports
Backpack to Carry it all: While this will be too heavy for Colin to carry all on his own, I am hoping that the bag itself will double as a beach bag at the beach to contain his sand toys and snacks. Also, C is really into emptying and filling things, so just exploring the contents of “his” bag will probably entertain him for a bit.
I am hoping this will be comprehensive enough to keep him entertained and engaged for our plane rides and throughout the week. Any other suggestions?
kiwi / 511 posts
Who are you renting your car with? My cousin just flew with her 1.5 year old and posted this on FB “Traveling with kids made easier by #hertz who drops families w carseat kids at the airport in your rental car. ” I filed that tidbit away to be sure.
pea / 16 posts
I haven’t traveled with an older child yet but if any of these items are new, you could wrap them up like a gift and let Colin open one on each flight. And if you record any videos during your trip, he might like watching them on the flight back!
grapefruit / 4649 posts
This looks like a great list. I love fruit leathers as soon as they are old enough because they kind of taste like a treat. Think about what you’re going to use to help his ears pop too, unfortunately my best suggestion there if he won’t take a pacifier still is a lollipop, a friend uses gummi bears which really isn’t an improvement but also works.
If he is big enough to get a kick out if it, try wrapping some of his snacks and toys in wrapping paper (bring a small bag for trash either way) since you will be happy to stall and get two more minutes of a happy kid. A stress ball or something else he can squish is helpful at getting him to tense his muscles and let go which isn’t the same as gross motor but close enough when you’re on a plane!
Good luck and have fun!
kiwi / 548 posts
I found that once we hit 2, all we needed was the ipad and headphones. I packed a lot of what you did and it’s heavy to lug around and my son played with them for about .5 seconds. Have fun! I love vacations!
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
@Mrs.Maven: that is so good to know!! We are renting with hertz so I will definitely check this out!!! Thanks!!!
@lilibunny: great call on wrapping things – such a fun idea!
!@Cole: I have a pacifier lover, so I am not too worries for takeoff and landing but love the alternative ideas – thank you!!
@Sparkler: thanks! I am hoping to stall with the iPad but I am sure this will end up being my situation too.
guest
I’m solo-flying with my 3YO next week and have the same worries as you! I’m sure it won’t be as bad as I imagine…I hope…
I also think the tablet is going to be key.
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Awesome I will be borrowing some of these on our road trip in August for sure
guest
I just flew solo (6 hour flight each way) w/ my 1.5 year old. I packed many of the same things you did and the ONLY thing that kept her attention was the Kindle Fire and snacks. The experience of being on the plane was just too overwhelming for her to concentrate on stickers or coloring or reading for very long. If you are going to bring headphones, I’d recommend having Colin practice using them before your trip. I failed to do this and the issue we had was the volume on the Kindle Fire was *barely* loud enough to hear over the noise of the airplane. Luckily, my daughter was content to essentially watch the screen, but in the future I’d train her on how to wear headphones. Oh, and I highly recommend getting some energy out by walking up and down the aisle when you can. No one seemed to mind our doing this and it was a toddler necessity. Good luck & have fun!
kiwi / 640 posts
We just came back from the same vacation! DS was 20 months at the time and I had packed most of the same things for the plane rides. He ended up only wanting the ipad – something we’re normally really strict about but I’d decided that it was worth my sanity to give him full access to it. Thank god they changed the airline rules and you no longer have to turn them off on takeoff/landing….that would have been tantrum-mania!
Good call to pack some other things too to play with while on vacation. You need that!
grapefruit / 4923 posts
thank you for sharing this list. we are going to be taking a 19-hour international flight with LO when he is about 21 months old and i am going to need all the help i can get. i like the term “hangry”. and yes, there will be more than 1 person watching frozen.
guest
I’ve flown a few dozen times with my almost 2 year old, about a quarter of them alone. My biggest suggestions are to a) ration snacks (take things like crackers where he/she can eat one at a time and take a long time doing so) and toys (only get out something new when he/she seems just about to lose it, and remember that you have a return trip as well), b) don’t dig into the scheduled entertainment before first exhausting all of the “toys” in the new surroundings (cups, straws, window shades, in flight magazine, emergency card, etc), and c) remember that he/she is going to pick up on your mood so try to be as calm and relaxed as possible. If all else fails, you can buy your seat neighbor a drink or two.
Safe and fun travels!
kiwi / 558 posts
We have flown over 20 times with our 10 month old and found that almost all rental car places also have great car seat rentals that are toddler rear facing. This extra amount per day isn’t bad and it’s nice to not have to check an extra piece of luggage. Further, the car seats are all cleaned and sterilized in plastic bags when we get them at the rental place. Good luck!
blogger / clementine / 750 posts
I’m going on my first solo flight with my daughter in a couple weeks. She’s flown several times before, but I’m nervous about not having my husband with me. She’s a little young for most of the things on your list, but I may still try some of them anyway!
@HTownMom: I didn’t know rental car places do that—so awesome to know!
pomegranate / 3595 posts
How about fresh fruit for a snack? We flew last June and blueberries were great and not very messy! I agree with the advice to try to get entertainment from your surroundings for as long as possible before breaking out the activities, and only doing one at a time. We also talked up when we could have things so she would be excited about the little milestones–no blueberries until the tray tables can come down, etc.
We also loved the book “airport” by byron barton and read it over and over to get ready for our flights. it is helpful to talk about steps like going through security (and putting everything, even a lovey, on the belt) and sitting in our seats and wearing seatbelts.
Does he have his own seat? My LO freaked the first time she had to wear her own seatbelt in her seat and stated that she was “stuck” and we had to talk about how everyone was stuck to be safe, and that helped us get through it…
Good luck! If it is terrible, remember you won’t have to see anyone on the plane ever again!
kiwi / 506 posts
I just got back from a cross country flight with my very active 17 month old and brought a really similar mix to what you have here. What I thought was funny was her favorite thing ended up being the skymall magazine!! We must have flipped through it atleast 50 times finding all the puppies, then all the babies, then all the other animals ( there are a few random lion and monkey garden decor type things). It was hilarious and very entertaining to our row mate
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
We’ve flown with Mini lots of times now… and with the exception of the last two trips, he never wanted to watch ANYTHING. And the iPad games weren’t distraction enough either. Shockingly… he loved pouring ice between two cups… and the old wallet that I had brought stuffed with old gift cards, play money, ribbons, buttons, stickers, etc) Yes, I needed to pay close attention… but he was all about that wallet! He sat and unloaded it and reloaded it for a looong time.