Once upon a time I went on a couple of four hour flights with my three year old when he was age one. Buggy had a fantastic time sleeping in my lap and watching the t.v. on the plane and eating snacks. I felt uncomfortable and sweaty. I literally said I am never going on a flight longer than four hours ever!

Now I will fly with my 3 year old and my one year old son on multiple flights to Hawaii. It will be my one year olds first flight. This may or may not go well people! The following is Sharky’s bag of airplane goodies in case he is not as comfortable flying as my first son was as a baby. I am sure either way I will be uncomfortable. I cannot sleep sitting up, and I have restless legs. Where is my goodie bag to keep me happy? I may just have to order a glass of wine.

That is a lot of stuff to travel with Dear!?!?

Sharky’s (age 1) Airplane Fun Bag (The One with Sharks on it)

1. Toy cell phone– My one year old loves to play with his toy cell phones (and unfortunately loves trying to get to and play with our real iphones when we are not looking), so I intend on bringing him one of his toy versions. The ones he likes the most is the V-tech baby cell phone or the Fisher Price baby smart phone.

2. Pipe cleaners and Wikki Stix– If you do not have the pleasure of knowing what a Wikki Stix is, I will enlighten you. A Wikki Stix is a waxy stick that children can bend and form into fun shapes. They are about the size of a pipe cleaner in length and they are thin and bright like crayons. I am going to try these and pipe cleaners with my one year old on the plane for the first time. I know he will not be able to make much with them, but I think that he will like the feel and he will enjoy the new sensory experience. These both are leftover from a project I did a few years ago so I am also happy to finally have a use for them.

3. Melissa and Doug Wooden Shape Puzzles– These are 4 double-sided wooden puzzles with basic shapes that fit into each puzzle. They are very simple and only need 3-6 shapes to complete. These would be easy for any one year old and they do not take up much room on a carry-on. I am borrowing these from someone I know so they are free; a real bonus when it comes to finding new toys to entertain your children.

4. Stickers– I think my one year old (actually 15 months) is ready to restick stickers I pull off paper. I am bringing Cars stickers and a Cars movie poster that were free promotional items. I think this will entertain both my 3 year old who loves Cars and my 1 year old who loves everything his older brother loves.

5. Vehicles– I am bringing a selection of plastic vehicles including a train, a bus, and two airplanes out of my boys huge stack of vehicles. I figure we can drive them on the tray table.

6. Toothbrush– I have a friend who is a Dentist who says that everywhere he takes his two toddlers, he gives them a toothbrush to practice brushing their teeth. No water or paste, just a soft baby brush. He says this really helps them learn to brush, cleans their teeth, and keeps them very occupied. As my one year old is majorly teething, I also think this will be soothing. I am bringing him a new one to practice with on the plane, and of course not during turbulence.

7. Baby Snacks, a Bottle of Milk, and a Sippy Cup– I have actually prolonged going off the bottle until after our trip so that the sucking of his bottle will help pop his ears. I am also bringing Goldfish crackers, animal cookies, and Trader Joe’s real fruit bars for him to enjoy.

8. Books– I bought my son a new book to surprise him on the plane. It is called The Ice Cream King. My one year old loves books and loves ice cream. Anyone bring wet napkins?

9. Melissa and Doug Sunny Patch Flip-Up Sunglasses– I bought these because both my boys love playing with sunglasses and these have an extra fun element because they flip up. I bought them for Lan-Shark for Easter but squirreled them away right away as he was distracted with trying his first Peeps candy (and loving it!) so that they would be new and exciting on the plane and for the rest of our trip.

10. Plane white cards and envelopes– My one year old is just learning to draw. Instead of eat crayons, we are going to practice on these cards and then send them to the loving Auntie and Grandmas at some point. I figure the three year old can help. In fact most of this stuff can be enjoyed by my 3 year old as well.

We are really hoping on our first flight our kids will sleep a lot because it is a red eye. Hopefully they will be excited about the airplane, and the airplane magazines, the drinks cart, and the barf bags enough to buy us an hour. Then hopefully they sleep! If that happens these bags goodies may not even make an appearance until a later flight!!! Keep your fingers crossed Moms.

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The lovely Mrs. InACents is back for another guest post.

I have packed two small sewn drawstring bags, one for each boy, chock full of new activities for them to do on all of our upcoming flights to Disneyland and Hawaii. My basic fear is that I will end up on the Today Show after being kicked off of a plane with two unruly toddlers. So after many nights of laying awake I have devised these bags as my plan. I wanted to share with you, traveling parents, some of my ideas pre-trip. I will let you know later which ones were hits and which ones were misses. This is a two part post as I got very wordy with each child’s bag description. Look back tomorrow to see what is going into Sharky’s bag (age 1).

Buggy’s (age 3) Airplane Fun Bag (The One with Turtles on it)

1. Lacing Cards (Melissa and Doug)– He has never played with these before. They were a Christmas present from my in-laws that I conveniently hid in the hub bub of too many new toys. I loved these as a kid so I wanted to use them for the first time in a quiet moment together. These are wonderful for fine-motor development and on the airplane I will have the time to help him as they can be hard to get the hang of for little fingers.
2. Magnetic Farm Yard– I found this at a discount store in Cleveland called Marc’s where they carry closeouts. This sort of toy though is sold everywhere…easy to find on Amazon or at bookstores. I have even bought some fairytale themed ones at independent children’s toy stores. This is not something I had thought of, but one of my friends said it was her favorite thing to do in the car when she was little (Colorforms and magnetic boards). When she said that it reminded me I had bought this farm yard version and stashed it in my gift area months ago.
3. Crayola Pipsqueaks Colored Pencils– Markers are messy and crayons may melt but the new “IT” art supply is the colored pencil. These are also perfect for little ones because they are short, fat, easy to grasp, and triangular so they cannot roll off of the airplane tray. They come with a pencil sharper. I am bringing a small notepad of white and colored paper as well. I have a Curious George Coloring pad and stickers that were a gift from our babysitter that I saved for airplane fun.
4. Snacks (and Art)– I am packing several snacks including a Tow-Mater sucker that my son forgot about from Easter and his first pack of gum. Both good for popping ears. He has been telling everyone he meets that he is going to have his first gum on the plane! I am also bringing some Cheerios and Fruit Loops with dental floss for him to string into necklaces.
5. Couple of new Disney Cars Characters– These will be useful in a hotel room too and in Disneyland to keep him somewhat satisfied with mousey merchandise. I may even wrap these in leftover wrapping paper to make unwrapping them more fun on a plane.
6. i-Phone Apps– I downloaded two new Toddler Apps on my i-phone, Build-a-Train and What Did Snakey Eat? My son has never been allowed to use my phone until this week and he already is good at Build-a-Train. So it will be a good quiet activity.
7. Special Headset– His own non-ear-bud normal headphones in case there is T.V. or a radio on the plane. I think he would hate earbuds so this will be a just in case item.
8. Special Books– I bought him the book “Froggy Goes to Hawaii.” This is the newest book from the Froggy series. It should be a hit and it will be a surprise.
9. Flash Cards and Workbooks– My son is having a hard time with colors, so we are bringing some quiet activities to practice and play school on the plane. Sneaking some learning in there as well!
10. Playdough Mats– I found these through several websites via Pinterest. I printed and laminated them and bought a small set of playdough. This is controversial because many people say their playdough has been confiscated! SHOCKING, I know! I even googled this: “Is playdough allowed on airplanes?” The reviews were mixed. I am bringing it because I have brought it before for my son and it was fine. I will let you know my results with those TSA guys. But, I think an even deeper question is posed here, and that is: “Is playdough a liquid or a solid?”

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