Plane Activities for Toddlers: 60+ Screen-Free Airplane Activities for Toddlers

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One of the things I get asked a lot as a mom traveling with 6 kids is how we to entertain infants and toddlers while flying – from travel essentials with baby to toys for plane travel with toddlers. Having flown with all 6 of our kids since they were little babies, I’ve learned a ton about what actually works and what doesn’t when traveling with kids. It’s safe to say that after 13.5 years and 6 kids over literally hundreds of flights, we’ve gone through lots of options for airplane activities for toddlers.

Here’s my list of the best airplane activities for young kids! Almost all of these work for a variety of ages, but are especially great for those younger years. All of these would make for great screen-free road trip activities for toddlers, too! Definitely don’t feel like you need to take all of these – usually just a few are more than sufficient for a trip, so think about which ones might work best for your family.

Here are 60+ screen-free airplane activities for toddlers!

Activities For Toddlers on Planes

Yoto Player (also available here, and here’s the Mini) + Headphones (these are also great to use with a tablet or airplane screen for movies)
LCD Drawing Boards – these are so great for drawing and re-drawing with no mess
Stuffed Animal – I love watching all the little games my kids create with a simple little stuffy
Toy cars – a perennial favorite for a variety of ages
Suction spinner or suction toys – stick to window or tray table
Mini toy animals – my younger kiddos love these
Reusable stickers book
Lacing toy or Lacing cards
Buckle toy
Squigz – so fun for toddler hands
Beading – this is also great just with a shoelace and some Froot Loops (they’re slightly bigger than Cheerios) – plus, then it’s a built in snack!
Indestructibles board book – I love that these don’t tear or get soaked
Window clings
Numbers Magnatab – we love this little magnetic board, and the shapes and letters are so fun. There’s also a plain one.
Pop it – it’s amazing how much time my current toddler spends on these
Finger puppets – so fun for play and stories
Glow in the dark temporary tattoos – fun for overnight flights
Wax sticks – these have bought us so many hours of focused fun for a wide variety of ages
Mini magnetic tiles – regular magnetic tiles are probably the most-used toy in our house and have been for the last decade. The mini ones are perfect for travel!
Dot stickers – perfect for counting, working on letters, or just sticking on things
Magnetic dress up doll – I love this one that has several different career outfits. I like just putting all the pieces in a little ziplock to save space.
Counting Bears – I don’t know what it is about these little colorful bears, but my kids under age 7 are all obsessed with them. So fun for counting or pretend play. I throw a handful in a ziplock.
Magnetic dinosaurs – little builders love this set
Magnetic puzzles – so great for on the go
Alphabet drawing cards
Water Wow books – so great for mess-free art
Erasable doodle book – so cute, love that it has different colors, and it won’t tear
Travel size Magna Doodle – do you remember these from decades ago? Turns out they’re still awesome.
LEGOs – we love just plain LEGO bricks in a ziplock or this old metal snack container was perfect for me to hot glue some small flat lego bases to the lid and include LEGO bricks inside
Glowsticks are especially fun on overnight flights that get dark
Air dry clay – we love this soft magic clay because it’s really lightweight and easy for little hands to use. We usually play with it and store again in the container (especially when traveling), but you can also leave it out to dry.
Rainbow scratch art – another 90s throwback that’s still just as awesome today. My 4 year old got a scratch art notebook from grandparents over a year ago and still loves it!
Stamps – toss a few of these fun animal stamps and a stamp pad in the bag – they’re so fun for little hands

Activity Books

Reusable sticker insect book
Mess free Color Wonder coloring book
Bluey aqua art
Reusable sticker pads
Mess free painting

Simple Craft Supplies

One of the great things about toddlers is that they can find a way to play with virtually anything! Here are a few simple ideas to grab from what you may already have. These are all great because they’re open-ended and get hours of use for us.

Plain paper – don’t underestimate the power of this! My 4 year old could literally spend an hour just drawing with a plain pen or pencil. I always stick a few sheets in our bag. A small/cheap notebook is also a good idea.
Triangle crayons – perfect for travel since they don’t roll
Colored pencils
Glitter gel pens – my 4 year old loves these
Aluminum foil
Mini markers
Blue painter’s tape – this is the best on flights. Kiddos love to stick it everywhere and it peels off easily. Perfect for attaching little animals, making loops, taping down window shades, and a million other uses.
Pom poms – sort by color, count, hide/guess how many in hand, etc.
Colorful pipe cleaners to poke into an empty spice container with large holes
Post it notes
Paint sticks – we absolutely love these for their gorgeous colors and no mess!
Fun shape crayons – the best for little hands

Airplane Items

Beyond that, we just use other things we find on the airplane. Virtually anything can be made into a toy for a toddler!

Safety Pamphlet
Cup
In-flight magazine
Wrappers – ask your toddler to be in charge of unwrapping everyone’s snacks and then handing them to the flight attendant when it’s time to clean up trash.
Cup of ice
Vomit bag (empty, of course) – this is great for drawing or making paper airplanes if you don’t have paper!

Snacktivities: Airplane Snacks for Toddlers

I always pack plenty of snacks to bring on an airplane for a toddler. I like to bring small snacks that take a while to eat . This is one of my best tips for traveling with toddlers. And it’s even better when the snacks double as an activity!

Cereal necklaces (explained on Busy Toddler)
Mini pringles – the container provides entertainment, too!
Snack sized mini cookies (like Teddy Grahams or animal crackers) – so fun to play with