travel entertainment

[TheCalicoCat]

We are flying to Seattle from Maryland, then taking the train to Vancouver.

 

Based on that scenario, what kinds of entertainment would you bring for a 3.5 year old boy? (How much?)

[HALrunner]

My little boys (ages 2 1/2 & 4 1/2) would be over the moon to take the train! I am sure that will be entertainment in itself! On the plane, we like to take playdough (mini containers), paint with water or aquadoodle, matchbox size cars with a roll of painters tape to make "roads", books (paperback as they are compact and lightweight), Little Dover Books (sticker/activity books that are under $2) to name a few. We try to pack as light as we can, but it is a fine line between enough entertainment options. Throw in a few ballons for him to blow up and bat around in the airport while waiting. We keep all these things (and more) in a travel backpack and only let them into while traveling so the toys are all "new" and exciting.

[TheCalicoCat]

good ideas!

 

We have tiny cars from his last cruise - those should be novel enough (He does not play with them often - they are still in the bag that they were in when we got home.

 

He had a magazine subscription - I have saved those, animlas, right up his alley.

 

We got a sticker book as a holiday gift - I am going to save it for this trip.

 

So far all of that is in one gift bag - I've been tossing things in as I see them...

[TheCalicoCat]

I forgot - I need to get some balloons - that is a great idea!

[Grlpowers]

If you have and ipod or iphone put some games and videos on for him. There are lots of good free ones for kids. Take some snacks for the trip. Mini card games are good and some crayons and paper. At 3.5 my son started playing with our ds so if you have a handheld video game for him that would be good too.

[TheCalicoCat]

If you have and ipod or iphone put some games and videos on for him. There are lots of good free ones for kids. Take some snacks for the trip. Mini card games are good and some crayons and paper. At 3.5 my son started playing with our ds so if you have a handheld video game for him that would be good too.

 

We barely have cell phones... :o

[Marlynmik]

We have a tablet computer loaded with kids games and movies. That's pretty much all we need.

[alj1208]

Bring a portable DVD player or a laptop/tablet that plays movies. I almost left our DVD player at home.... didn't want the hassle of carrying it.... when a mom friend said, "That's the FIRST thing I'd pack." Boy, was she right! It saved us on the plane and in the cruise ship cabin. At 4, DS no longer napped, but he needed some quiet time in the afternoon. We put the DVD player on, and he chilled for at least an hour every day. A few times, he even fell asleep while watching! iphone apps are also good, but for the littler kids, I think a DVD player is better, because you can just set it up and put the kid in front of it!!! They usually stay put :)

[Essiesmom]

My niece has taken her twins from PA to Russia three times...last time they were almost 3. Ipad was a lifesaver. They are 3-1/2 now, and got LeapPads for Christmas, and they seem to keep well occupied with them. You can put various games and activities on them, and they are not very large. Take extra stylus though...they are easily misplaced. EM

[Mom2B&Z]

I'll echo the iPad/iPod touch comments, they are wonderful since they can hold movies, games and activities all in one. DS2 just turned 4 and he loved listening to the Cars 2 soundtrack on the iPad. We also like automoblocks, which are small cars that you can take apart and reassemble, they travel well and have lots of play value. I avoid playdough because it counts as a liquid on the plane and it can be hard to find a clean place to use it. We flew West Jet, which has personal tvs at each seat, although last year on US Air we didn't have this and I admit it was a bit of a pain in the you-know-where ;)

If you bring a dvd player, iPad/Pod or leapster, remember to try the ear buds before you go. There are only certain shapes that fit comfortably into DS2's ears, and you don't want to find out once you leave the earphones don't fit!

[nlt46]

These are great ideas. We always take the Leapster Explorer to dinner also. They finish eating long before we do. We also have a travel tape we play in the car. It has music that they love; we play it and sing along. Fun for all.

I also go to the dollar store and buy the gummi window stickers. We put them on the glass doors to the balcony. We take them down before we leave, but they are fun to arrange and re-arrange.

 

Nancy