Pack a travel activity bag: toddler edition

No matter where you are going, the nirvana of traveling with toddlers is to bring enough entertainment to keep your toddler occupied, but not *too* much because inevitably you are going to be the family sherpa. With a toddler’s short attention span and insatiable curiosity, this can seem like a constantly moving target.

Packing an engaging activity bag can save you on those long-haul flights, train or bus rides. Extra activities also come in handy for downtime at hotels, or when you’re inevitably waiting somewhere and your toddler would otherwise be creating mayhem.

Having gone through this phase with two very active children, and traveling overseas with them for over a month at a time, we think we’ve found the perfect formula for packing just enough, with lots of creative and pretend-play options. It wasn’t always this way, but now almost everything we pack for the kids gets used, usually multiple times!

General tips on packing travel activities for toddlers

1. Do not give them their own backpack. (Not a hard and fast rule, of course. If it works, it works.) We usually do our best to encourage independence, but in our experience this results in us being responsible for yet another bag (every. single. time)… or worse, the bag gets lost or left behind. Toddler backpacks also tend to be more sturdy/rigid, and hard to stuff into your own bag when needed. We think at this age it’s best to manage toddler toys yourself. You can still pack everything in a separate reusable “activity bag” in your own backpack.

2. Sit on luggages, on the other hand, are a win! When we traveled extensively overseas, our kids packed their toys, blankets, and pillows/stuffies into their own sit-on luggage. They could pull them along if they wanted to, but *we* could also pull them with the kids ON it. We used Melissa and Doug Trunkiis, which we would say is best for the 2-5 year range. All the components, including the wheels, are plastic, which made them a little unwieldy, but the are way cheaper than some other brands and do the trick.

3. Keep your “travel toys” a surprise! At this age, there’s no need to let your child pick out the toys they want to bring (they have no idea). Toddlers love surprises, and new toys! On the other hand, we’ve never wrapped our new toys for the kids to “unwrap” – we feel this leads to waste and bits of paper and tape everywhere, and they were excited enough by the new toys.

Our top recommended travel activities for toddlers

1. Window clings!

We love recommending this one, because it’s something most parents don’t think of, and a great addition to your happy-toddler arsenal. You can buy sheets of window clings from your local dollar store. Try to look for ones that aren’t too “spidery”, as they rip easier. Colourful dots work really well. Kids *love* sticking these onto airplane, train, car, and hotel windows. Keep them in a sandwich bag to reuse again and again.

2. Art box: triangle crayons, a small sketchbook/notebook, and lots of stickers

You can use a small pencil box to house your art supplies. Our kids have a souvenir “tin” their grandparents’ bought them from London they’ve been using for years.

Triangle crayons are amazing, and far superior to normal crayons because they don’t roll when you’re on the move. We also recommend a small notebook over loose paper. Flipping the pages can be an activity of its own for toddlers, and you have a creative memento at the end of the trip.

And which toddler doesn’t love aaaaall the stickers? We keep ours in the art box because we try to make sure the kids stick them on their own things, as opposed to every available surface within their reach. Those suckers can be hard to remove. (Which is why we love window clings!)

3. Activity books

We love the activity books with stickers (eg. they give you an outline of a face or a castle or some other scene and you get to fill it in with the stickers). The downside of most activity books for toddlers is they go through the pages super quickly – we find the sticker ones take significantly longer, and feel like they get more use out of it. Activity books using magnets instead of stickers have been a hit, too. Colouring books can be a good option, as well.

4. Felt busy books

Felt busy books are great and there are so many different ones you can buy on Etsy. These usually have a bunch of transferring, tying, knotting type activities that let kids practice fine motor skills. The downside of these is they can be quite pricey.

5. Melissa and Doug’s Waterwow

We’ve used a number of different art kits, and the Waterwow is by far the winner. Each booklet comes with a “paintbrush” you can fill with water, and you “paint” each page of the book. The colour fades when the water dries, and you can paint it again and again. Some of the pages contain “search and find” clues, which makes it even more fun. There are tons of different options to choose from.

6. Washi tape and toy cars

Another clever, multi-purpose winner. Washi tape takes up literally *no* space, and can be used in so many ways. You can stick them to anything, and they are easy to peel off and leave no residue. One of the best things to do with washi tape is to made “roads” (or train tracks) on your toddler’s airplane tray (or anywhere, really – hotel floor? Why not.) Bring along a few toy cars, and your plane ride might just be set…

7. A few toy figurines

Add in a few dinosaurs, or animals, or princesses to amp up the fun and the creative play!

8. Finger puppets

A space-saving way to get in some pretend play. We’ve found some cheap and cute ones of animals and royalty at Ikea.

9. A small building set

Bringing along something the kids can build with opens all sorts of doors to creative and open-ended play. (Also good for combining with above roads and figurines!) The key is to have something that sticks together so the entire thing doesn’t come tumbling down with every bump and jolt while on the road. A small bag of Lego Duplo blocks work. A handful of Magna Qubix is another great option. I haven’t met a kid who doesn’t love MagnaTiles, and Magna Qubix is the smaller, more compact, 3-D version. Tegu Magnetic Wooden blocks are probably the best of traveling building blocks. They’re compact and magnetic and come in their own little bag. However, these are pricey and you may be at risk of losing a few pieces on the road!

10. Buckle Toy or other fidget toys

There are so many fidget toy options out there, and they’re great for keeping little one’s fingers busy on the road. Our favourite are Buckle Toys, which are little stuffies that have a number of different kinds of buckles.

11. A fine motor activity – eg. a peg board

Peg boards are sort of the precursor to the beloved Lite Brite, whose small pieces are more suited for slightly older kids. You can get sets with lighter foam bases, and the pegs can be inserted or stacked by colour or patterns.

12. Headphones!

A comfortable, well-fitted pair of headphones is essential. Ones that can be folded down are even better. It can be plugged into your own device or into the airplane entertainment system.

13. An iPad or tablet

Sometimes, your toddler just wants some downtime, maybe watching their favourite show or playing a game. Some kids (Big and Lil S included) don’t use a tablet at home, and getting to use one while traveling can be something of a novelty. There are a ton of fun games for toddlers, not to mention educational ones. Ours particularly loved one called “Talking Ben” – a silly interactive app where they got to interact with a hilarious talking dog.

Besides games and shows, you can also load your toddler’s iPad with music and audiobooks. Toddlers will usually get bored quickly of listening to longer stories, but ours both loved fairy tales and nursery stories. We usually also download a ton of Disney music and kids bop, which is great for blasting on road trips!

Kids a little older? Make sure to read our activity bag packing list for pre-schoolers!