X Post in Places to Go--- Toy Suggestion for 17mo while traveling (airplane)

[denna]

We are moving to the U.S. in September and are in for quite a few flights from Venice, IT to D.C. and then throughout the US all the way to California to visit family. I was looking for good toy suggestions, or other ideas to keep DS entertained during this time. Also possible snacks to bring along? (Non-liquid of course). Also we have a portable DVD player so any cartoon or movie suggestions for that age would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

[deannanb]

raisins, cereal, suckers for takeoff and landing, gerber stars
fun container for snacks

favorite blanket and toy

new toys for ds - travel aquadoodle or magnadoodle
books

ETA:
I hope some of these suggestions help.
I'm trying to pack for a trip this week.
I've just pulled out my airplane bag....

Stickers - on notecards or post-it notes
crayons
Bandaids - open the wrapper, take of the ends, stick somewhere - they are pretty easy to take off of an airplane window.

Tape - my ds loves to unroll scotch tape - he thinks it is fun.
I'll tear off some and he likes to stick it on paper.

puppets
Little People - or other smaller dolls/animals

new movies and a dvd player

Shape sorter
This looks interesting - LeapFrog Brightlings Builders
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5734232


I always over pack for the airplane. You never know when you will be stuck on a plane or in an airport for longer than you thought!

[MMMommy]

I second the Aquadoodle. Great toy for the plane b/c it isn't messy, and the pen is attached to the base so that DC doesn't lose it. Crayola Color Wonder coloring books and pens are good too, except for the occasional dropped pen.

For DVDs, my kids love Max & Ruby. We have the Summertime Max & Ruby and also the Springtime Max & Ruby DVDs. Just bring whatever DC already likes to watch.

[denna]

Thanks for the link. Those are really cute! I think DS will love them. We will be on plane after plane for some time, esp the time from Venice to D.C., then we have another flight 4days later to Chicago, and again to L.A 2 weeks from there. Whew. Im exhausted just typing about it.

The Aquadoodle was something that I was looking at and think it will be perfect. Any movie suggestions, though?! DS really doesnt watch anything now. But since he will be sitting in his carseat he may relent to watch something for a little while, any ideas on what will hold his interest?

Thanks for the snack ideas too. Time to start buying more stuff!

Thanks again both of you!

[deannanb]

Baby Einstein

Signing Times http://www.signingtime.com/

BooBah
and hate to say it, but telatubbies (it hold attention)
www.pbskids.org

Barney
Wiggles

[sidmand]

DS has loved the Backyardigans since he was about 12 months. Each DVD comes with 4 episodes, so it lasts awhile!

Sesame Street
Backyardigans
Wiggles
Blues Clues
Curious George
Baby Signing Times

Debbie
http://b3.lilypie.com/WT7Im4/.png[/img] (][img)

[shburks]

Good luck! That's a long set of flights.

Let me think...

We have taken a very small inflatable beach ball. Works great for layovers. Blow it up, they can throw it (in an empty area of course!), chase it, get out lots of energy. :)

A small pad of paper (or index cards or post-it notes) with a snack-size Ziploc of crayons. 4-6 crayons should be plenty at that age. You can give him 1-2 crayons at a time. DS loved putting stickers on the paper. I would buy stickers and then cut them into smaller sections, so he could have 4-6 stickers at a time. (If he could have a full sheet of 12 stickers, that's what he wanted!)

Small cars or airplanes, etc. were great! Even those that might be too small under normals circumstances were OK for the plane since you're right there.

Finger puppets

Small snacks--goldfish or similar, Teddy Grahams, raisins or other dried fruit

Small paperback books with lots of pictures, things to identify

Baby Einstein Discovery Cards (There are several; these for example: http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DSIProductDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10051&productId=1204332&langId=-1&categoryId=15585) We would take some out of the box and put them in a ziploc; take out 3-5 at a time and identify colors, numbers, animals, make up stories about the pictures, etc.

At 17 months, ds absolutely loved Baby Einstein movies.

Small animals--dinosaurs, barnyard animals, zoo animals, etc. (I found these at dollar stores and then put them into Ziploc bags.)

Aquadoodle or Magnadoodle

My best tip is to organize things in Ziplocs. It keeps all pieces of something together (i.e. put crayons in a small Ziploc and then put it and some paper/post it notes, stickers, etc into a larger Ziploc). When you pull it out, you have everything ready for coloring. Since they're clear, you can see what's in each one, too.

Susan

[DrSally]

From previous threads: Small sewing tape measure (DS loves pulling it and retracting it, and it's quiet.

Activity books, with zippers, velcro, buttons, etc.

Snacks: Fruity booty, fruit leather from TJ's,

Oh, I just got a taby tray from Craigslist for future flights.
http://www.familyonboard.com/car_seat_travel_trays.html

I wouldn't use it in the car, personally, just on flights for coloring and eating.

[ekbecker1]

Color Wonder markers and coloring books from Crayola are great. Absolutely no mess.

See if you can find any Klutz Chicken Socks books. Most are geared toward older kids because they have small pieces, but there is a book with holes and colored shoelaces that you can thread through the holes. Self-contained and good for kids who like that small motor stuff.

It's kind of gross, but in a pinch, cleaning with baby wipes is always a winner for us. My kids could clean the snack tray and the windows on a plane for hours.

[MMMommy]

Oops. I meant to suggest the Doodlepro, not the Aquadoodle. The Doodlepro is the one with the pen that is attached to the base unit. We have both the Aquadoodle and the Doodlepro, and my girls like both. I am more partial to the Doodlepro, for ease of use.