Toys for 20 month old for long airplane ride

[bjiang]

We are going to Italy in 2 weeks with our 20 month old DD. I am looking for toys that will keep her occupied during the long ride there and back. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[MiaPia]

The first thing that came to mind is a felt board that you could make yourself. Just take a piece of cardboard however big (or small) you want and cover it with felt. Then take lots of different colored felts and cut shapes/letters/numbers out of them. It would be easy to pack, take up just a small amount of space, and I think she'd love it - my 21 month old DS *loves* to play with his felt board! Plus, I'm using it to teach him colors, numbers and letters!
Or how about the Crayola Color Wonders markers that only show up on the special paper - or board books - that's all I can think of right now!
Good luck on your flight!

[Melanie]

Well, we had a much shorter plane ride, but the Magna-Doodle (We got the one made by Parents from Target) was a hit. The key was that Ds did not even see it before hand. Even the tag kept him occupied for a while. Some other hits were: lots of snacks, Daddy's pager (he thinks it is his own little lap top).

One thing you don't want to do is to bring/use anything you don't want your child to have. I had a water bottle, and I didn't want to let him unscrew it and dump it all over himself on the plane. That caused a minor uproar.