This summer, I took the kids to Bulgaria to spend the summer with my family. Since there aren’t any direct flights from LAX to Sofia, we had to stop in London and from London, take another flight and travel to Bulgaria. It was a long trip; I’m not going to lie and traveling with a toddler is not easy, especially an active one like Liam. So I tried to be as prepared as I possibly could.
I’m sharing a few of the things that I packed for the flight and worked for us.
PACKING ESSENTIALS FOR TRAVELING WITH A TODDLER:
SNACKS:
When it comes to snacks, the more, the better! I brought a variety on the plane with us – fruits(bananas, mandarins, apples), crackers (he loves these Simple Mills Almond flour crackers), cookies, lollipops(we did Zollipops, which are supposed to be good for your kids’ teeth). Also, I didn’t experiment with any new snacks, but only ones that I knew for a fact Liam likes.
IPAD & POWER BANK & HEADPHONES:
Bringing an iPad with lots of his favorite shows and games was a lifesaver. On the long flight, he was entertained because the plane had plenty of kids movies but the second flight didn’t offer any entertainment, so this is where the iPad really helped. Some of Liam’s favorite apps right now are Toddler Games and Kids Puzzles, Laugh and Learn Animal Sounds by Fisher-Price, Baby Piano for kids & toddlers, and Khan Academy Kids. Another thing that really helped is downloading movies on Netflix, which he was able to watch at all times.
As for headphones, we used these, they are designed for toddlers and fit their smaller heads perfectly.
COLORING BOOK:
At first, I was planning to bring crayons and a regular coloring book. Then, I found this Melissa & Doug book which comes with a chunky size refillable water pen for coloring. The books are also reusable. Once the water dries out, Liam was able to color on the pages again. It kept him entertained for a long time.
STICKERS:
Stickers are a must, especially on long trips. I bought a big pack on Amazon, and I brought an empty notebook where he can stick them. For Liam’s age, I found that bigger stickers tend to work better, and they were a lot easier for Liam to peel out and stick in the notebook.
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
- WikkiStix – these wax stix are mess-free, reusable, and kept Liam busy for a while. A bit hard to separate because of their stickiness, but worked well for us.
- Small toys – I got two toy cars and a little teddy bear for him on the flight.
- Favorite book
- Window Gel Clings – puffy, easy to grab, and reusable. Liam had fun sticking them on the plane window and taking them off.
These are all the things that worked for us during the flight when traveling with a toddler. I packed everything in a carryon and placed it under Liam’s seat. Then only when he got bored, I will offer him one thing at a time, either a snack or a toy.
Something else that really helped was Belle. She will pass me stuff I can’t reach or hold on to something for me, while I was helping Liam. I very much appreciated their 8 years age difference during that flight.
In the end, traveling with a toddler is a lot of work. But all the memories we created while we were in Bulgaria made it all worth it! Would I do it again? Absolutely!
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