Ideas to keep 2.5 year old occupied on a plane

[Jaycee]

We are off on a holiday to Townsville next week and I'm after ideas to keep DS occupied on 2 2hr flights each way.

So far all I've got is some new books, sticker book and colouring pencils.

Any ideas would be appreciated

[Junglemum]

Take a few things, but not too much, sometimes carrying it is more of a pita.
Pencils (pencil sharpener), sticker book and books are all great. The only thing we add to that is portable DVD player, snacks and i put kids music on my ipod. I bought some kids headphones and she loves it.

Something i always do is fill either a bottle or a sippy cup with a drink, so that they can suck on it on the way up and down. I also have a chuppachup in case of emergency. I don't regularly give my girls lollies, but on a plane i tend to give DD1 a chuppachup. She is so stoked to get and it and it takes so long to suck, it keeps her occupied, and it helps clear the ears with the sucking action.

2 hours will fly, by the time you take off they serve a snack it will be about time to descend again. Have a great holiday!

[YoYo]

Agree with all Junglemum suggests.... with any luck your DS will have a little kip while flying too

Have a great holiday!

[Kamarine]

Not sure if you've got one - but when we recently flew with our 2.5 year old, we put some kids shows off iTunes on DHs iPhone.
We also had a etcher sketch, lots of imaginative play toys. Colouring books, reading books. Snacks.
I can also recommend maybe making stuff out of pipe cleaners, reusable and not so much mess/space.

Have an awesome holiday!

[kelebek]

just subbing cause we are flying from sydney to brisbane in Nov and needs some ideas too

[AndiE]

I can tell you that thinking about flying with a toddler is worse than actually doing it - I flew in April on my own with a 25 month old and a four month old. The bub was easy (a few BFs and constant holding!) and for DS1 I got a few new books and a couple of small toys. Plus I took some food and his water bottle. But what kept him quieter than anything was chomping away on pringles chips. He wouldn't normally get them, but I figured it would be a good diversion. It was. The boys were terrific and the flight time, um, flew by, fairly quickly.
DS1 needed a little reassurance right on take-off and landing - I don't think he knew what to make of it - so we had a few cuddles (with DS2 squished on my lap) and I just talked to him about what was happening and tried to make a real adventure out of it. He was totally fine otherwise.
Good luck!

[Jaycee]

Thanks for the replies, some fantastic ideas here, I shall be going shopping tomorrow for supplies!

I didn't even know u could put DVDs on to iPods, that's so cool! Now to work out how to do it

Bella, if you're holding DD it should be ok walking the aisle a little, but I wouldn't let her walk up and down

[AliBaby]

Jaycee- Have you checked the airlines info page? I just checked out the V Australia website and it listed through all the entertainment available. They have a dedicated kids channel as well and each seat has its own tv so that is great and also tips for travelling with children/toddlers/babies as well.

[Jaycee]

Wow Bella, that sounds great, which website is it?

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I've just flown with DS. He had a biro and paper, some books, the window (works wonders!) and me. He climbed off the chair and onto it quite a bit rather than walking around.

Other children on the flight had DVD players or computers, which kept them quiet.