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I'm Debbie, mother of two delicious kids and I love to travel. That's my daughter in the backpack and my son in Paris on Halloween. I write about traveling with little kids and my city guides list activities for kids, family friendly hotels, child friendly restaurants, and shopping for kids of all ages. We live in Seattle, Washington. Please send questions, tips, and suggestions via email
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Most popular articles:
- Ten Tips for Keeping a Toddler Busy on a Plane
- Air Travel with Babies, Toddlers and Kids
- Jet Lag Survival Guide for Parents
- Portland Travel Guide
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Travel Toys
All these products have been carefully reviewed by me. I only recommend products that I'd use myself and recommend to my friends. Editorial reviews are separate and distinct from advertising on DeliciousBaby.com, and we never accept "advertorial" or pay-for-positive reviews.
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Airplanes by Byron Barton This simple book has bold illustrations and a clear description of what planes do. Airplanes helps take the mystery out of flying for very young children. Reading it is a great way to prepare your toddler for flying and both of our kids loved reading it on board planes. |
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Audio Books Audio books are a great way to break up the time on an airplane or road trip. They enable your child to "read" independently, or just listen to a story. |
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Blue Painter's Tape We always have some blue masking tape in our suitcase. (blue is less sticky than white). Toddlers love playing with masking tape. It can be stuck on noses, fingers, ears, tray tables, etc. and it's generally easy to clean up when you're done. You can use it to outline a hop-scotch court or a race track for hot-wheels. It's also great for babyproofing at your destination. |
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Card Deck A deck of cards is a great toy for a wide range of ages. You can teach your child to count and play simple games, and they'll love watching you shuffle (and trying to do it themselves). |
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Colorforms Most toddlers have discovered the joy of stickers, but parents worry about bringing stickers on a plane because they end up on tray tables, windows or seats. Colorforms (and other reusable stickers) are great because your child can stick them anywhere, and they can be reused for later trips. If you have a window seat, your child can stick them on the window We especially like the original, shape based, Colorforms, but they are also available in book and tv character themes. |
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Crayons and Coloring Books It's nice to have a small crayon box in your purse. You can bring along a coloring book, or get paper on the road. We like the crayon sets that restaurants give away for free… all packaged up in a nice little box & easy to slip in the diaper bag. |
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Finger Puppets Finger Puppets are easy for small children to use and have lots of open-ended play possibilities. Even young babies will enjoy watching finger puppets play peek-a-boo. We find that non-theme-characters allow the most open ended play. |
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Finger Rhymes Young kids love to watch grownups do finger rhymes, and preschoolers and school age kids enjoy trying to do them themselves. Learn a few new rhymes before you leave on your trip, and you'll have literally hours of entertainment during your vacation. We especially like this finger rhymes book, it has a great mix of old favorites and rhymes you probably haven't seen before. |
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Gertie Ball (Inflatable) Gertie Balls are popular because they are soft, bouncy, and easy to inflate. They can be left soft enough for a young child to grip, or be inflated firm to bounce well. A Gertie ball packs flat in your luggage, and we've had a wonderful time kicking ours around in squares and courtyards all over the world. |
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Haba Clip On Toys We love Haba's cute clip on toys. They can be attached (using a pacifier clip) to a stroller or sling, and your child can play happily without risk of loosing the toy. These wooden toys are also durable and easy to wash. |
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Haba Mini-Tin Games package a popular game in a neat little tin box, perfect for travel. There's a huge variety of choices for ages as young as three. I picked up a
Mini Memory Game |
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Klutz Activity Books Klutz makes a complete line of activity books that have everything you need to complete a craft or activity. Some (like the pipe cleaner activity book pictured) work well on a plane, while others would be a great way to keep kids busy in a hotel room. |
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Klutz Activity Books Klutz makes a complete line of activity books that have everything you need to complete a craft or activity. Some (like the pipe cleaner activity book pictured) work well on a plane, while others would be a great way to keep kids busy in a hotel room. |
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Mad Libs You probably remember Mad Libs, the game where you fill in the blanks to create silly stories, from your own childhood. Not only are Mad Libs still around (and a great activity for a plane ride or road trip) but they also make a Junior version for ages 4 and up! |
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MP3 Player An MP3 player (or music stored on a laptop) loaded with familiar music can help soothe a child to sleep. Our kids suprised us by being able to sit still enough to keep earbuds in at age 1. Any MP3 player you have will work well, but we've noticed that our IPod shuffle is easy enough for a toddler to manipulate. |
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Nesting Cups Nesting cups don't take much room in your suitcase or carryon, but they're very versatile. You can stack them, nest them, hide things under them, pretend they're a hat, and put things inside them. Plastic nesting cups are also great for bath play at your destination. |
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Pipe Cleaners Pipe cleaners are fascinating to twist into different shapes and attach together. If you also have Cheerios, your young toddler will be engrossed with trying to slip them onto the pipe cleaner to make bracelets, necklaces, and birdfeeders. Best of all, they take up almost no space in your carryon. |
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Play Silks When E was little, we brought a play silk on almost every trip with us. He loved playing peek-a-boo, watching us throw it up and and letting it flutter to the ground, or letting it flutter over him as he lay on his back. Now that the kids are older, a play silk is a great dress-up toy. It makes an easy cape, silk skirt, or a blanket to wrap animals in. |
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Play-Doh Play-Doh is a little to messy for airplanes, but it is a great toy once you arrive at your destination. We especially like the mini containers because they don't take much room and enable us to bring several different colors. Once the dough is gone, the containers are fun to play with too (stack them, practice removing the lids, put beans in them, etc) |
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Playmobil 123 Playmobil's 123 line is designed to let kids who still put things in their mouths safely participate in imaginary play. The sets work together (and the figures from the older kids Playmobil sets fit in the 123 vehicles) so you can combine different sets to make up new stories. The cars, airplane, and motorcycle are all small enough to fit easily in a purse or diaper bag. |
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Playmobil Sets Playmobil makes lots of different activity sets geared to kids with different interests, some beginning as low as $3. The figures are interchangeable, making it easy to combine different sets or use them with larger vehicles and buildings at home. These are great for open-ended imaginary play. |
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Ravensburger Ribbon Puzzle These cute cardboard puzzles with pieces attached by ribbon are lightweight, easy to pack, and won't come home with missing pieces. They're designed to be engaging and challenging to kids about one year and up. |
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Reusable Sticker Books Reusable Sticker Books are engaging and you won't be worried about peeling stickers off the airplane seats and window. Our favorite is this Airport Sticker Book, but there are a wide range of subjects, and the company also makes great coloring books, maze books and other small activity books. At under $3, you won't be too upset if it gets left behind. |
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Shae by Air DVD Toolkit We're not big DVD watchers in my family, so I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I was offered a review copy of the Shae by Air DVD Toolkit. I sat down to watch it with my 3 year old son, and he loved it. I was impressed too. The DVD does a great job of showing kids, step-by-step, what they will experience at the airport and onboard the plane. It has some good tips for parents too. If you have a toddler who has never flown before, this is a great way for both the child and the parents to get comfortable with the process before leaving home. Sit down and watch the video with your child and then play act what will happen (either by packing bags and walking through the steps yourself or with dolls). Reading a few airport related books helps too, and you'll be able to bring them with you on the plane. Note that this is not a high-budget production, you are supporting a small business when you purchase this product. |
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Sophie the Giraffe I bought our first Sophie on a whim on E's first trip to Paris. We had heard that Sophie is the most popular baby toy in France, and even though it looked simple I thought I would give it a try. It turns out that there is something magical about Sophie for babies of the "put-everything-in-the-mouth" age. E could sit through entire meals happily exploring Sophie, and when he got tired of putting it in his mouth we would squeeze it to make it squeak or have it pop out from behind a chair. Sophie is made of natural (phtalate-free) rubber. |
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