What to pack for children on the plane (ages 3-8)

We’re off on holiday again shortly, and one of the things I feel we’ve got down to a T, is what to pack for children on the plane (now age 5 and 6) in what I would class as their hand luggage or ‘carry on’. This is a rucksack (or formally a Trunkie) that contains lots of useful bits to keep them occupied, whether it’s on a long train journey, or a flight. I tend to keep a lot of these items stored in a box in the kitchen, so they can be located quickly and easily. The content of these rucksacks is also ideal to bring along on a day out when you know there might be lots of waiting around, or you’d like to enjoy a meal out that isn’t whizzed through in half and hour (ha!).

What to pack for children on the plane

When it comes to packing for our children, I can safely say that less is more! Left to their own devices Freddie and Sasha would pack the most random stuff (play doh hairdressing set anyone?), so we try and narrow it down so they have some entertaining essentials. Each child is, of course, allowed to take a couple of favourite toys (Freddie would choose a couple of small toy planes and his Teddy, for example), but not a whole load of them. 

Here are the things that are currently always included in our children’s flight luggage/carry on rucksacks:

• Kindle Fire and headphones. The kids only really use their Kindle Fires at the weekend at the moment, so they’re always really appreciated when they appear! We pre-load games onto them (current favourites are various Lego, Dr Panda and Toca Boca ones), and they can also read books on them. When we have wifi, we can also keep up with any homework if needed online (the kids are going away during term time on this occasion so this something we’ve promised the school that we’d do). 
• UNO and other card games. Games like Uno and Happy Families have saved many a potentially lengthy/boring travel situation (and we all love to play, even the grown ups!). A Peppa Pig card game made 2 hours whizz by a whole lot quicker when we accidentally got on the wrong ferry in Lake Garda and ended up doing a massive detour to our holiday site!
• Cosy socks. Useful on long-haul flights with children as they can keep their shoes off during flight and get comfy.
• Snacks. We always take a couple of snacks in each bag, although usually buy something/get given something on the plane. I usually pop in a fruit loaf bar and some fruity snacks (that the kids are convinced are sweets #cunning), as they’re not that messy. Avoid crisps and anything that crumbles/squashes badly in the bags at all costs! These types of ‘snackle box‘ are also great for carrying a variety of snacks with little mess.
• Tissues and baby wipes. For snotty noses and inevitable post-flight meal mess. 
• Small pencil case with pens/pencils. Our two love to do drawing and colouring, so we always pop a selection of these in a pencil case to go in one of the bags. 
• Educational supplies. You might want to consider packing some free maths worksheets, something to read or something else otherwise educational.
• Colouring and activity books. These are a big hit when travelling for our kids- I love the Usbourne travel books for kids. 
• Story Cubes. Great for whiling away the evenings on holiday, or whilst waiting for a flight- we first tried Story Cubes on our Spanish holiday when the older two kids were around 3 and they were a big hit!
• Lollies. Okay, not great for teeth but these are honestly AMAZING for aching, popping ears on a flight. The kids sit quietly (10 minutes of silence, woohoo!) and sucking them helps avoid the ear pain due to the changing pressure. 
• Camera. We often challenge our two to take photos of their trip with this camera, or of a theme, i.e. see how many yellow things you can snap, another good way of passing the time.
• Figures. We let the kids take a handful of Playmobil or Sylvanian Families figures- it’s amazing what scenarios they come up with, even on a small plane or tray tray!

Feel more confident now when it comes to what to pack for children on the plane? What do you pack for your children when you fly?

I’d love to hear about anything I could add that would make a difference.

See some more of my travel posts here