We are having a fabulous time relaxing and visiting with family and friends in Hawaii. But, before we arrived in paradise, we first needed to survive a 9 hr flight. With a 3 year old. I tried to prepare her as much as possible in the weeks leading up to our trip. We had several discussions about airplane etiquette, and the importance of being quiet on the plane. I also let her pick out some new toys, which immediately were packed into her ‘travel entertainment’ bag. I have found that playing with new toys is exciting and keeps little ones busy for longer periods of time.

I also packed coloring and activity books, a box full of stickers, a homemade coloring box, and of course the iPad and headphones. Then, I let her pack her own purse, which was a collection of small squishy ‘pets’. At the end of the flight we were all happy, relaxed, and even rested! Sure there were a few frustrating moments, but all in all it couldn’t have gone better!

In order to keep Sydney’s crayons contained while on the plane, I made a coloring box for her. All I needed was an empty wipe container, sticky notepad, and some glue!

I just cut the notepad to size, and glued it into the ‘pop-top’ of the wipe container. Now, I had a box that not only kept her paper and crayons in one place, but her crayons were also neatly in one spot instead of constantly rolling off the tray table!

Do you have any tips for traveling with kids? I would love to hear them…. after all, we do have to survive another 9 hr flight in our very near future!