Small Miles

The Best Travel Toys for Preschoolers

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Taking a trip with your little guy or gal? You’re going to need our list of the best travel toys for preschoolers!

Ready to fly!

Preschoolers are finally at a stage where they can really understand and enjoy the process of getting to your destination, unlike toddlers who are easily frustrated with comings and goings. Often all the entertainment that your preschooler needs at the airport is “helping” you keep track of their boarding pass, finding the gate number, and examining the activities on the tarmac as you prepare to board your flight. But once your preschooler is strapped into their seat in the car or plane, you’ll need an arsenal of fun to keep them entertained.

Toys for On the Way

Tablet and Headphones

Miles is concerned about Moana. Henrietta is concerned with sleeping. I am concerned with nothing.

The number one choice is easy: A tablet loaded with shows and games, plus reliable headphones. When heading out on a road trip or to a nearby relative’s house, this is pretty much all you need. And even if you forget everything else for your long haul flight, you’ll still have an entertained preschooler with maximum preschooler screen time. Here are few tips to make sure this is successful:

• Practice using new headphones before you leave. Most airlines will ask you to put headphones on your child, and your fellow travellers will not love hearing Paw Patrol cranked to maximum volume. Order the headphones early, and have your child use them for their screen time in the days leading up to the trip
• Download shows and games that do not require WiFi. Remove anything that does. This is true for airplane and road travel. With Netflix, you can download shows to watch offline later. The same thing will work with a Kindle Fire. You can also buy shows with iTunes or Google Play if you want to keep them for future viewing. Be sure to manage storage settings on your tablet so that you don’t run out of room for your preschooler’s favorite shows. There are some games that require WiFi to run too.
• Test all that offline content. The last thing you want is your preschooler hyped up to watch a new movie and then have it not play.
• If you’re flying, download the entertainment app for your airline. More and more airlines are moving away from having in-seat entertainment screens to a tablet approach. The good news is that there are often tablets that you can borrow or rent from the flight attendants, but it’s even better if your child can use a table that they are familiar with to get that sweet, sweet screen time.

We travel with the Maxell Safe Soundz headphones and our iPad in a Speck case.

Activity Books

You know, the ones that you never buy your kids at checkout line? Now’s the time to snap up a few of those. Make sure they are age appropriate, so that you don’t spend your entire flight or drive doing mazes that are too hard for them but brain numbing for you. The Build It Sticker Book is a favorite in my house.

Water Wow Books

These beauties only require a smidge of water and color magic ensues. Even kids without amazing fine motor control will enjoy the pictures the Water Wow books reveal.

Quiet Books

These gorgeous Carry Home sets from the Land of Nod are hardly books, but they do fold up neatly and offer hours of kid entertainment. Miles has the Carry Home Rocket Ship and is quite enchanted with it. There are a bevy of sweet options on Etsy too, like these from Quiet Toys.

Art Kit

Crayons, a notebook, and a pencil case? A classic! Triangle crayons won’t roll around your preschooler’s tray table. There’s such a wide range of drawing and writing abilities in the preschool years, but having crayons and paper handy can help all kids make sense of their new experiences.

Toys for When You Get There

Camera

Miles snapped this pics of me in Edinburgh because I was “doing a great job standing!” Kids can make  memories of your destination by documenting the trip in their own way.

I’ve given the Vtech Kidizoom camera as a gift to one of my nephews, and it got rave reviews. You could also repurpose an old digital camera for your preschooler, too.

Hot Wheels Cars and Track

Hot Wheels and track have three advantages: They pack up super small, are useful anywhere, and are thrilling to play with (even for me). Squeeze these in between clothes in your suitcase, and you won’t regret it. This Hot Wheels Track Builder Straight Track with Car  is a great starter set.

Lego Suitcase

Miles just got this Lego Juniors Fire Patrol Suitcase for Christmas, and he loves toting it around. And I love that his tiny Lego have a place to go where his baby sister can’t eat them.

Action Figures & Animals

Even three or four of your child’s favorite figures can help them with pretend play at your destination. I think we made it through six weeks in Edinburgh with a Lumiere, a couple of Ninja Turtles, and this Playmobil family at check-in. Hoo boy, did that motley crew have some adventures!

Folding Track Mat

Your Hot Wheels and other small cars can have even more adventures on a car play mat. This one from Danha folds up teeny small and is ready for action anywhere.

Card Games

My 3-year-old son got the hang of Go Fish this year, and it’s like the world has opened up for him and card games are bonkers fun. Try a few on your next trip, like the Go Fish Alphabet Cards from School Zone.

Thrift Shopping

If you’re going to be spending more than a couple of weeks at your destination, I’d recommend only bringing the toys that you need for your travel, and then heading to a local charity shop, thrift store, or craft market. It’s a great way to explore the local area at your destination in a way that your children will understand. They’ll also get good use out of toys they choose themselves. This is a super way to get a hold of bulky toys that you wouldn’t want to pack but that they love playing with. And any thrifted toys can be easily re-donated when it’s time to go.