Toddler Busy Bag Ideas for Stress-Free Long Airplane Flights

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Every mom who travels with a toddler or preschooler knows the struggle of keeping them entertained, especially on long flights. How I wish the busy bag was a thing way back—it could have saved me and many other moms some sanity!

When my oldest was a baby, it was fairly easy to fly with him. I’d put him in our baby carrier and rock him to sleep.

As he became a toddler, I just packed lots and lots of snacks to keep him occupied. Now, my oldest is three years old, and he requires a bit more consideration when flying.

That’s where busy bag activities come in. For our recent flight to Europe, I prepared Montessori-style busy bags to entertain him on the flight and in our hotels. These busy bags not only kept him busy but also provided practice and development for their fine motor skills.

I had a lot of fun making them. We already had some of the materials, but I made some runs to Target, Dollar Tree, and Michael’s to pick up the rest of the supplies. Shopping for these items was as much fun for me as making them. I felt so accomplished!

I packed 3 busy bags for the flight to Europe. It was an evening flight, and my son slept for most of the trip. We did break out the busy bags on the last leg of the flight. While we were in our first hotel, we just let him play with the same 3 busy bags.

As our trip wrapped up and we packed for the flights home, we swapped out the old busy bags for several new ones. We got a lot of use out of them!

Here are a few of my favorite busy bag ideas I have tried so far!

Simple and Easy Busy Bag Ideas for Your Toddlers

Popsicle Sticks with Velcro

The colored popsicle sticks with Velcro dots were the biggest hit. My son used them to build “rainbows” while we were on the airplane and to make roads for his cars while we were in the hotel.

My friends made similar ones using the tongue depressor size that their kids enjoyed. I think I will make a busy bag set using the Jumbo Colored Wood Craft Sticks for future trips.

Chopsticks with Beads and Ice Cube Tray

I like to call this activity “feeding the fishies,” and my son was thrilled to use his chopsticks. He’s currently obsessed with them and uses them at every opportunity.

This activity was great for fine motor skills and also helped him practice counting the beads.

I thought the beads would be a good idea, but these ones were a bit small. I am going to get larger beads for next time. I’m also going to get those colorful pom-poms as they will be lightweight and easier to pick up using chopsticks.

This busy bag activity is currently being used in our living room. My husband put the beads on a cookie sheet, and my son has been using a baby spoon to scoop up the beads and put them in the ice cube tray. They sell the training chopsticks and ice cube trays on Amazon.

Dr. Seuss Stickers and Book

My son really enjoys Dr. Seuss books right now. We read them a lot before bedtime. I knew he’d be a fan of these stickers because he recognizes many of the characters from the books.

This busy bag activity involved having him put stickers on the blank pages of the little book. It was a hit! He filled a bunch of the pages with stickers, which occupied a bit of time on the airplane. When he was done, he put it all back in the bag to work on it later.

Sponges and Straws

Right before we left for our trip, I saw an idea on Facebook from my friend, who suggested a busy bag activity using cut-up sponges. I figured I’d have my son thread the sponges on straws because it would be lightweight. This activity was great for fine motor skill practice.

The problem was that the straws were flimsy, and they kept bending when he tried to put the sponges on them. Next time, I’m going to put a chopstick in there or use a dull wooden kabob skewer. He ended up pretending the sponges were cars. He also used them as blocks.

Beads and Pipe Cleaners

This seems so simple, but it entertained my son for hours! I found some pipe cleaners at Dollar Tree that had semi-stiff bristles.

This was perfect because it kept the pony beads from sliding off. I originally thought I’d need to twist a bead on the end to keep them from falling off. My son made me several bracelets.

I think next time, I will add the Montessori element of sorting the beads by color, and then he can put them on the pipe cleaner.

Hanging Clothes on Clothespins

When I went through a tub of random craft stuff, I ran across these mini clothespins on a long piece of twine. Target sold them around Christmas and marketed them as a way to display holiday cards.

I realized that they were a nice size for a busy bag. I already had printed felt from a felt Christmas tree activity I did last year, so I just cut little clothes out of it. This activity was super easy to set up.

You can also maximize this idea by buying or cutting felt in the shape of uppercase and lowercase letters; another idea is to use this in learning shapes!

This activity is super light and doesn’t take up much space. We didn’t end up bringing it out on this flight, and I’m actually glad because I’m saving it for our next flight! I found this clothes pins on twine on Amazon.

Coloring Activities

My friends and I are big fans of Melissa & Doug coloring products. They make Water Wow coloring books that just need a little bit of water.

These are great for airplane rides and require zero artistic skill from your child. Now that my son is older, he’s interested in markers. I found some Melissa & Doug Magicolor Coloring Books. The pens only color on the paper, and they snap back into the coloring book’s plastic case.

Unfortunately, my son had an aisle seat, and the markers kept sliding down the aisle, so they didn’t last long on the plane. They would be fabulous for in the airport and definitely in a hotel room.

Target’s dollar section always has Play Packs featuring an array of animated characters. Dollar Tree usually has something similar, too. These packs consist of crayons, stickers, and coloring sheets. I like that they are fully contained, and my son thinks of them like a surprise bag.

If you don’t want to buy, you can search for free printables online, like these free printable coloring pages of people from around the world. Perfect theme when traveling!

Art Felt-Folio

I had high hopes for this busy bag item. However it was a bit bulky for my carry on back pack. It’s basically just crayons and paper inside a felt fire truck.

I think this would work better for road trips. But I love that you can easily add stickers, markers, cards, etc., to the felt folio to change it up. I’m hanging onto this to try when my son is a bit older and more into coloring. I found a similar Art Felt Folio on Amazon.

Foam Crowns and Stickers

My son loves putting stickers on things, so I thought this might be a fun busy bag activity. He likes to make presents for people. It lasted about 2 minutes.

This activity bored him, and he asked me to do another project. Thankfully, this bag was super light and cost less than $2.

Felt Play Book

Target’s dollar section is a dangerous place for me. I always find items I “need” for kids, but it’s the perfect spot for busy bag items!

This felt playbook opens to make a large felt mat, and it comes with felt items like a submarine, airplane, and rocket ship. However, it was a bit cumbersome to use on the airplane.

This is a great item for hotel rooms where kids can lie on the floor to use it, and an excellent hands-on activity.

Finger Puppets

We didn’t even get to this busy bag activity. I kept them in a sandwich baggie. I love how lightweight the puppets are.

If you want your kids to learn a second language, you can start making fun stories and conversations with them in whatever language you choose with these finger puppets.

I’m probably going to stash these in my diaper bag to use at restaurants. Fortunately, they fit my fingers, so I can even use them to entertain my baby.

DIY Busy Bag Tips

The first thing I suggest is to walk around your house and take inventory of what you have. We already had chopsticks, which sparked the idea for our “feed the fishies” game.

I also raided my son’s art kit to see what items I could use, like the colored Popsicle sticks. Target’s dollar section is a great place to get ready-to-go items because they usually have coloring activities and craft kits. Dollar Tree is a really fun place to find inexpensive craft items and stickers.

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