With summer holidays just around the corner for families in the US and UK, I know so many parents are starting to plan those long-haul trips or big family adventures. And while travelling with kids is always filled with incredible memories, let’s be honest — it can also mean a lot of time stuck sitting, waiting, and trying to keep little hands busy without endless screens.
We’ve actually just wrapped up our own big family trip — four weeks travelling around the United States with our three kids (aged 4, 8 and 11). It was such an amazing trip, but between the five different cities we visited, there was also around 40 hours of plane time. Yep, forty. And if you’ve ever flown long-haul with kids, you’ll know the importance of packing the right entertainment.
So I thought I’d share what we packed for our three — what worked brilliantly, what we wished we’d packed more of, and the few things that didn’t get as much love as we expected. If you’ve got travel planned soon, or even just want some new ideas for quiet time activities at home, hopefully this list gives you some handy inspiration.
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Sticker Mosaic Books
These were hands-down the biggest hit of the trip. If you haven’t seen them before, they’re kind of like a colour-by-numbers book but with stickers instead of pencils. You match the numbered stickers to the correct spot in the picture and slowly fill in a colourful scene.
I bought one for each of the kids before we left — choosing different difficulty levels for each of them — and within the first two weeks, we realised we needed more. They were perfect for flights, quiet mornings in the hotel, downtime in the evenings, and even while waiting to check into one of our hotels.
Honestly, these kept our kids occupied for ages and were so easy to pop in their backpacks. We ended up grabbing some more from Target while we were away, because they went through them so quickly and I wanted to make sure we had some for the long flight home!
These are the sticker mosaic books we grabbed here in Australia to take with us — you can click the images below to check them out, or shop similar sticker mosaic books here.
Smart Games IQ Travel Games
I absolutely love these little brain teaser games and so did the kids. They’re compact, lightweight and come in heaps of different difficulty levels, so we were able to pick one to suit each child.
Our 4-year-old had the Smart Games IQ Stars, our 8-year-old had IQ Fit, and our 11-year-old had IQ Stixx. Each one is a solo logic puzzle game where you need to arrange little pieces to complete a challenge. And yes, you might notice that they all have a recommended age of 6 or 7 years, however our 4-year-old managed the easier challenges of the IQ Stars with no issues.
These games were brilliant on the plane because they didn’t take up much room on the tray table, and were great for waiting at restaurants or airports too. One of the best things about them was that each game comes with a little challenge booklet with 100 different puzzles to work through — so no matter how much time the kids spent on them, they never ran out of things to do. It kept them happily occupied without arguments or boredom setting in. If you’re travelling soon, I can’t recommend these enough.
Check out the other Smart Games IQ puzzles here.
Notepads, Textas and Stickers
I kept this super simple — each child had a blank A4 notepad, a pack of Faber-Castell Connector Pens (the jumbo version for our 4-year-old), and a couple of sticker pads.
Some days they’d draw pictures of what we’d done that day, other times I’d quickly sketch a little city scene or ocean background and let them decorate it with stickers. We even kept a countdown until landing for the very last hour of our flight home. Taking blank paper instead of colouring-in sheets kept it super open-ended for the kids and it was such an easy way to fill in time while we travelled.
Silicon Sensory Boards
Okay — so these were a bit of a mixed bag. Before we left, these were super popular at home. They’re silicone boards with little grooves to push silicone sticks into. I’d seen them all over social media and thought they’d be perfect for plane rides and long waits.
The kids did pull them out a few times, even a couple of times in long lines at Disneyland, but once we were actually travelling city to city, the sticker books and notepads definitely won out. I wouldn’t say they were a waste, because they did get used, but I probably wouldn’t bother packing them again for a long-haul trip.
How We Managed All the Kids’ Stuff While Travelling
One of the things that made a huge difference to our trip (and our sanity!) was having a separate backpack for each of the kids. We didn’t go overboard with packing them, but each child had their own bag filled with their things — their entertainment picks, a drink bottle, some snacks, a spare set of clothes, and later, their souvenirs.
This setup meant no rummaging through one big family bag to find a random texta or someone’s game. The kids knew exactly what they had, where it was, and could take responsibility for their own belongings. It made airport security easier, kept the plane seats tidy, and meant if one child wanted their sticker book and another wanted to tackle a Smart Game, there was no drama — everything was within reach.
It was also a nice little independence-builder for the kids. Our 4-year-old felt so proud carrying his little backpack just like the big kids (not going to lie though, by the end of the trip we were carrying it for him haha), and the older two loved choosing what made the cut into their travel bag.
If you’re heading off on a trip, I highly recommend giving each child their own backpack. Total game changer.
Would We Pack the Same Things Again?
Honestly — yes! The sticker mosaic books and logic puzzles were the standouts and will absolutely be coming with us next time we travel, and we’ve always taken notepads and textas with us when we’ve travelled so they’ll definitely be coming with us again next time too. And while the sensory boards didn’t get as much use as expected, they still had their moments.
If you’ve got travel coming up, I highly recommend grabbing a few of these. And if you’ve already got a few long-haul trips under your belt, I’d love to know what kept your little ones entertained. Let me know in the comments or send me a message — I’m always keen to add new ideas to our travel kit!
Happy travelling!
Lycie x
