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The Mom Mode Mindset

DIY Travel Kit for Kids: Toddler Travel Activities for Road Trips & Flights

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Pin graphic titled 'DIY Travel Kit for Kids: Toddler Travel Essentials' showing a kids travel tray, LCD writing tablet, Water Wow book, and animal sticker book.
Pinned from The Mom Mode Mindset

Our first flight with my son, I packed basically every toy in the house and we still ran out of ideas by the time we hit the runway. This time I put together a kit that actually holds up for the whole trip, one tray, and a handful of things that don't turn the back seat into a glitter explosion.

  1. Gray and black kids travel tray with mesh side pockets, cup holder, markers, activity cards, and a tablet holder.

    Kids Travel Tray

    The base of the whole kit, a lap tray with pockets so nothing ends up on the floor of the car.

    $20.89Shop it
  2. Blue LCD writing tablet with a colorful giraffe and tree drawing on the screen and an attached stylus.

    LCD Writing Tablet

    A mess-free doodle board my son can use in a car seat without a single marker cap coming off.

    $19.99Shop it
  3. Melissa and Doug Water Wow Under the Sea reusable water coloring book with a refillable water pen.

    Melissa & Doug On the Go Water Wow!

    Water-only coloring, no mess, no mystery stains on the tray table.

    $5.97Shop it
  4. Spiral bound Animal Habitats Around the World sticker activity book with over 500 animal stickers on the cover.

    Animal Habitats Sticker Book

    500+ stickers buys us a solid stretch of quiet on longer trips.

    $16.98Shop it

We used all four on our last trip and didn't hear 'I'm bored' once, which for us is basically a personal record.

Common questions

What age is this travel kit good for?
Most of these pieces work well from about age 2 through early elementary, the tray and activities just get swapped out as interests change.
Do I need the tray, or can I just buy the activities?
The tray isn't required, but it keeps everything contained and easy to hand back and forth, worth it for anything longer than a quick errand.
How do you keep everything from getting lost in the car?
Everything lives in the tray's pockets between trips, so it's one grab instead of hunting down four separate things.