Travelling with kids (mini post box)

We are off on our first big trip as a family very soon. I have never flown overseas with children before and I am nervous – 10 hours on a plane with a 3.5 year old (Cakey) and a 16 month old (Boo)... I pity the people doomed to sit near us.

I have been looking around the shops to buy some little toys for Boo that might keep her occupied but everything was either too expensive or too bulky. So I have made her a miniature posting toy because she loves putting things in containers and then taking them out again.

Miniature post box

To make this, I found some colourful postcards and glued them onto cardboard with pva. When they were dry I cut them into little squares. I then found a little box and cut a hole in the lid so she could post them. I let her test it out to see whether this was going to be a successful toy – it was a winner, she played with it for ages. Now I have it hidden in my suitcase hoping it hasn't lost it's novelty value. The beauty about this is that if pieces get lost under the airplane seats it doesn't matter.

I glued postcards onto cardboard and then cut them into squares

I let Boo have a test go to see whether she liked it – she did.

Cakey loves mail too – she is constantly asking if any of our letters are for her... "nope, just bills" always comes the reply. Anyway, I have put together a little mail kit for her too. This is very simple but I think (hope) she will enjoy it. I collected some interesting promotional postcards you find in cafes. I teamed each postcard with a small white card and a mini highlighter pen and sealed them all in an envelope. I plan to hand these out one at a time on the flight.

Cakey's mail kit

These two ideas are obviously not going to cut it for a 10 hour flight so I have also been stockpiling ideas thanks to some fantastic bloggers who have hit the sky and/or road with kids in tow and lived to tell the tale. So if like me, you are planning on getting away over the coming holidays I am sure you will find something your kids will love in one of these posts:

• Toddler Approved has a whole bundle of ideas for flying – all gathered from experience!! I particularly like the letter hunt game using the inflight magazine and the barf bag puppets.
• My creative family has outdone herself with ideas for mess-free travel activity bags designed to occupy kids while driving long distance with a child to adult ratio of 2:1.
• Sun Hats and Wellie Boots has enough ideas to occupy kids for an entire camping trip. I love the individualized activ ity packs – each designed to make something different. Any kid would be enchanted.
• Let Kids Create has ideas for a long car trip such as taking baking trays to use for magnet boards and creating backseat pipecleaner creations.
• Hands on: as we grow has a neat 3 year old friendly version of I spy.
• Kitchen counter chronicles making use of the humble clip board on long car journeys, and the art of the secret toy.
• Dinosaurs and Octopuses shows you how to make a geoboard – they aren't going to let you take it on a plane but it would be great for a car journey or on a camping trip.

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