I was being such a good little organizer recently, that I even organized all of my son’s travel busy bags for the next few trips. This is what I usually procrastinate packing the most, so I’m glad I got ahead of the game this year. Like it or not, traveling with a kid means that I’ll be lugging some sort of busy bag for years to come.
From age 4 to 8, we still have this card game.
His busy bags have changed throughout the years and I have to constantly update them; hence my organizing and purging exercise this weekend. But as I cleaned this weekend, I noticed that there were some items in the busy bag that have seen us through many trips and will continue to serve us well through many more.
Here are some of the tried and true items in my son’s busy bag:
- Sketch pads, crayons, pencils, and markers. An artist never rests.
- Books. The books get wordier, but they are always there to entertain.
- Card Games. We switch from UNO, to Old Maid, to Go Fish. They’re small, light, and versatile.
The best part about these items is how relatively inexpensive they all are. Now that’s something I can truly appreciate.
As I thought about our busy bags, I remembered all the other travel blogging moms who shared their expertise on the matter. Putting together a great busy bag, takes some thought, creativity, and planning.
I really enjoyed reading how Lorraine puts together the Busy Kits for her two daughters and for her business as well. She has this formula: color, play, create, discover. Read about the process here. Make sure to click over to all her posts for all four of the components.
I also enjoyed reading Debbie’s take on things to consider when packing an airplane busy bag. She gives you a whole list of things to consider, and offers tips on where and how to go about making one. Read about them here.
Do you have any of your own favorite busy bag items? Or have you written about it? Please share, I’m always looking for a few good tips.
I’m already starting to think about a trip we’ll be taking this Spring to Hawaii & how I’ll be keeping the 5 yo busy on the 6 hour plane ride. Thanks for your suggestions & recommendations!
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We love to take a Busy Kit with us when we go traveling – one with books, small toys, pencils and pens and such. We always, always pack some treats too! And then something special, like new finger puppets or a new toy. That keeps their interest going too!
Then, there’s the iPhone. This has been a complete lifesaver when it comes to a bored child. I don’t let my kids play with the iphone very often, so when it comes out during a long trip they are always interested and it can occupy them for some time!
My son’s favorite iphone game is the Little Suitcase. He likes figuring out all the equipment he’ll need for certain endeavors. My daughter’s favorite is The Wheels on the Bus. There are also apps that are board books in iphone form! These are great – a way to avoid carrying around a bunch of book. Pic Pocket Books carries a whole set of these.
Then, for really long flights there are movies. Movies can be rented on itunes or via netflix for the DVD players. I try to use these just for really long flights.
Those are the thing that have worked so far. Always looking for new ideas!
-Jill
Hey Carolina! Thanks for the sweet mention of My Busy Kit! We also carry some card games along with us now. Uno is one of my daughters favorites. Kind of makes me think of wanting to get back into cards. Whatever happened to those old fashioned bridge clubs folks used to have? I could do with one of those!
Here’s the one caveat I forgot to mention about card games, they usually involve two players, and most often that other player is the parent. So it’s not really an independent activity.
If we’re on a roadtrip, I like the kids to have a map of some sort so they can keep track of where we are and eliminate some of the “are we there yet?” questions.