If you feel like you’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time researching the best activities for long-haul flights with kids, you are not alone.

Let’s simplify your search with activities that all have the same traits in common; they are:

Quiet
Reusable
Compact
Useful at your destination
Available for purchase online
Suitable for long-haul drives as well

Use these activities to make flying with kids just a little easier:

1. Long-Haul Flights with Kids: Stick-It Activities

One of the easiest ways to entertain young kids on long-haul flights is to bring along activities that involve sticking one thing to another. Many of these activities are compact, useful at your destination, and mess-free.

Here are some examples:

Squigz suction cup builders. These cups are very compact and can be stuck to each other or to windows or trays on the flight. They can also double as a car activity or as a bath toy at your destination. win-win.

Reusable puffy sticker. Kids can use these stickers on the included sheets or get creative with what they stick them onto. It’s nice to have this three-sheet set so there is something new to use at your destination or on your return flight.

Dot stickers. Dot stickers take up minimal space and can be stuck to just about any surface. It can also be added to any patterns written on a piece of paper. Need more creative ideas? Visit Dot Sticker Activities page.

Colorful Masking Tape. This odd item made the list due to its versatility – kids can peel and stick it to most surfaces or use it to drape a blanket over the seats on the flight. In addition, you can use it to cover outlets in your hotel room, tape drawers shut, or combine it with any soft materials to tape up sharp furniture corners.

Kids‘ sticky notes. Almost every post about flying with kids mentions sticky notes. Use them to cover puzzles, screens, images in books, or snack containers. When kids are done pulling them off, they can scrunch them up into balls and make a new game out of stuffing them into cups, bottles or seat pockets.

**Masking Tape, Dot stickers, Post-Its, and Squigz suction cups as simple kids’ activities for flights**

MomTip#1: Skip the gift wrapping of in-flight activities suggested on some other popular sites. Instead, stick these activities inside items that will be useful for you on a flight such as zip-lock bags filled with tissue paper. They are just as fun to dig through and don’t make extra work for you to prepare or clean up after.

2. Long-Haul Flight with Kids: Draw-It Activities

Drawing on flights is another easy way to engage children of various ages. The following items are mess-free, won’t roll away, and are compact:

Water Wow booklets. These booklets are a great option for younger kids as they use only water for drawing and are reusable.

Flat-sided crayons and/or markers. These crayons and markers will save you the hassle of finding drawing utensils that keep rolling off the service tray.

LCD writing tablet. Consider skipping the crayons and markers for older kids altogether and use this erasable LCD pad instead. This is so compact it can be used during car rides as well.

**Water Wow booklets, LCD writing tablet, Flat sided crayons and markers for drawing activities when flying**

MomTip#2: If you are looking for ways to cut down on the mess for both activities and food, consider bringing along a silicone placemat. It will keep activities from slipping off the tray and will provide a clean non-slip surface for eating throughout the flight.

3. Long-Haul Flight with Kids: Build/Make-It Activities

If your kid is a builder or likes to make their own creations, this list of activities is for you. With the limited space on the flight, these options are ideal because they are fun, engaging, and easy to store:

Tegu blocks. This small travel version of Tegu blocks is a safe and compact way for building with magnets on a flight. Not only is it useful for your current flight but it’s a perfect starter set. You can add Tegu extension sets for future flights to keep kids engaged with the same activity for longer. Read Encourage Independent Play With These 3 Helpful Methods for more on how to use extension sets.

Lego travel set. This travel set makes storing and playing with legos on the flight and on the trip a breeze. Want to make it even more fun? Try this lego suitcase hack to learn how to add a simple lego baseplate onto the box itself.

Wikki Stix Traveler. This waxed yarn set is fun for all ages and allows kids to either make their own creations or follow a pattern with zero mess. The nice thing about this set is that you can bring out only some of it for the flight and keep the rest for an activity on the trip or to use on the flight back. Read Encourage Independent Play With These 3 Helpful Methods for more on toy staggering.

**Tegu blocks**, **Lego travel set**, and **Wikki Stix Traveler** for building/creating activities on kids’ flight

Mom Tip# 3: A great way to occupy kids on flights is to add another layer of engagement to their activities. The best way to do this is to have them listen to podcasts while they play. Read Moms Need More Downtime, 7 Kid’s Podcasts to the Rescue for my favorite Kid-approved podcasts.

So, the next time you have a long-haul flight with young kids planned try some of these easy, reusable, and compact activities to keep kids engaged and make everyone’s flight more relaxed and enjoyable.

Now that you’re prepared for long-haul flights with kids, what about driving with them? read Best Mom Hack for Driving with Kids? Pack These Items for some products and tips that will make car rides more enjoyable for the whole family.