30+ Toddler Travel Toys & Activities

30+ Toddler Travel Toys & Activities
Recently hubby and I took our, then 18 month old son, on a 4 1/2 hour flight to Mexico for a family wedding. Yowzers! PLUS we decided to not purchase him his own seat so we could save where we could. Looking back, we might just fork over the $$ next time.

Luckily on the way to Mexico there was one extra seat, and it happened to be right in front of us! The passengers were willing to rearrange so that Christian could have his own seat. That flight he did very well. He didn't have any melt downs, but did want to play with almost all the toys we packed for the flight. Talk about being tired because of constantly needing to be on and entertaining a toddler for hours on end!

The flight back home we were not so lucky. The flight was packed so C had to be a lap baby. Luckily we were flying back with many family members and he was able to walk the aisle to visit with everyone.

This is a list of most of the toys and activities that we packed for our trip that helped save us!

VARIETY IS KEY (along with easy accessibility, and gadgets with many functions)

1. stickers

2. window gel clings (great for windows or the pull down trays)

3. cheerio necklace (prestrung on embroidery floss thread, so it's ok to suck on)

4. Melissa & Dog Water Wow Coloring book (only uses water! and it dries for reuse)
5. Aquadoodle Travel (drawing/painting again with just water)
6. Clothes pins and a paper tube (clip the clips, send them down the tube, use the tube to talk into or see out of etc.)

7. Quiet book (with buckles, touch and feel pages, zippers etc. )

8. hand or finger puppets
9. books (Indestructibles, and lift the flap books are great)
10. old makeup brush
11. travel brush (one that folds, has a mirror, and the brush bristles push out. so many options in one gadget!)

12. snacks and water (for ascending and descending. plus a handy sippi grip that awesomely has a velcro strap! another added toy with a purpose!)

13. bubble wrap
14. iPod, iPad (we used these as a last resort)
15. kid headphones (to use with above. we liked Kidz Gear since it limits volume and has other good functions)
16. pipe cleaners and water bottle
17. straws
18. mini slinky
19. mini calculator
20. koosh ball 
21. triangular crayons (no rolling!)
22. kaleidoscope
23. Reusable sticker book (like Melissa & Doug's) 
24. sentimental stuffed animal
25. photo book (with family photos slid inside)
26. ziploc bag with duplo legos
27. toddler backpack (they will love going in and out of pockets, zipping the zipper, pulling things out etc. we added a chest buckle to ours and C loved it.)
28. travel magna doodle
29. bubbles!
30. small flashlight
31. the old fashioned jelly bracelets 
32. tissue paper
33. flowy scarf (peekaboo, stuffing into water bottle, tying onto things etc.)

The possibilities are almost endless!

Avoid:
-items that roll
-games or activities with small or many pieces
-valuable toys 
-glow sticks (especially for toddlers. if chewed, they can break!)

Between the toddler back pack and our diaper bag, we were able to easily bring many toys and activities for the flights.

*Don't forget, the Dollar Store is your friend!!!*

Coming soon: our toddler packing list and toddler iPad apps!

¡Viva México!

I'm excited to share some photos from our recent vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! We had an adventure and traveled to Mexico for my cousin's wedding. We stayed in a nice little boutique style hotel, that is basically rented out for the entire wedding group of family and friends. I've never heard of that or experienced it, but it was so awesome. Since we had Christian with us, it allowed for us to relax and not worry about having him out and about in the hotel since everyone knew each other! Plus if you put your stuff down and needed to go back to your room, you knew your camera and pool gear would be there when you got back.

We had an amazing view too which was breath taking! It was a corner room with a wrap around patio balcony. Being on the third floor had it's perks, and the view was the best one! :o) Our room was a suite style room, which had a common/lounge room with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms attached. My family and immediate family all stayed in one suite. 

Every day there was an open bar all day long. We are not heavy drinkers (not since college at least), but we loved having the option to get a drink whenever the moment struck us! I had a piña colada every day! Yum! Plus some others...

This was Christian's first trip on an airplane as well. He did great traveling on the way there, since thankfully there was an open seat right in front of us (and the other two passengers were willing to switch)!! On the way back was a little trickier since we had to try and entertain him on one of our laps. Boo. He got a C+ for that flight since he wasn't horrible but not great. We loved that we brought our Boba G3 with us, it helped a lot!

Sooner than later I will also be posting about our traveling arrangements and ideas for toddlers! I'm excited to share what worked for us and items that come in handy.

My little man ready for the wedding! Bow ties are cool.

We had an amazing trip! I wish we would have had more time to experience more of the culture and explore, but traveling with a toddler is difficult and time consuming enough. The massage (my first ever!), drinks, food, family, sand, waves and pool time were a lot of fun.  

Sigh. 

I already miss it!

A Review: The Okkatots Travel Diaper Bag Backpack

Okkatots Travel Baby Depot Diaper Bag Backpack: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5
This is my personal review of the Okkatots Travel Diaper Backpack

(via Okkatots)

I love having a backpack as a diaper bag. Period. It's so much easier to have both hands free, especially when baby turns to a toddler! The first backpack diaper bag we had was a Fisher Price diaper backpack (see pictures at the bottom). It held up great, for the first year that is. After that the seams started coming undone, majorly undone, in the area where the backpack straps meet the bag, a pretty crucial area if you ask me, and around the outsides of the side pockets. The bag even cost a good deal of money! About $50 (and now it looks to be about $20 more)! Luckily it was a shower gift, but I didn't count on having to purchase ANOTHER baby item, and I hated knowing that friends and family spent their good money on an unreliable product.  

Sigh. What to do now? To up the ante, we also had a vacation coming up that involves Christian's first flight, so I needed something reliable, and fast. I didn't want to be in the mist of trying a new bag out while traveling.

Enter the Okkatots backpack diaper bag! I took the plunge and purchased this travel diaper bag. Yes, it was expensive ($109 on a small sale) but like I said, I needed something that would last and was reliable. I also read other reviews by traveling moms about how great this bag was, so I was pretty sure this was the bag for us.

I began researching traveling with baby's/toddlers and read up more on this bag, and came upon Okkatots detailed page for the diaper bag. All the pictures and descriptions had me sold! I loved seeing the detailed pictures and descriptions. They had so much info!

Pros:
-LOTS of pockets for organizing everything
-pockets are roomy and deep (including an insulated side pocket as well as a pocket that has little sewn in compartments for silverware!)
-side pockets can zip open traditionally or open like a standing book (shown here)
-comfy shoulder straps that adjust
-clip and pocket on the shoulders straps to hold a phone, ipod, keys, toys etc.
-nice handles on top to carry the bag or hang it (can also clip around and onto a stroller, hook etc.)
-can fold open like a standing book, or the front zips down on both sides and folds down like a flap.
-comes with a waterproof pouch (dirty clothes, cups etc.), pacifier pouch, wipes pouch and changing mat
-good size changing mat that has nice cushion  to it
-clip inside to hold keys
-DVD pocket and holder, great for travel and roadtrips
-good size for an airplane carry on (can't wait to test this out!)

Cons:
-Price... $109 is steep, especially for a stay at home mama and her family! It's a good investment though, just like a good baby carrier.
-kinda bulky but doesn't really bother me
-since we cloth diaper, I haven't found a use yet for the flat "diaper dispenser" pocket. (I just keep my cloth diapers in the main compartment)

NOTE: Update to come once I can speak to how well this bag does while traveling!

Fisher Price                           Okkatots

  Fisher Price                           Okkatots

You can definitely notice that the Okkatots bag is larger than the Fisher Price. I love that this bag can hold everything I need it to and more. We never have a problem with no space. I also like the shape of this Okkatots bag A LOT more than the Fisher Price bag. The shape keeps it nice and sturdy and the bag holds its shape and doesn't bow off of your back like the Fisher Price bag.

Take a tour of my Okkatots bag below!

 

I would definitely recommend this bag to anyone who's looking for a diaper bag backpack! It's easy, quick and great for if you're wearing your baby when they're little, or chasing around a toddler.

Check out my review of the Boba G3 Baby to Toddler Carrier!

 

Albert Lea, MN Hot Spot: Antiques

Another all time favorite place of mine to visit while in Albert Lea, is the local antique store. I love all things vintage, and I always find the neatest pieces here! I can just look for hours, and the prices are great. There should be shops like this closer to home!

There's always a lot to see, especially with this store having multiple sellers.

I wish I could buy most of their clothes! Even if I couldn't wear it, someone I know could OR the fabric would be great to use and turn into some sort of pretty project.

 I LOVE this old radio, and only $10!

What a grand old suitcase with a lot of character!!

 Swoon...broaches and pins.

My favorite find was this little Alaskan sled dog lamp! I did not end up purchasing it, but it was sooo adorable and unique! Now I'm having some reverse buyers remorse! If it's there the next time I visit, I'll take it as a sign that it should be mine ;o)