How to entertain a toddler on holiday

At several points on our holiday, I sat and read my book. I know. Fanfares all round! Admittedly Minnie was asleep on several occasions but I think this is the first time on our travels (and in our everyday life) that she has really started entertaining herself.

contains affiliate links*

And it’s partly thanks to a few new additions to my essential toddler packing list – but here’s why we’ve particularly loved the following additions to our toddler packing list, tested out on this latest trip to Lanzarote.

Firstly, a new app – Monkey Preschool Lunchbox (on iTunes and for Android) which Minnie adores. Matching pairs, spotting colours, counting and spelling (although that’s a bit beyond her), it’s educational too and evidently winning fruit for monkey’s lunchbox is hugely entertaining.

I’ve also discovered jigsaw books after finding a Meg & Mog jigsaw puzzle book gathering dust on my bookshelf. I’ve got no recollection of buying it or being given it but it’s perfect for a two and a bit-year-old.

As well as telling an easy story, the puzzle pieces are big enough that she quickly got the hang of putting them together, it has owls, cats and witches to entertain her, and unlike most jigsaws, it’s as easy to pack as any other hardback or board book.

Another favourite for Thomas the Tank Engine fans (old and young) is Search Sodor – Minnie’s probably more attached to other TV shows than ‘trains’ as she calls Thomas And Friends, but she loves this book, spotting the different engines and other bits of scenery, as well as activities which should entertain her as she gets older too.

The Water Magic pads are also a huge hit – I picked up the Animals version for this trip, although you can also find Unicorns, Pets, Vehicles and Safari (among others).

Easy to colour in for toddlers who can’t yet create on the Aqua Draw, the water pens also mean there’s limited potential to draw all over a hotel room/plane/me.

And while I’m still relying on our stock of trusty Usborne sticker books, this Baby Animals activity book has games and puzzles as well as stickers. Even better for an older toddler, or to do some of the creative options together, there’s a lot to amuse.

Not to mention one more suitcase essential to entertain a toddler – sticky tape.

Yes that’s right… my latest discovery that the essentials I need to pack for a holiday with a toddler include sticky tape.

Not ordinary sellotape (although I can imagine it might come in handy too) but patterned or washi tape. I spotted a suggestion in Gurgle magazine about using it to mark out sections on the floor as roads for toy cars.

Which is perfect for travel with a toddler. I found some checked tape in Tiger for 50p, and managed to create a couple of winding circuits on the tiled villa floor for driving along, or as paths for various animals to explore.

Best of all it weighs nearly nothing and if you have some left over, another friend suggested using it on the plane – sticking and unsticking to the tray table.

Then just tear it off (more toddler fun), scrunch it up (ditto) and your creations are limited only by imagination and how much tape you packed…

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but  I may receive a small commission. All products are ones I genuinely recommend and have taken on our travels. For more ideas check out my toddler travel toys checklist and the Shop the Blog page.

 

Main image courtesy of Depositphotos,other images courtesy of the retrailer/road tape image copyright MummyTravels

LIKED THIS? GET MORE ON FACEBOOK