Best Airplane Travel Toys & Puzzles for 1 and 2 Year Olds

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You’ve been waiting all year long to take a vacation to a tropical island with your family.

When it comes time to leave for the airport, you hit traffic and get there just minutes before the doors close. Finally, all of you are buckled in and ready to sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.

And then your toddler starts fussing.

Luckily, you’ve planned for this very moment. You’ve already researched airplane games for kids and you know the best ways to occupy your little one during a long flight. (In your mind, you’re congratulating yourself on anticipating this exact instant and thinking ahead of a solution.)

Like a pro, you reach down to your "diaper bag of tricks." Within minutes, your kiddo is quiet and thoroughly entertained. Now other moms want to know, what is the secret?

In this post I'll cover ways to keep your toddlers and preschoolers happy and occupied on your plane ride.

Choosing the Best Travel Games for Toddlers

There are several different types of travel games for kids, but in general they are compact in size and they don’t include too many loose parts (that could get lost in the seats or roll into the aisles). The best toys for airplane travel for toddlers are simple to play and can be reused flight after flight.

When shopping for toys to take on the airplane, we think you’ll have the best luck with ones that are:

• Portable
• Durable
• Inexpensive
• Reusable
• Self-explanatory
• Self-contained

With all of the travel games for kids available today online and in stores, you’re bound to find a bunch of toys that fit the bill and are well-suited to your child.

In fact, your biggest problem might be narrowing down the choices!

COLOR TREE Kid's Ride On Roll SuitcaseTrunki Kids Ride-On Suitcase and Carry-On Luggage - Pedro Pirate

If you’re searching for travel games for toddlers or preschoolers, consider turning the chore of packing into a sport by using a cute ride-on suitcase.

Giving your toddler a bag of her own--whether it’s a suitcase with wheels or a tiny backpack--adds novelty and excitement to the journey (not to mention it boosts her confidence because she’s being trusted to care for her own belongings).

In addition, when shopping for travel toys for toddlers on airplanes, keep an eye out for items that come with their own carry case, like "The Bag," pictured below.

We all know how easy it is to lose small objects while traveling, so having a designated catch-all is one way to ensure toys stay together.

"The Bag" by Fun On The Fly - Travel Toy Activity Bag

"The Bag" by Fun on the Fly is designed just for travel and contains 15 items, each packed in its own nylon drawstring backpack. Items include a coloring book and pack of crayons, sticker books, magnetic drawing board, card game, pullback race car, and more.

Amazon reviewer KiddieFondue said The Bag was a plane ride life-saver:

Absolutely adorable and full of fun things to keep my child busy on our trip! She loved pulling each new item out of the bag and literally played with each one.

The kids on the plan next to us were SO fussy and complained almost the whole flight, until we switched seats and they all played with the little fun stuff! There was so much that they could each play with several things, although there was a little fighting over some items, I gently reminded them it belonged to us.

I would never have had the time to go find each of these little item that are the perfect age, safe for my kid and put them all in this cute travel bag for her. Very convenient and fun! Thank you, it was a life-saver!!

Magnetic Toys for Toddlers

Magnetic travel toys are ideal for keeping toddlers busy on a plane. The beauty of these toys is that it’s actually difficult to lose the parts and pieces because most of them (if not all) are magnetically attached to a surface.

Can I Bring Magnetic Toys on a Plane?

The last thing you'd ever want is to purchase a brand-new, awesome toy to keep your toddler or preschooler happy during a 6-hour trip and then confiscate it before you even board the plane.

According to TSA, magnets are allowed on both carry-on and checked bags.

If you're thinking to yourself, "Wait, I heard somewhere that magnets were dangerous on airplanes," then check out what Jock McTavish, retired avionics tech. and private pilot, says on Quora:

You needn’t worry about ordinary toys and gadgets. Magnets are a section in the “Dangerous Goods International Manuals” that airlines comply with. But as long as the strength of the magnet is low enough not to interfere with the aircraft compass systems they are OK. Ordinary magnets only have a navigationally disruptive field of a few meters. And aircraft compass systems are in the cockpit with sensors at the wing tips or fin, away from the passenger compartment.

Magnetic Toy Cars for Toddlers

Magnetic Fun - Cars Planes and Trains

In my experience, little boys can never get enough of cars, planes, and trains. This toy contains 55 magnets in a thin and compact carry case.

One Amazon reviewer said this toy was "great on a plane":

This kept my 3 year old completely occupied for a 2.5 hour period on a flight, and an hour on the way back. I left it completely intact and he had fun taking all the magnets out of the sheet, lining them up, separating the planes, trains, people, and other groups.

There are a lot of little pieces, but it was 100% worth the peace and quiet on those flights!

Magnetic Maze Puzzles

HABA Number & Animal Magnetic Maze Game

This number maze toy has a magnetic pen that lets children match colorful balls with the corresponding animals and numbers.

Since the entire maze is self-contained behind thick clear plastic, there are not pieces to keep track of or worry about getting lost. Not only does that make it great for travel, but it also means that there are no potential choking hazards.

Many reviewers liked this toy because it was:

• Quiet
• Durable
• Educational
  (working fine motor skills, colors, counting, logic, and planning)

For Amazon reviewer Carol, this toy was a hit not only with the toddler, but also with the older kids and the parents:

We got this toy for our 2 yr. old, expecting that she would mostly have fun moving the beads around. She really loves this toy and plays with it frequently.

We have also noticed that our 3, 5, and 7 yr. old children also enjoy playing with it. Obviously the older ones understand the objective of the maze better than the younger ones. Even the adults in the family play with it a bit, it can be oddly relaxing. Clearly this toy has appeal for a wide age range.

HABA Town Maze Magnetic Game

HABA Town Maze Magnetic Game with Fun City Theme

This town maze magnetic game is also made by HABA and has a similar concept -- but this time, instead of using animals and numbers, it uses cars, garages, and roundabouts.

While this toy currently has a 4.4 out of 5.0 rating on Amazon, and 74% percent of the ratings are 5-star, Amazon reviewer I used 2B Cool explains in detail why this toy isn't perfect:

Pros:
-Super cute graphics. Bright and cheerful.
-Very strong magnets. They balls are actually plastic on the outside, which sounds bad except we've used some mazes in the past where all of the paint was flecking off and the whole board was full of loose chips. So that won't be happening to this one, and they are still very magnetic even with the plastic shell.

Cons:
-A whole lot smaller than it looks online. I didn't think to look at the dimensions because the picture shows a toddler playing with it, and it takes up their whole lap. In truth it is about size of my kindle ...

Click here to read the rest of I Used 2B Cool's review.