Heading out on a trip and looking for the best travel toys for your toddlers or young children? I’ll share with you our favorite travel toys that are mess free and great for at home as well.
Whether you’re taking little kids on a road trip, a plane ride or just long car rides, you’ll want some different activities to keep them busy.
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Best Travel Toys
Many of our favorite travel toys are what we use at home as well when the kids are asking for screen time but we just want them to chill and play without the screens! It’s a great idea to get a kid-sized backpack to put these travel toys in so they have their own bag to dig in plus, young children look adorable wearing a kid-sized backpack. Lol At least that’s what I think. Within their backpack you can pack the items below, some snacks, water bottle, travel games, and anything else you think they may need.
Depending on whether you’re traveling via road trip or plane ride, what you choose to pack may vary. Be sure to check the specifications of what you can bring on the airplane online before encountering a TSA officer. I think that all of these things will be ok even if you fill them with water before the flight but I am not certain. You could always wait until you board the plane to fill them with water as well. Their kid-sized backpack would be a great carry-on bag.
Some things to keep in mind when you’re choosing travel toys is you don’t want any that make noise…if you’re in the car it’ll drive you crazy and if you’re on a plane it’ll drive everyone crazy.
Ensure that if you’ll be driving or away from your child and they are under 3 years old that you ensure they don’t have any small parts that they may put in their mouths and choke on.
Don’t want to spend more money on your trip? Add these items to their Amazon wish list to get as a birthday gift if their birthday comes before your trip!
Melissa & Doug Water WOW Books
A great Melissa & Doug product is the Water WOW books water reveal reusable pads. Our boys LOVE these. They are great travel toys because the water pen that comes with them can be stored in the package and they aren’t messy or full of a lot of pieces.
The other night they had them strewn about the room, each nicely “coloring” on their own quietly. There are very few things that they do quietly while near each other, and this is one of them.
We have one for each boy of some of the more exciting ones such as vehicles, and 8 or so other various ones. It’s wonderful that they’re reusable after they dry and the colors seem to magically appear. Just one water-filled paintbrush will work for all the different reusable pads and all of the colors. The pigment is actually on the pad, the water just makes it show up. Once the water is dry, the pigment disappears. This is great for long trips as they can color them over and over again.
This is a great way to help develop their fine motor skills as their little fingers grasp the water ‘pens’.
Not gonna lie…I’ve been known to use them as well, they’re calming and fun! You’ll also notice that as you’re coloring, some pictures show up that weren’t visible when dry. There are also activities that are opposite of each page asking the child to find hidden or visible objects so it’s more of an activity than just coloring. These are great for younger and older toddlers as well as young children. My kids are currently 6 and 8 and they still pull these out once in a while to color them.
If you are on the go, be sure that you fill-up the paintbrushes with water before you leave home. I also suggest keeping the brushes upright because I have noticed they leak if on their side. A perfect spot to rest them when not in use would be a cupholder of either a car seat or vehicle cup holders in the upright position.
Also, be sure that you empty the water from the paintbrushes if you’re not going to use them for a while. I’ve had one that we forgot about and it ended up moldy. Only that one though, as long as you empty them on a regular basis they should be just fine, as the rest of ours have been.
Here are some of our favorite Water WOW Books
Crayola Mess Free Coloring and Drawing
Another one of the best travel toys are the Crayola Mess Free Drawing sheets and markers. These markers only color on the actual paper, not on clothes or anywhere else. There are multiple colors that come with each set.
One thing to be aware of is if you get the character packs, they are mainly loose papers. I suggest using a 3 hole punch on the coloring pages and put them in a 3 ring binder with a pouch for the markers. As you can see below, we have them loose leaf but we aren’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon.
I also haven’t put them into binders because I have noticed that when my twins were 2-years-old they will go through coloring pages at record speed since they will color the whole page one color and move on. Due to this, I just give them one page at a time.
As you can see below, when my oldest was 5-years-old, he had the art desk, which is great for on the go or anywhere.
Here are some of our favorite Crayola Mess Free Drawing Packs
We also really love the Mess Free Paint Brushes!
These are really awesome because the paint brushes will only color on the special paper included. Another great option for toddler travel toys.
More Mess Free Drawing
If you’re looking for more mess free drawing check this out!
Busy Books
Busy books are a great option for when you’re on the go, especially ones that are self contained, have multiple pages, and have magnets to keep the small parts contained.
There are so many great busy books/busy boards that are great Montessori toys for young children. Busy boards like this are great for cognitive development, fine motor skills using magnetic puzzles, and more. There are many variations of this one busy board to choose from. Some of the variations include a buckle toy, clock, learning about colors, shapes, letters, and more.
Reusable Stickers
Reusable stickers are a fun travel toy as well. Keep in mind what I mentioned above about small toys that your children may choke on if you’re away from them as these are made for ages 3+ so you may want to save them for your older toddlers or young children. The reusable puffy stickers come with 2 sticker play scenes and 35 reusable stickers.
The link below will take you to different variations including Bluey, Barbie, Care Bears, Halloween, Hello Kitty, Holiday, Paw Patrol, and a 2-pack of reusable stickers. Due to the small parts, remind your child when they are using the reusable sticker books that they should only have one of the puffy stickers off the page at a time so they don’t lose any. You don’t need them screaming from the backseat while you’re driving!
Travel Tray Table
Especially if you’re going on a road trip, you may want to purchase a travel tray table for young child to keep their fun new toys on while they’re using them. There are so many great choices out there when it comes to a travel tray table so I’ll include some of our favorites below.
Tray Table Cover for Air Travel
If you’re going on a plane ride, you may want to get the airplane tray table cover with pockets! Just be sure not to leave it on the plane when you get off!
Aqua Magic Doodle Mat
This obviously wouldn’t work in the car BUT it’s awesome mess free play for at home or even once you get to your travel destination. This Aqua Doodle Mat just needs water to create colorful designs. It comes with pens to be filled with water, a paint brush to be filled with water, stencils to trace, stamps, and paper. When the water dries the picture disappears and kids can start creating all over again!
This is a great option that will take up very little space while traveling yet will provide plenty of entertainment during your family vacation if there is bad weather so you can’t be outside or you just need some time to relax while at your destination. These play mats will keep your busy toddler occupied for at least a little while.
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.