So you're about to get on an airplane...with your kids.

Since families typically travel more as the weather improves and spring emerges, we thought this week would be the perfect time to explore the topic of traveling with kids--starting with air travel.

The good news is that kids have likely been exposed to books and movies about planes (Planes anyone?) and may even own toy planes, so they are predisposed to loving the experience. The thought of flying in the clouds (like their favorite superheroes) will probably excite them...and maybe make them a little nervous. As a result, it's good to plan ahead of time for how to keep the kids best occupied and entertained on the flight. Your sanity (as well as your fellow travelers sitting nearby) will thank you!

10 Ideas for Helping Kids Enjoy Your Family's Flight

1. Surprise them with coloring pages featuring some of their favorite characters. A quick online search can provide plenty of black and white drawings of popular children's characters and your child will be excited to receive coloring activities customized to their tastes.
2. A prism or kaleidoscope can make looking out the window or around the cabin fun and colorful. They take up little space and your kid will get more play time out of them because they are in control of the different patterns!
3. Origami. This one's a bit of a time investment on your part, but the benefit is a gift that keeps on giving! There are plenty of online videos to show you how to make cranes, frogs, and caterpillars from paper. When in a jam, if you master a few whimsical origami figures, you'll be able to make small, free toys for your kids to play with whenever they want. And if they're old enough, you'll have something to teach them on the plane!
4. Paper doll are easy to find and print online. Bring these along with some printed outfits to color and cut out. Your children can also make additional clothes out of extra paper too.
5. With string, paper clips, beads, and uncooked macaroni noodles, the kids can make their own funky necklaces as they travel. Another option is to use just string and cereal for a fun necklace they can eat afterwards.
6. Pack a new picture book as a surprise for the trip! They don't take up much room to pack, and have the benefit of being something you can either read to your child or they can look at quietly by themselves. Do you have a Kindle, Nook, or iPad? You can also download plenty of kids books for them to swipe through as they travel. Bonus? Many of these digital reading apps and gadgets offer a read-aloud feature for children who don't yet read.
7. Loan them a disposable camera or cell phone to take pictures periodically during your trip to chronicle the journey for a scrap book afterwards. By letting them decide what they want to photograph, they'll feel more ownership of the experience and you'll have an activity that they can continue even after the plane lands!
8. Go fishing with homemade stick-and-string fishing pole and post-its as fish. Write fun, secret messages they can read after they catch one!
9. Learn to use chop sticks by picking up cotton balls or small toys you've brought. It will help develop fine motor skills and can make for a fun competition if to see who can pick up the most things or hold them for the longest.
10. Make a children's book together. Just bring along some pre-stapled paper, and write down what your child dictates. They can provide the illustrations on the opposite page. An instant family classic!

Hopefully these fun and easy activities will make the time on a plane fly (Sorry, we almost made it through the whole article without a plane pun.). Not traveling by plane though? Stay tuned for our upcoming article "10 Road Trip Games You Can Play in the Car" for ways to keep them occupied on four wheels!

Photo Credit: Brian Dimarucot

Originally Published 3/30/2016