18 Screen-Free Airplane Activities for Kids

Mess-free Melissa & Doug Water Wow reusable coloring books use only water to create bright, colorful pictures. Just fill the magic pen with water, and your child will be off and coloring! Once it dries, the colors disappear and the page is ready to be colored again.

Jennie Utsinger said:  These are our go-to travel toys. The only problem is that my boys whip through them in a few minutes! We always need to have a bunch.

IKEA's adorable finger puppets are sized to fit adult or child fingers, so you and your child can pretend together.

These preschooler-friendly Melissa & Doug puffy sticker activity books come in a variety of cute themes, and the durable reusable stickers will last for a while.

Kristy Pepping said:  I have a toddler and two school-aged kids and they will all play with these sticker books. These sticker books are reusable, come in several themes and are easy enough to peel off for toddlers.

Peeling and sticking gel window clings on the window and tray table is a fun and quiet airplane activity for kids, and a good way to pass time in a confined space.

christadiserio said:  I saw a kid using this when traveling a few weeks ago and thought it was genius! He was so entertained, too.

A Boogie Board is a reusable, paperless writing tablet that uses a pressure-sensitive LCD with a stylus. With the press of a button, the entire screen instantly clears, so kids can use it again and again for doodling, writing and playing games.

Shila said:  My kids (4 & 6) really love to doodle, so they each received Boogie Boards on our last road trip. It's very lightweight & thin. Also good for playing Hangman or Tic-Tac-Toe games.

Tip: The stylus pen is appropriately sleek. Tie a colorful ribbon around the pen, so if it drops on the car floor, you can find it easier!

The triangular shape of these super-sturdy crayons from Melissa & Doug promotes a proper writing grasp, and they're also not going to roll away. This makes them especially nice to take along for a restaurant or airplane activity for kids!

Kristy Pepping said:  Do you ever notice how items are always rolling down the aisle on an airplane? I don't know how many times I have been tapped on the shoulder to have one of my child's missing items returned to me. These triangle crayons won't roll and are perfect for coloring on a tray table. Plus, they come in a nice carrying case. (They are great for restaurants too - no crawling under tables or booths every two seconds!)

The Sassy Wonder Wheel is a suction-cup toy with spinning, colorful beads and different textures. This is a good baby plane activity because it suctions securely to tray tables, preventing it from falling on the floor, and its captivating features can keep a baby occupied for extended periods during flights.

Kristy Pepping said:  Babies can be hard to travel with on a plane. They can get fussy and lose interest easily. Plus, as a parent, you often feel guilty for passengers around you if your baby is crying. When we had infants, we found bringing a toy that suctions onto the tray table in front of you helps to distract a crying baby.

A set of colorful pipe cleaners can be used to make all sorts of different flowers, animals, and creative crafts. They're inexpensive and easy to take along for mess-free play when traveling.

Laila Talley said:  Pipe cleaners are the best STEM toy for the plane. Encourage your child to make a crown, a funny pair of glasses, a headband with ears, or a hat. The possibilities are endless.

Imagine Ink Coloring Books are mess-free activity books that use a special clear marker to reveal a rainbow of colors and hidden images on the pages, without staining other surfaces. They often feature popular characters and include various games and puzzles, making them ideal for travel and clean fun for kids.

Kristy Pepping said:  These little books come with one marker each that won't mark on anything around it. It is clear, but when you put it on the special paper, it adds color. These books come in several themes to appeal to different interests!

If your kids enjoy the hidden picture challenges in the Highlights magazines for kids, this activity book is filled with over 175 of the fun puzzles to keep them busy.

Alexandra F. said:  We got a smaller version of one of these Highlights books from Dollar Tree and it’s my personal favorite book to color with my preschooler. We both enjoy hunting for, and then coloring, the pictures - which are complex enough to be fun to color (and search), but not so much that a preschooler can’t do it.

This creative hands-on book is a great quiet time activity for young kids. It is filled with interactive components (zippers, buttons, buckles, etc) for fine motor and sensory play. The entire book zips closed to safely contain all of the pieces, making it a perfect toy for car or plane rides!

Squigz are silicone building toys that use suction cups to stick to each other, to the windows, to a table, to your forehead...you get the idea. They make excellent mold-free bath toys because they don't take on water, and also work great for entertaining kids on airplanes or road trips.

A Koosh Ball is a soft ball made of numerous rubber strands that's at least as much fun to squish and manipulate as it is to toss. If you're sure that your kids won't send it flying, it can be a good plane activity because it's quiet and unlikely to roll far or disturb other passengers.

Laila Talley said:  Play a game of catch with a soft and mostly silent koosh ball. We love using this to toss around gently, as we are careful not to hit another passenger. If you buy more than one, it can act as a funny wig in creative play.

This popular sensory toy is filled with a soft material that is satisfying to squeeze, stretch and squish.

These wax covered sticks are non-toxic, soft and pliable, and can be twisted to make shapes, 3-D sculptures and much more.