fun plane surprises for my nephew!
July 30, 2016 12:37 PM Subscribe
What are some fun items I can surprise my 5.5 year old nephew with on a 6 hour plane ride?
I am flying with my nephew and sister, and I want to surprise him with some fun items for the plane. He's 5 and a half. He likes: Magic Treehouse books, Wildkrats, Legos, Play-Doh, art, the SF Giants, animals. Any suggestions for a few fun things he can do/we can do together on the plane ride?
Bonus question: What about iPad apps?
I am flying with my nephew and sister, and I want to surprise him with some fun items for the plane. He's 5 and a half. He likes: Magic Treehouse books, Wildkrats, Legos, Play-Doh, art, the SF Giants, animals. Any suggestions for a few fun things he can do/we can do together on the plane ride?
Bonus question: What about iPad apps?
Micropanda (5.5) currently loves "doodle books", which are coloring books with part of a drawing and a simple prompt for finishing the picture. He has an angry birds one and a Star Wars one. (Think "draw lightning coming out of Emperor Palpatine's hands." "What is this angry bird about to knock down?"). On the plane, you could even pass the book back and forth if you wanted. He actually got the angry birds book as an airplane present :)
Also check your local dollar store (and dollar section at Target) for stickers and little books - another airplane present was a National Geographic Kids solar system book from the dollar store, and another was a package of sparkly Finding Dory stickers.
We are a big Lego household but we tend not to take them on planes because it's too hard not to drop/lose pieces.
For apps, we had a good time together with Scratch Jr - but that is definitely a together activity. Independently he likes Angry Birds and Star Wars Angry Birds.
posted by telepanda at 12:51 PM on July 30, 2016
Also check your local dollar store (and dollar section at Target) for stickers and little books - another airplane present was a National Geographic Kids solar system book from the dollar store, and another was a package of sparkly Finding Dory stickers.
We are a big Lego household but we tend not to take them on planes because it's too hard not to drop/lose pieces.
For apps, we had a good time together with Scratch Jr - but that is definitely a together activity. Independently he likes Angry Birds and Star Wars Angry Birds.
posted by telepanda at 12:51 PM on July 30, 2016
Water Wow colouring books are great. They come with a little hollow paintbrush that you put like a tablespoon of water in (do it mid-flight- you can fill it from your water bottle-- or don't bother with the brush, and use a Q-tip dipped into a tiny puddle of water on the table beside you). The kid "paints" the water onto the cardboard pages and they change colours- but the "paint" isn't paint at all, so it doesn't run or transfer, and when it dries it goes back to all white and can be reused. I dunno how they made these but they're great- completely mess free.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:51 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:51 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here is a fun game that my husband plays with my similarly-aged son: he draws something on a piece of paper. (Most recently, he drew a ball going into a basket.) Then it's the child's turn to draw something to block the action (like a brick wall to stop the ball.) Back and forth: a laser to blow up the wall! Lightning to destroy the laser! Etc.
On a different note, if you have Amazon Prime, they have a lot of good free children's TV which can be downloaded ahead of time into the iPad.
posted by wyzewoman at 1:03 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
On a different note, if you have Amazon Prime, they have a lot of good free children's TV which can be downloaded ahead of time into the iPad.
posted by wyzewoman at 1:03 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Can he have food? Weird candies would be fun. Super sour candies, a lollipop with a bug in it, chocolate covered crickets. Or Pop Rocks if he's never had them. Those were all big hits with my 4 year old niece. :-)
posted by ilovewinter at 1:11 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ilovewinter at 1:11 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Little wind-up toys are fun to play with on the little seat back tables. Get the kind that flip or jump for extra fun, or get two and he can race them. He might be slightly aging out of this, but my 5-yr-old still prefers it over many things I've tried on airplanes.
posted by areaperson at 3:35 PM on July 30, 2016
posted by areaperson at 3:35 PM on July 30, 2016
We gift wrapped zillions of tiny tubs of play dough, pipe cleaners and wee Lego sets, sweets, small boxes of sultanas, cars, tiny books, little pencils, plastic spiders and jewellery, and stickers and doled them out as life became unbearable. The "gift wrapping" part made our long flights and stopovers even more exciting.
You can also magic away a few small cherished home toys and wrap them too. But screens are the best. I'd buy some movies And don't forget headphones.
But gift wrapping is magic.
posted by taff at 4:30 PM on July 30, 2016
You can also magic away a few small cherished home toys and wrap them too. But screens are the best. I'd buy some movies And don't forget headphones.
But gift wrapping is magic.
posted by taff at 4:30 PM on July 30, 2016
My 5.5 year old loves these apps: Minecraft, Toca Builders (sort of an easier version of Minecraft that requires less adult input), Endless Reader.
Kid magazines: Ranger Rick Jr., National Geographic Kids (ideal for Wild Kratts loving kids)
Agree with the "prompted drawing" kinds of coloring books.
Uno was a huge hit with the 5 year old contingent on a recent group camping trip.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 4:31 PM on July 30, 2016
Kid magazines: Ranger Rick Jr., National Geographic Kids (ideal for Wild Kratts loving kids)
Agree with the "prompted drawing" kinds of coloring books.
Uno was a huge hit with the 5 year old contingent on a recent group camping trip.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 4:31 PM on July 30, 2016
+1 to Water Wow coloring books. They are the ultimate flight activity for kids... well, second to iPads.
posted by town of cats at 8:27 PM on July 30, 2016
posted by town of cats at 8:27 PM on July 30, 2016
Some awesome snacks would go a long way with my kids: those individually wrapped cheeses, apple sauce in those squeezy pouches, new/different/special crackers, animal cookies.
We recently got the game Rush Hour Jr. and if your nephew is the type of kid who likes logic puzzles, it could be fun. It looks like a lot of small pieces, but is all comes in a carry-bag and you only put a few pieces onto the board at one time.
posted by rozee at 9:38 PM on July 30, 2016
We recently got the game Rush Hour Jr. and if your nephew is the type of kid who likes logic puzzles, it could be fun. It looks like a lot of small pieces, but is all comes in a carry-bag and you only put a few pieces onto the board at one time.
posted by rozee at 9:38 PM on July 30, 2016
I just caught a 4hr plane with my 3.5yo and found the best time consumers was a small Lego set to build in the air (gift wrapped of course!), lift/flap book about airports and iPad interactive book/games, also short episodes of his favourite shows on the iPad though I'm sure the latest movie or two would be just as good! I googled best apps for "age" and just downloaded about 20. Some airlines also have iPad entertainment apps which youdownload pre-flight then get on the aircraft wifi prior to takeoff, worth a look in!
posted by Under the Sea at 3:56 AM on August 1, 2016
posted by Under the Sea at 3:56 AM on August 1, 2016
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:39 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]