We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A car seat travel bag to help keep that precious perch protected on your travels. And! It has padded back straps to make your time at the airport a little easier.
It's universally sized to fit standard infant, convertible, and booster car seats.
Promising review: "This thing was a lifesaver. Only one flight so far but still looks brand new. Would definitely recommend this bag. *Update* After five more flights, the bag still looks good as new, no rips or tears and the car seat is still spotless. I couldn’t have navigated the airports I did without this bag. Highly recommend it!" —Alaskan Mommy
Get it from Amazon for $17.99.
2. A pack of toilet seat covers can create a (colorful) barrier between your toddler's curious hands and airplane toilet seats. MOST of the time airlines have seat covers, but sometimes they run out!
Promising review: "If you're a germaphobe like myself, this is a must-have in your diaper bag. The thought of placing my son or daughter on a public toilet with only a seat liner is disturbing especially since they're both little and still hold onto the toilet seat for support when peeing/pooping. These cover the toilet completely and even cover the lower part of the toilet where dangling legs and pants/skirts touch. My only complaint about these is that they are not flushable. It's difficult trying to gather the liner up (they are rather large) without touching the toilet or the possibly wet liner (because it partially fell in the water) and then scrunching it up to fit into a sanitary napkin bin. Other than that, these are great. Also, I don't use the adhesive strips at all since I have two little ones that usually need to go right away so we don't have the time to remove the adhesive backing. I usually just place the liner on the toilet and then carefully plop my kid on top and all's well." —Ting
Get a pack of 24 covers from Amazon for $9.99.
3. A Montessori busy board with all kinds of interactive elements like zippers, buttons, laces, and buckles can keep little hands occupied. Plus it has handles so you can easily fold it up and take it on the go.
Promising review: "Absolutely love this busy board! We bought this to keep our 1-year-old distracted on a 3.5-hour airplane ride. She absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop playing with it. We tied it to the seat tray so it didn’t slide all over. It is easy to carry, fits into a backpack no issue, and I love that it is all one piece —no tiny pieces to misplace!" —LEG 585
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
4. An LCD writing tablet to help occupy kids' time in a car or plane as they practice their numbers and letters.
Promising review: "We bought this pad to take on a long car trip with our 4-year- old granddaughter. She is usually traveling with her nose stuck to an iPad, I was looking for something to get her out of watching iPad all trip. This did the trick! She drew all kinds of things, practiced her numbers and letters, and played games with me. It was great to have something that didn’t need to be charged." —Trudie Paschetag
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
5. An inflatable airplane bed that'll give your kids a place to nap BUT also helps prevent lost snacks and toys lost to the airplane floor forever.
The bed — which comes from the woman-run small biz Flyaway Designs — comes in a portable bag and a pump is included. It takes only 90 seconds to inflate and even less to deflate! And — an important note from the manufacturer — "It meets the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) strict guidelines for inflight comfort devices."
Promising review: "This bed proved to be everything stated in the description. We flew premium economy on a 17-hour flight from SFO to SIN and this product provided a sturdy, flat bed for our toddler across the entire pitch from our seat to the next. It was his first flight ever and he slept comfortably about 10 hours or so (on the return trip as well). The product is also super easy / quick to inflate and deflate. Would highly recommend it." —Sunil N.
Get it from Flyaway Designs for $159.
6. A collapsible water bottle because the price of water bottles at the airport should be illegal and the cost of this will make up for itself after a few trips. (Psst, it's BPA-free and shatterproof.) And according to the below reviewer, their two toddlers were able to drink out of it unassisted.
Promising review: "I bought this collapsible water bottle to use on our vacation in Iceland. IT IS FANTASTIC. I plan to use it very often now. It’s convenient, seals very well, and I love that it can be rolled up to save space. I have two toddlers and they can both drink from this bottle unassisted. I’m looking forward to using this bottle everywhere we go. I highly recommend it for everyone, and wish they made a smaller version for my toddlers!!" —Lisa L. Jordan
Get it from Amazon for $34.95 (available in eight colors).
7. Waterproof Uno cards can withstand some tense games at the beach, pool, lake, boat, airplane tray table spills, wherever! After all, is it a family vacation if you don't end up playing some card games. I say absolutely not.
Promising review: "These are great to use at the pool, lakeside, or the beach. They can get wet!!!!! My kids love these! I actually want to buy a set for the house because the cards don't bend easily and they stay in mint condition. Would purchase again and again!" —LuluLoves
Get them from Amazon for $10.99.
8. A leather passport case complete with a protective side sleeve for your vaccine card so you can have a hold onto everything important while herding your whole party to the security checkpoint, then onto the plane, and then off the plane. PHEW.
Henney's Boutique is a California-based Etsy shop that specializes in passport holders.
Promising review: "Glad I got these for myself and my family." —Donna chiz
Get it from Henney's Boutique on Etsy for $8+ (available in a range of colors).
9. An airplane seat back organizer because those seat back pockets are NEVER as big as you need them to be. With this you can actually store your kids' snacks, water bottle, and so much more without having to get up and get stuff out of the overhead throughout your flight.
10. Plus a drink holder if you're a window seat person (what a view!) and never have all the room you need during beverage service on that tiny tray table. You can also put your phone, glasses, headphones, and other essentials there too.
Heads up — you can only use this if you're sitting in a seat that has access to a full window!
Promising review: "I used this for the first time on a 737. It was fabulous! It didn't intrude into my sitting space nearly as much as I expected. Because the actual window is recessed from the side wall, this only sticks out from the side wall about an inch. If you're considering this, you likely fly enough to know that seats aren't always aligned with the windows. If your window happens to be right beside your seat or the seat in front of you, this won't be of much use. But because it doesn't jut out as much as I thought, you can use it in more situations than I expected. And when you can use it, it's great! I love not having to have my entire tray table down just to hold a 3-inch cup. My only suggestion would be to add a place to hold trash until the flight attendant picks it up. This is very small, very lightweight, and very useful. I'll be taking it on every flight from here on." —JBC
Get it from Amazon for $17.99.
11. An Airfly wireless transmitter that'll let you connect your Airpods or any wireless headphones to your airplane seat...even without Bluetooth!
It also comes with a USB-C charging cable, travel pouch, keychain holder, quick-start guide, and a manual.
Twelve South is a small business that has been creating innovative tech accessories since 2009.
Promising review: "I was a little reluctant purchasing Airfly after reading the reviews, but I’m so glad I did! It worked perfectly on the plane, and while on my trip, I also used it to listen to music in the car. It acted like a speaker because I had no aux cable. It was great!" —Yamile cardozo
Get it from Amazon for $54.99.
12. A hands-free (rotating!) phone mount here to go on your tray table or the arm of a chair in the boarding area at the airport. This little tech accessory wil have major payoff for kids on a long (or even short!) flight.
Promising review: "Essential for traveling with young kids! This thing is clutch. Just traveled with my almost 3-year-old. We used the item for my iPhone so she could watch shows and movies on the flight. Very sturdy, holds its position well. Versatile positions. Highly recommend." —ellierae
Get it from Amazon for $12.97.
13. A pack of spillproof Munchkin snack catchers will keep the Cheerios where they should be, either in the container or into your kid's mouth...not all over the floor.
Promising review: "The perfect companion for traveling with a toddler who loves to snack and prefers being independent. I can fit about 12 average-size grapes in it, about 5–6 regular sized cookies, about 8–10 mini cookies, a big handful or small cereal such as Cheerios, and about 10–12 standard Ritz crackers. These estimations are all things that I regularly place in there for him to snack on. Nothing spills out and whatever does come out is whatever he grabs with his hands to get which is amazing. The only thing I would suggest is placing foil or plastic wrap around the mouth of the cup to prevent any of the snack from getting stale from it being exposed. The lid doesn’t fully cover the snack from air exposure. It simply protects the snack from spilling over and promotes child independence." —Antoinette
Get a pack of two from Amazon for $5.95 (available in two color combos).
14. A set of games for travel can help get some eyes away from tablets for a bit while zooming through the skies.
Promising review: "For a quick and convenient game that can literally be taken anywhere, this game is perfect! The cost was great and the games are fun, quick, and can be played by kids and adults of all ages. I would love to see families pulling these cards out while waiting for dinner at a restaurant or while sitting in the subway together rather than everyone pulling out their iPhones! These fun interactive games will get the whole family talking and playing together. Love it! I did notice that on a couple of the cards my daughter, who’s 8 years old, had to read the card a couple of times or hand it to me to explain to her, but once I read the directions she was good to go. Overall a great purchase!" —Julie
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
15. A scented bag dispenser that'll easily clip onto your diaper bag so you can more easily dispose of stinky diapers. They have baking soda and a lavender scent to help with the odor situation.
16. A powerful portable power bank charger can help you keep your device up and going, which'll be especially great if you're juggling charging devices in the seat plugs.
Promising review: "I purchased two of these for my family prior to a vacation so that all five of us at anytime had access to charging a phone, tablet or camera. I fully charged both of them prior to the trip. While on vacation, we used them a few times and charge indicator lights never once changed below four (maximum charge). Fast-forward six months later, and both still had what seemed to be a full charge, i.e.: four lights. My wife and son took one with them to a baseball game. When they returned they told me they had recharged an Apple iPhone 6S three times; the charge indicator lights on the unit are at three out of four. Now I feel the need to buy several more." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in three colors).
17. A stroller fan with bendable foam legs for wrapping around a stroller, car seat, or pretty much anything to keep your lil' munchkin cool as a cucumber, even when it's a gazillion degrees outside.
Promising review: "We love our stroller fan. We were going on a family trip to Florida in the summer with our 10-month-old who runs hot. This was nice to have on the beach, and walking around the boardwalk or in shops. It easily worked around the arm/leg of the beach chair and the handles of his stroller to keep him cool. Now it’s good to have if we got to the park or somewhere where we are outside a lot in the sun. The quality is nice. And it has a built-in light." —Lindsey C.
Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (available in three colors).
18. A pack of Melissa & Doug Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pads with pens that you can fill with water and then be used to "color" in the pads over and over again. No more worrying about messy crayons or markers.
Promising review: "My family and I went on a 27-hour road trip for the Christmas holiday. Needless to say I was a bit anxious over the idea of traveling with a 4-, 2-, and 1-year-old. These things were a lifesaver! I had bought quite a few other activities for them to do but they kept returning to these. I love that there is no cleanup and they are reusable. I also thought the pen storage was a really nifty idea. The pages are a thick chipboard-like material so that there is no water leakage between pages. We still use these. Sometimes I pull them out while I'm getting dinner ready and it keeps them occupied. All in all, a great buy, and Amazon had the best deal on them." —Dina
Get a pack of three from Amazon for $17.76.
19. And a pack of Melissa & Doug Take-Along Magnetic Jigsaw Puzzles that'll make tracking down pieces of your kids' fave Paw Patrol characters a whole lot easier.
Each book includes two magnetic jigsaw puzzles, 15 pieces each, featuring friends and scenes from Paw Patrol.
Promising review: "I bought this for our 4-year-old grandson who loves Paw Patrol. It's heavy and looks well made. Hopefully it will keep him entertained for a while on long rides to visit us." —Tracy Crump
Get it from Amazon for $6.88.
20. An electronics pouch will help you keep track of and *neatly* organize your whole family's cords and cables for their essential devices.
21. Or a 30-pack of waterproof zippered pouches to help you organize a variety of things. Parents in the reviews rave about using these to get their family organized for travel. And because these are transparent, you can easily sift around in your carry-on to track down what you need to put in a security bin and push aside what can stay in your bag.
Promising review: "I bought these for a trip for my family of five. I like to plan in advance to make sure no one forgets anything! These were a life saver packing for three kids! I was able to create a carry-on, toiletries, wires/chargers, and snacks pouch for everyone! I used clear sticker paper to create name labels, and it all worked perfectly! Would definitely recommend if you need to travel with family and need to set things out and pack." —mommyandbri
Get them from Amazon for $17.99.
22. A resealable travel-size pack of antibacterial wipes will wipe down, well, everything you might want to double check is sanitized.
23. A set of Sea Bands with a little nub that targets the acupressure point on your wrists meant to help reduce nausea. This'll be great in case anyone gets motion sick.
24. A waterproof Kindle to let you bring a TON of reading material (without a stack of books hogging space in your carry-on) because you'd LOVE for everyone to sleep soundly on said flight. But you don't wanna plan on it happening.
Promising review: "Love it so far ! I am a flight attendant and I love to read so it’s so much easier to have a kindle instead of carrying around multiple heavy books. The charge lasts what seems like an eternity. And I love that it’s waterproof because I leave to read while on the beach or by the pool." —Tiffany
Get it from Amazon for $129.99 (available in 8GB and 32GB and in four colors).
25. A handbag organizer with LOTS of pockets to help you easily track down just about anything that your kids could need during the flight without having to reach into the overhead bin.
Promising review: "I love this!! I bought it purely to organize my work tote. I’m a flight attendant and I have so much stuff that I need for work that I didn’t want to carry in my nice purse. So I bought a huge black tote but the biggest problem was the lack of organization. This organizer has plenty of places for all the things I need and helps me find things very quickly." —Jamie H
Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in sizes S-L and in 27 colors).
26. A "Winning Fingers" flashing cube game that'll light up on all sides to test your and kids' coordination skills and memory. This small but mighty toy can provide hours of entertainment. And psst, you can turn off the sound!
Recommended for ages 6+.
Promising review: "Great game. It takes the best of Simon, the Rubiks Cube, Bop It, and anything else and throws it into one beautiful little brick. My girls fight over it, and that's only after I'm done using it. Great great game, might as well get one for each kid. This is the kind of stuff that kids should be tinkering with over screen time. Nice job on this product." —CharlesF11
Get it from Amazon for $39.99.
27. A retro-inspired mini playable arcade game to keep kids (or yourself) busy during peak fidgeting time. Can't wait to hear you explaining to kids that you used to play a giant version of these in an arcade.
My Arcade is a California-based small business that specializes in retro gaming products for the modern age. Recommended for ages 3+.
Promising review: "This is a GREAT toy. I am 61-years-old and played some of these games in the arcade when I was growing up. So far the toy has worked flawlessly and is holding up well. There are A LOT of games, some of which I would not play, but there are many that make this toy too fun to put down. Well worth the money. I had purchased one for my nephews for Christmas, but decided it looked like so much fun that I bought one for myself. The best thing is you do not have to put in quarters, like I had to do at the arcades!" —inSC
Get it from Amazon for $25.99.
28. Tangram, a travel-friendly educational puzzle game book with magnetic jigsaw pieces that kids can use to match the printed shapes in the book.
Recommended for 3+.
Promising review: "We have been taking some long road trips with smaller kids. Got this for my 6-year-old for a fidget toy in the car. It's got different shapes that can be made and can be closed up with all the pieces in it. My 3-year-old likes to play with it too, even if she's not making the actual shapes!" —eksh
Get it from Amazon for $13.99.
29. A dry-erase reusable game set if you'd like to keep the in-flight fun going for much longer. Can't wait to see all the faces you're going to draw.
Black Daisy Shop is a St. Louis, Missouri-based small biz that specializes in custom silhouettes and personalized gifts.
The set of three includes: Hangman, Connect Four, and Tic Tac Toe. Set of 5 includes Hangman, Connect Four, Tic Tac Toe, Dots and Boxes, and Draw a Face.
Promising review: "Super adorable! Exactly as described; I got a set for myself and our three kids and we’ve used them at every restaurant we’ve gone to recently. I got a few more sets as gifts too." —devin zimmer
Get them from Black Daisy Shop on Etsy for $15+ (available in three or five games).
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.