SUMMER BREAK…….a time to have fun and of course take long trips. Whether you are travelling by car, train, bus, ship or plane, it is very important to keep the kids entertained. I don’t know about you but my kids get bored pretty quickly. They usually watch a movie or play Nintendo if the trip is short but lately we had to travel to my home country and it was a flight of 16 hours not to forget the transit times which added another 5 hours. So we had to plan ahead to keep them busy. Although they did watch movies for a bit but I am so glad that we had these toys with us since they got bored after a while and these were especially handy during the transit times. These toys can entertain a 3-year-old as well a 10-year-old. I did not plan to reuse them so kept my budget under $10 but did not compromise on the fun part. Surprisingly some of the toys even after travelling 2 continents did come back home with us in pristine condition and are currently being used for mini trips and even for playing at home.
Here are the toys which helped us keep our sanity and entertained our kids:
MINI BUILDING BLOCKS SETS:
If you are not concerned about the quality and want something economical then this vehicle building set from TOPBRIGHT is for you. These are not from Lego brand but they work pretty well. The younger kids might need help to assemble them but anyone 6 years and older should be able to put them together easily.
If you are looking for quality products, then I highly suggest that you buy LEGO MIXELS. They come in various shapes and sizes and will keep your kids busy for quite sometime.
COLORING BOOKS & DESIGN SETS:
If your kids enjoy coloring then CRAYOLA Dry-Erase Fold and Go Travel Pack is just for you. It Includes 5 template sheets, 5 blank colored paper sheets, 25 tissue paper squares, 9 googly eyes, 2 washable markers, glue stick and Activity Guide. For slightly older kids try the SPIROGRAPH DESIGN TIN SET which includes 7 wheels, 1 ring, 1 rack, Spiro-putty, 2 pens, 10-page guide-book, design paper, stored in a collectible tin with snap-in storage tray.
PUZZLES:
If your child likes puzzles and patterns then IQ TWIST is for you. Unlike most of the games which require at least 2 players IQ Twist only needs 1. It looks simple but is very challenging and will keep your child fairly busy. For younger kids try STACK IT which contains 30 plastic pegs and 1 foam board and they can make any pattern they want.
MAGNETIC FUN:
My kids love playing with the MAGNETIC CARS, TRAINS, PLANES IN A TIN. It is fun and educational and the younger kids learn a lot about vehicle. There are three sheets of magnetic scenery and 55 magnetic figures all stored in a tin. For older kids try TRAVEL TANGOES which are foam covered magnets in the shape of people.
TAPE FUN:
For younger kids try CHICKEN SOCKS TOTALLY TAPE or MELISSA AND DOUG TAPE ACTIVITY BOOK. These spiral bound activity books contain reusable picture pages filled with color and are packed with cheery details. All that is missing is colorful tapes to fill in the dashes and empty places to complete the pictures.
CRAFTS ON THE GO:
For crafty kids try WIKKI STIX which are patented wax and yarn woven sticks which can be molded into any shape to make fun figures or MELISSA & DOUG FELT FRIENDS, a craft kit where you layer the felt shapes to make furry, funny, fanciful creatures.
GAMES:
Try BINGO ROADTRIP or the classic UNO CARD GAME or how about HANGMAN.
TRAVEL BOOKS:
If you are looking for an activity book which is chock-full of mazes, puzzles, word searches, word scrambles, trivia, and travel games all about the 50 states then try LICENSE PLATES ACROSS THE STATES or MAD LIBS ON THE ROAD.
