As the holidays approach, many of you who have young children are probably dreading airline and/or car travel! Here are some of my time-tested tips & tricks from a mom of 3:

Model Magic Clay is great to bring: it doesn’t smell and doesn’t crumble and provides engaging sensory stimulation.
Silly Putty is also really fun: also doesn’t smell and doesn’t crumble. It can be smooshed onto newspaper text, photos or cartoons. It picks up the image and then kids can stretch it and distort the image. If you aren’t familiar with it, it sounds kind of weird, but really is fun and might be unique.
Pipe Cleaners are also awesome! They can be bent and formed into all sorts of things from figures to bracelets.
Puzzles, Legos, markers with little caps and anything else with small pieces that can fall off tray tables or into car seats are bad.
If you have tablets, obviously downloading movies ahead of time is fun, but don’t forget about new apps, and audiobooks. Audiobooks allow kids to close their eyes and use their imaginations.
Pack lots of different snacks in small bags or containers so you can bring them out one by one as something new.
If you have any friends who have children around the same age(s), consider doing a toy swap so that you can pull “new” toys out of your bag as kids get bored, without spending any money!
If you are traveling by air, purchase seats for all of the children if you can. It is much easier to get a toddler to stay in her seat if she has her car seat since she’s used to it in the car.
Bring a puppet! If you talk to children through a puppet, it is easier to get and keep their attention.
Lastly, don’t forget about yourself! A calm parent is a good parent right? So, pack an extra shirt in your carry on in case of spills. You might even want to bring a sippy cup for yourself if you are going to have a glass of wine or beer……just sayin’