If you’ve got holiday travel plans that require a flight, you might have already begun running worst-case scenarios through your mind (quintessentially me). Good news. This week we’re highlighting our top tips to prepare for flights with littles. Because let’s be serious, it just might be the hardest - or at minimum, most anxiety producing - part of the journey.

Plus, we’re rounding up some of our favorite travel-savvy reads from around the web this week. Grab your coffee (or maybe a glass of wine if you’re digging in after hours), and dive in!

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Our top tips for traveling with small kids on planes

My nerves are NEVER more fried than when boarding a plane with a baby and/or toddler in tow. Here are some of our quick tips for surviving what can always be the best or worst part of your travel…

🍬 Bring ALL the snacks. We rely on suckers (for toddlers and little kids) to help with ear pressure at takeoff or landing, or apple sauce pouches or milk for littler ones. But even after takeoff, having a readily available supply of snacks has saved the day. Variety is key here, particularly on long flights.

🩳 Never, ever forget a spare pair of clothes for babies (and a plastic bag or two in which to toss dirty / wet clothing or diapers). On long haul flights, I always try to pack a spare shirt for both parents in case emergency strikes while we’re holding the baby.

📺 Leverage on screens in flight, whether in the seat back or on a tablet. Don’t forget to download shows or movies in advance! And pack your own child-size, tried-and-tested headphones, too. If this is the first flight for your little one and you’re planning to allow shows for the first time, practice wearing headphones at home first.

🎨 Stickers or painter’s tape! At ages 1-3, kids can spend quite a while sticking and peeling, and reusable puffy stickers are great for no-residue use on plane windows, while painter’s tape easily sticks and tears and provides shockingly endless entertainment.

😴 At bedtime, try to stick to a like-home routine. Put on a sleep sack, read a story, get cozy with their favorite stuffie or blanket and then close your eyes right along with them. An inflatable footrest has been a lifesaver for helping kids get cozy and stretch out on airlines that allow them.

⛑️ Carry on a tiny first aid kit. While traveling, I always try to keep a bottle of children’s ibuprofen and Pepto in my handbag. There have been too many situations when it’s come in majorly handy.

🪀Wrap up goodies to dish out. Depending on the kid, new toys can go a long way in infusing some excitement into an otherwise boring, buckled-in experience. We hit up the dollar shop and up the ante by wrapping goodies in tissue paper and slowly doling them out as needed throughout the flight.

Still trying to figure out your next arrival city? Start your research in the Kid-Friendly Stays Travel Directory, where we’ve curated a rich resource of family-friendly resorts, hotels and vacation rentals.

p.s. You can find some of our favorite road trip and airplane buys in this link to one of our first newsletters.

Worth the click…

Musings from around the web that have got us thinking this week.

• One woman’s experience relaxing on a Vietnam vacation that she let a travel agent plan for her family (Travel + Leisure)

• Washington Post columnist Carolyn Hax provides advice for parents tackling travel with grumpy teens (Washington Post)

• Curious what you think about this family’s stance that they’d rather travel than invest in their children’s college savings? (HuffPo)

• Do you let your kids choose the destination? 70% of parents do, according to this study that highlights tech-savvy Gen Alpha kids (Parents)

• The case for traveling with your children one at a time (Good Housekeeping)

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