Awhile ago I wrote about traveling with toddlers. Well, as our kids have grown, it’s become easier and I’ve learned a few new tricks. Last week, I flew to Florida with Son (5) and Daughter (2) without Husband. While the vacation itself was kind of lame (we all got sick) the flying part went very well. Here’s what worked:

I brought a double stroller to keep Daughter in place (two year olds tend to run around and quickly get lost) and to help carry our stuff. The stroller is the magic carry-on since you can take it up to the door of the airplane and use it to transport all your kids’ survival gear.

Our two carry-ons were a backpack, which I wore, and a small roller suitcase which Son could pull. And when it go too “heavy” I could manage to pull with one hand while erratically steering the stroller.

Into these carry ons I brought:
Crayons and two new coloring sticker books (one for each child)
Portable DVD player (charged, that’s important!), movies, and Childrens Headphones (this is important since the little earbuds given out on the plane don’t stay in and then, the kids don’t watch the movie).

Softcover books to read/look at (we didn’t use these)

Food. This is the most important item since airplanes don’t serve it and when they do, it isn’t very kid friendly.

• Lunchables – great fun to eat as a meal (just be careful there isn’t a packaged juice that won’t make it through security)
• Empty Thermos/sippy cup to pour liquids into on the plane (saves a lot of mess)
• Carrots
• Grapes
• Apples
• Crackers
• Teddy Grahams/Goldfish packages
• Granola bars
• Starburst candy to chew on the descent

I then alternated between dolling out healthy and junk snacks. In truth, I brought little sugared snacks since these just invite antsy pants in close quarters. I saved the Starburst for popping ears on the way down and that way they were all sugared up to greet Grandma in the terminal.

All in all, both the flight down and return were our best traveling experiences yet!