11 Best Montessori-Inspired Screen-Free Airplane Toys for Toddlers

If you’re dreading a 4-hour flight with a 2-year-old, I feel you. We both know the easy way out is to give them a screen, but as a (mostly) screen-free house, this is always a last resort.

We’ve vetted the best screen-free Montessori-inspired airplane toys for toddlers that keep them focused, and won’t make you paranoid about the brain rot of a screen. They’ll be so entertained you might even get to drink your coffee (gasp) while it’s hot!

Quiet toys

Travel busy board

These are often lightweight, and typically made from felt, so the loudest part is the velcro. Toddlers can practice zipping up zippers, buttoning and buckling. They’ll of course love the untying, so just know you’ll probably be retying often.

We love this busy board because it has removable pages. We save the pages with the most pieces for the hotel room instead of trying to keep them all contained in the plane.

Yoto Mini Audio Player

This is a premium screen alternative for listening to stories, music, or even Grandma reading a book. Yoto offers cards for nearly every scenario, and if you somehow can’t find what you’re looking for, you can use the Make Your Own cards to record pretty much whatever you want. These are perfect for playing relaxing music or for listening to bed time stories for calming down.

I recommend the Yoto Mini + Starter Pack so you’ve got some cards to start with. You’ll probably want the adventure jacket, too, so nothing happens when it gets dropped.

Oh – and get a lanyard to attach, so they don’t swing it around by the headphone cord. Our Yoto “only worked with headphones” until the headphones came unplugged and the Yoto kept playing. Le sigh.

Lacing cards

Lacing a string through small holes around a pig is surprisingly entertaining. They’re great for concentration, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, too. The wooden “cards” are lightweight, but much sturdier than the cardboard I expected.

We have these animal lacing cards, but they come in a variety of different themes.

Magnetic tiles

Magnatiles are an absolute hit in our house, and toddlers love these mini tiles they can take on the go. Naturally, the storage container is metal, too, and is small enough to fit in a kid’s carry-on. You can even discover all the magnetic items in your plane seat!

MicroMAGS travel set is the best for taking on an airplane.

Toddler toys for creativity

Reusable stickers

Reusable stickers are absolutely genius. They’re sturdy and don’t tear, come in a huge variety of themes and, most importantly, don’t stay stuck where they shouldn’t.

For flying’s sake, they do cling to windows and the backs of tray tables, so are perfect for using during takeoff and landing, too. Or, you know, you can put them in the book that they come with.

These sticker books are great for a little variety for toddlers. For toddlers on the younger side, puffy reusable stickers are easier for their little fingers to grab, peel and stick.

Water reveal pads

We were once gifted a Water Wow scene and have never looked back. Only requiring a little bit of water, these are infinitely reusable once dry. Just make sure you wait to fill the special markers after you’ve hit cruising altitude, or the pressure will cause the markers to leak.

The Water Wow books from Melissa and Doug are the gold standard and come in tons of themes.

LCD writing tablets

These are thin, lightweight tablets that kids use a stylus to draw on, then erase with the push of a button. They offer a sort of “screen-like” experience, only without being an actual screen (we definitely still let our toddler think it’s her iPad). You might hear them called a boogie board, as well.

Frankly, my toddler just likes to scribble on this. Or occasionally draw worms (squiggly lines). Or ask me to write her name, and she hits the magic erase button before I can finish.

This writing tablet is perfect – the stylus slips right into the side of the tablet, plus has a tether that’s long enough to actually use across the entire screen.

Sensory toys

Suction cup spinners

Fidget toys are so great for toddler’s to stay entertained. And having the suction cup is especially helpful during takeoff and landing when tray tables must be stowed.

Both my toddler and baby love these spinner toys, which have pop-its, a tiny rattle, and an extra suction cup for when they figure out how to remove them.

Bendy sticks

These open-ended bendable sticks are perfect for toddlers on planes. The satisfying bend of the sticks is perfect for toddlers’ little hands, plus the board allows them to push them into various designs.

The pushpeel activity board is fantastic for kids, plus comes with a little travel bag.

Color sorting squeeze toy

Help toddlers practice their colors, and fine motor skills, by pushing pom-pom sized balls into different colored sections of the pouch. They’re big enough to not get lost, but thin enough to slip into a backpack for easy traveling.

This lil sorting toy fits the bill perfectly.

Seek & find toys

Finding hidden objects (hide peekaboo in our house) can be so fun! Plus, it can be an activity for multiple kids.

This seek and find bear has several challenge cards that are perfect for pre-readers, and offers a little snuggle, too.

Montessori airplane entertainment for toddlers

Try not to give your toddler the entire entertainment bag all at once. Just like rotating toys at home, try to switch toys every 45 minutes to an hour (depending flight length).

Our travel toys only come out when we actually travel – which helps make them special, so they’re more entertaining when they do come out. (The exception is our Yoto – that’s a daily toy here).

Conclusion

The thought of a long flight with a two-year-old can be very intimidating. And obviously the goal isn’t perfection – you just need to keep them engaged long enough to get from point a to b.

You definitely don’t need 50 toys in your carry-on, just a few intentional, hands-on toys to keep in rotation.

Do bring a toy or two from each category, though. You’ll need one quiet toy (like the busy board), one toy that can be used during takeoff/landing (like the suction cup spinners), and one toy for creativity (like the LCD writing tablet). The Yoto Mini is the unsung hero in our house, that’s for sure.

Also, remember to give yourself grace if just nothing is working. If you need to give them extra chocolate, or even 15 minutes of looking at photos of themselves on a phone, that’s okay! Travel days deserve special treats anyways.

What’s the one screen-free toy your toddler can’t fly without? Drop your favorite in the comments below!

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