We love to travel, but flying with a 2 year old can be difficult!  From NYC, we have flown to Europe several times, Hawaii, Florida, California and the Carribean.  We try not to let having a toddler hold us back from vacation destinations.  Here are some tools that have helped us entertain and calm our toddler and make flying time not so painful!  Everything is pretty inexpensive, as well, since things tend to break or get lost in travel.

1.  Pillbox snack pack- This has been a big hit.  I ordered this cheap pillbox from amazon and then fill it up with different snacks.  I have used fruit snacks, cheerios, mms, chocolate chips, pirate booty-basically and snack I know my son likes that can fit into the space.   It occupies a lot of time and he loves seeing which surprise snack I packed.
2. Toddler Headphones–  I always pack toddler headphones to watch movies and shows on the airplane tv unit.  These are inexpensive and have worked great for us.  The cord is long enough and the sound is great.
3. Cares Harness-  I like to travel light, so we do not bring carseats on the plane.  We usually borrow a carseat from the car rental place or take carseat Ubers.  The Cares Harness is great for keeping wiggly toddlers in place during takeoff and landing but freedom to move around with in the seat and easy to take off of them when they need to walk around.  It is FAA approved for travel.
4. Colorforms–  We love these Daniel Tiger Colorform sets!  They come in other characters too- so if you have afrozen or paw patrol lover, they have you covered too!  They can stick to the window, the tv and they come with a play scene.  Lots of fun imaginitive play and entertainment.
5. Grab and Go Play Packs– These packs are great and come in every character imaginable.  They include a small coloring/activity book, stickers and crayons.  We keep tons of these on hand for restaurants, planes, wating rooms- basically anywhere you and your little need to be entertained.
6. DIY Blind Bags-  You can buy blind bags or make your own.  I collect small toys and figurines and wrap them in old cosmetic pouches or just tissue paper and ribbon.  Old McDonalds toys they have not seen in a while, dollar store finds or hand me down toys are more fun when they are wrapped as a surprise.  I keep a few on my carry on and pull them out when Oliver gets antsy during a flight.
7. Water Wows-These  no mess activity books are fun and easy to use and pack for flight.  We love that they can be used over and over again throughout the vacation.
8. LCD Writing tablet– No need for pencil and paper for your doodles with this little tablet.  They can draw and erase for hours with this fun pad.