Printable Games
You have innumerable printable games for kids, which double up as great learning tools. Take these along, since they are perfect for kids when they are stuck up in confined spaces, and cannot move around much.
Rubik’s Cube
The ever reliable, Rubik’s cube. Kids above 6 will love to pass time doing something challenging, and below 6 years will be thrilled with the idea of having different colored squares moving around. Give them simple combinations that are possible, and ask them to solve it. They will be delighted when they succeed, and be happily occupied for a couple of hours.
Finger Puppets
Draw characters directly on your fingers with temporary markers, or on paper wrapped around your fingers. Draw on your kid’s fingers too, and you can have a mini play with funny and witty dialogs.
Play uno hands, or take along a map, and when you leave from your destination, point out the place from where you are leaving, on the map. After every half hour or hour ask your kid to guess how much progress you’ve made, and point out your approximate location on the map. If he gets it right, give him a chocolate or candy. Give him clues to help him.
Creative Games
Tell your child to pick out as many shapes as possible in the interior of the plane. Or tell him to start with the letter A and find something in the plane that starts with that letter and continue going till Z. Or, start a story and ask your kid to continue it after sometime. You can take turns and add your own twists and plots as you go along. You could also play I Spy, and virtual hide and seek games. Say “I Spy (something)”, and ask your kid whether he can spot that thing too. Or pick a place you are familiar with, mostly your house and hide anywhere you want. Let your kid guess where you are hiding, and once he figures out your virtual hiding place, ask him to hide! Your kid will surely enjoy these games.
Scavenger Hunts
One smart thing to do when traveling with kids is to take magazines along, flip through the pages, and find pictures, and then hand over the book to your kid and ask him/ her to find that particular picture.