Travel Toys and Activities

#1- Crafts

I just realized that I still haven't posted photos of all the bits and pieces we took on our trip with us! Some were mainly for the plane, and some mainly for the hotel.

#2- Squinkies

#3- Activities

A couple of tips: save some "new" things for the way back, bring comfortable headphones for airplane television or iPod's and consider wrapping everything up in wrapping paper for little ones-it can keep them pretty busy!

#4- Thinking

#5- Busy Toys

#1- Crafts: Blackboard and Chalk (in a chalk holder) with eraser, crayons, notebook and stickers galore!
#2- Squinkies: I love these because they're tiny and lots of fun. We put them in a small tin from Michael's to keep them together.
#3- Activities: Jacob's Ladder, Button Snake and a lunch tin filled with puzzle erasers in a home theme.
#4- Thinking: Usborne's 'Things to do on a Journey', key chain measuring tape and tiny package of Megablocks (they were very popular in the hotel!)

 #5- Busy Toys: Wiki Sticks (Daniel's favorite of the trip), Silly bands (second favorite!), play doh (great for the hotel) and a locking diary. I thought the diary would be a huge hit, but the lock was too cheap and didn't work at all. Next time I'd buy a separate lock and key for entertainment.
#6- Things That Go: The roll up mat was pretty good on the airplane's tray table, but we used both of the car toys much more at the hotel. I really liked the little Tonka ramp because it was small and easy to pack, but lots of fun at the hotel.

Tutorial Test Drive: On The Go Activity Mat

The Fiskars blog has a neat tutorial for a roll up play mat. I loved the ideas for the car wash and the gas station so I adapted it for our upcoming trip.

I wanted something smaller than the project called for because I know how quickly we can mess up our 3 sq feet of airplane space! I found some Mega Bloks Streetz cars at Toys R Us that are Mirco-Machine size rather than Matchbox size. They're so tiny and perfect! The finished play mat size is about 8x11".

I also used a lot of hot glue, rather than stitching everything. It doesn't look as pretty but it takes the skill level down from advanced to intermediate and was way faster! It also allowed me to leave the car wash 'open' so the car can tuck inside for a wash up.

Rather than a pond and a construction site like on the Fiskars tutorial, I made a tunnel and a house with a garage. I didn't have any tiny construction vehicles or boats, so I thought it would be more fun to have a tunnel to drive through (just a little felt rectangle stitched down) and the little garage to park in. I made the garage by snipping the corners off a rectangle, stitching that same end down and then stitching the sides the same as with the tunnel.

I also left out the pockets for the cars because I found a little container with 7 spaces that will hold the cars perfectly and take a little while to master opening. Every minute he's busy on the plane is a good thing for me!

 The Fiskars tutorial is awesome, and looks far more professional, but I am so glad I cut some corners to make it faster. I had this done in an hour and a half and I think Daniel is going to love it!

Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 2: Preschoolers

A few weeks have passed since part one...I don't know where the time went! Busy, busy, busy with getting ready for my first craft sale!

So, at last, Part 2 of my Stocking Stuffer Series. Keep your eyes open for the school age list in the next week or so!

Preschoolers:

Baby Food Jar Matching Game: A friend shared this link with me, for how to make a matching game from jar lids! She even shares her images so all you have to do is print and paste!

Homemade Modeling Beeswax: Recipe- 1 cup of beeswax, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lanolin. Melt beeswax over low, remove from heat and stir in oil and lanolin. You can add grated crayon for color. Let it cool in a lined pan. If it's too soft, add a litle more beeswax, if it's too hard add a little lanolin. You can find all the ingredients at most health food stores

Mini Notebooks: It's basically as easy as picking one scrapbooking paper that you like for the cover, cutting it to size, cutting blank paper just a smidge smaller, fold in half, staple in the center and then stamp or embellish the cover!

Crayon Roll: This is a perfect mate to the mini-notebook! It's a great beginner sewing project and because it's small it's easily done by hand too. There are tutorials all over the place, but I like this one.

Funky Fleece Scarf: There's a great tutorial here for a fun, simple scarf. Preschoolers love funky accessories!

Bath Paint: A great way to get a reluctant bather into the tub! Mix 4 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/3 cup body wash and food coloring. Add extra cornstarch if it's not thick enough. Store in plastic containers with lids and top with a paintbrush!

Craft Kit: Put some googly eyes, popsicle sticks, feathers, pipecleaners, ribbon and yarn in a ziploc bag. This is a great thing for when the Christmas excitement wears off just before dinner and you need to distract them!


Lick-and-Stickers: Make your own lick and stick stickers! Cut out your images from magazines, coloring books, old art projects or scrapbook paper. Add a pkg of gelatin to 1/2 cup water. Stir to dissolve gelatin and paint onto the back of images. Let dry wet side up. When they're dry, they're ready to be licked and sticked!

Apron: Kids love helping in the kitchen and an apron makes preschoolers feel even more grown up! You can find all sorts of tutorials and patterns on line and in books. I use the kids patterns in The Perfect Apron.

Shape Crayons: I just bought a silicone ice cube tray from Ikea that I am going to use to make shaped crayons as gifts for Daniel's classmates. All you do is warm the oven, break up crayons into the mold, turn off the oven, wait until they melt and remove and cool. Simple and fun.

Next Week: School-Agers!