Long-haul flights with kids are never, ever easy. No matter how prepared or organized I am, I always have a moment during the ten-hour flight to the U.S. where I swear I will never ever travel again… Unfortunately, we live far from our families and so we really can’t avoid these super long flights, but the good news is that I’m getting slightly better at it.

One fail-safe trick I have is to buy a few cheap toys (small books, little cars, Schleich animals, mini puzzle, etc.) and wrap them up individually before the flight, heavy on the scotch tape. I keep them hidden and bring them out at different intervals throughout the flight. The extra scotch tape makes it a bit more difficult to open (think – an extra few distracted minutes), and then the novelty of the new toy keeps them happy for a good long stretch.

It’s not exactly bribery (though I’m not entirely against the idea); it’s just a fun way to break up the hours of sitting and sitting and sitting…

-Courtney