There is no way around it, flying with kids sucks. SUCKS. 

Yes, I love my kids.  They are wonderful humans and are a blast to be around.  On the ground.  Put us in a tiny aircraft and strap us in and all of a sudden I’m wondering if the flight attendant will let me change seats.  My kids are 6 months old and a 2.5 years old.  I have taken them alone on 2 flights so far this year and will be taking 4 more in the next 3 months. 

I’m going to keep this short and sweet: here is my must-have list of things to bring to make it suck (a little) less.

1) A couple plastic bags for trash.  The flight attendants only come by once every hour or so.  Holding onto your kid’s sticky candy wrapper or half drank milk carton (that is guaranteed to spill) for an hour is the worst.  Bring your own trash bags and give them to the flight attendants once they fill up.  You will be shocked at the amount of trash your kids can generate in such a short span of time.

2) A non-spill water cup.  For younger babies (that are old enough to drink water), think something like this. Because even sippy cups can spill (trust me.) For toddlers, any water bottle with a folding straw is fine.

3) A non-spill snack cup.  You can buy a 2 pack on amazon for $6.  Best investment ever.

4) Presents!  This was an idea my mother-in-law gave me.  Go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of little presents and wrap them individually in wrapping paper.  Give one to your kid every half hour or so.  No, they will not all be winners but unwrapping takes a couple minutes and they will be in a better mood because of the excitement over getting presents.  *Keep an eye out for my upcoming post on what some of the winners were from my last trip.*

5) Paper towels/napkins/wipes.  The flight attendants give you 1 tiny napkin with each drink.  You WILL need more (even if you have 3 drinks – not that I would know…)  And don’t forget to keep your paper products somewhere they are easily accessible in case of an emergency (think below the seat in front of you versus stowed overhead.)

6) Spare clothes.  Even with spill proof snack containers, spill proof cups, and napkins, someone will get messy.

7) A lot of luck. You’ll need it.