Cheap Toys for Flying with Kids

Anyone who has ever spent more than five minutes with a kid will tell you they are great at misplacing toys. At home, this isn’t such a big deal. When you’re traveling, though, misplacing toys can come with a hefty price tag.

Before the family heads out on a trip, make sure to grab a few of these cheap toys and alternatives to make sure their eventual loss is not too much of a crisis.

The absolute cheapest place you’re going to find these is the dollar store. The quality is definitely not going to be up there with brand names, but for the purpose of acting as trip fodder, they will do quite nicely.

Dollar Tree, in particular, has a number of action figure and doll stand-ins for popular toys kids might have at home. From special forces military action figures to mini skateboards to die cast cars, all the small, easily losable toys your kids could want are here. If there is no Dollar Tree near you, it is always possible to order variants of your kids’ favorites online well before you leave. Some of these stores even have licensed toys, like Nickelodeon and Sesame Street characters, for the same price as the generic army men and mermaid dolls

If your kids are a little too old for these kinds of toys, but you’re still worried they are going to lose whatever they bring with them, consider a trip to the bookstore. Many bookstores, like Barnes and Noble, have a kids section with age-appropriate books, including classics, for less than $10 each.

If books don’t do it, but your kids really like flying, consider getting them a cheap airport play set. These have many pieces, so even if the kids lose some of them throughout transit, the chance of them all disappearing is a small one. You can get expansive play sets in many toy stores and online. Big play sets like this also exist for animals, dinosaurs and cities, so whatever themes your kids love, there should be something for them.

If all else fails, take a trip to Five Below. Everything in the store costs less than $5, and chances are the kids will find something to occupy them here.