This is a collaborative post
Kids can easily get bored on an aeroplane and if they fight with each other it makes it even harder, not just for you but for everyone else around you. Once the kids start fighting it is hard to stop them from falling out, again and again, all flight. Whether that be giving each other dirty looks, poking each other in the side or making little comments to wind the other sibling up. These games should help you give them ideas of things to play together to keep them occupied and also reasonably quiet!
Matching pairs
Whilst some kids can get noisy with this, on the whole, it isn’t a noisy game and requires just the use of the drop-down table and a set of cards. I love the Aura Print matching pairs cards as they are currently free and of such good quality. The cards can also be used for things like a memory game where you challenge them to remember the order of a shuffled pack of cards and teach them different ways of remembering them.
Alphabet shopping game
Working as a team to think of things to buy in a certain shop using each letter of the alphabet. It sounds easy initially but just watch them struggle to think of something in the supermarket beginning with a z! Depending on their ages you can add harder elements such as that all the things must have 5 letters etc!
Dots game
Can you remember playing this when you were younger? It requires a grid of dots and taking it in turns to add a line and make squares. If you are super organised you can print out grids for this at home to take with you!
Hangman
What interests them, celebrities, football teams, tv shows? Whatever it is can be the subject of the hangman with the other child guessing letters to try and get the answer before the hangman is complete.
Cartoon drawing
Are there people on the plane that they could draw cartoons of or perhaps people in your family? Together they can work on perhaps creating a whole story?
Bingo
Get them to work together suggesting words they will hear soon on the in-flight announcements or from their parents or others around them. Each time they are right they can claim bingo!
20 Questions
Choose a category and they have to guess who the other person is thinking of within 20 questions that you can only answer with yes or no! you could leave them to play this between themselves or get them to team up against you!
Thinking of inventions
Get them to play a Dragons Den style game where they try to sell their own invention and plan how they would promote it etc. Perhaps looking around them what could they invent to solve a problem either fun or sensible? Could they invent a way to do something unusual on the plan, a safe way to build a play area into a plane or even something as simple as seats that do something unusual?
Do you have any other ideas? Share them in the comments below!