I'm back from a long, multi-country, European vacation with my family. 2-hour wait at Toronto Pearson airport. 8-hour flight. 5-hour layover. 3-hour train ride. 9-hour drive. And that was all ONE WAY! Being the Activity Mummy that I am, I had lots of entertainment packed and planned, but what surprised me were the activities we found on-the-go. 

I had an activity bag (three actually). One for my toddler and two for my tweens.

Toddler Activity Bag:

• stickers
• crayons & paper
• toupie (in English it's called a "spinning top")
• McToys (you know...the kind you get in a Mcmeal, disposable yet fun for a few minutes)
• tablet (loaded with pre-school games and age appropriate cartoons)
• headphones
• two books

Tween Activity Bag:

• ipods
• headphones
• paper and pen
• magazine

The tweens used everything. The toddler only used the headphones and tablet. Go figure.

Not that I wasn't guiding him to the activity bag entertainment, it just happened that there was unexpected activity all around him.

Related: 5 Tips For Surviving a Road Trip With a Baby—we did four out of the five (very successfully I might add). 

On board our flight (Air Transatno this isn't sponsored—I paid full fare for the whole family) we each had a screen in front of our seats set with movies, TV shows (and specifically a kids' movies & TV show area). I also pre-signed the kids up for the Air Transat kids club and they received a welcome bag with activities (crayons, paper, headphones) and a free snack coupon. 

In the Paris airport, I was surprised to find free PS2 games available for kids to enjoy at the gate. Notice how it even kept a dad's attention...

Need a way to tire out your toddler pre-flight?! This indoor playground in the Paris terminal was the perfect ticket to tire him out. Free and fabulous.

That indoor playground had lots of space to keep busy kids in their own space (and away from the traveller's talking on their cell phones). 

I can tell you from experience—there are similar indoor playgrounds at Toronto Pearson Airport and Frankfurt Airport. 

You plan and you plan for a trip, and sometimes the most unexpected activities are the best.