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The 50 Best Baby Travel Toys — All Tested from Experience!

Whenever we travel with our two young kids, toys are always at the top of our packing list. We’ve even traveled cross-country with a suitcase designated for toys alone — so we’ve learned which ones are winners, and which ones aren’t worth the extra space.

Read on for our complete list of the 50 best baby travel toys, all tested from experience. We’ve included must-haves to keep on hand during travel day and essentials to pack in the suitcase for play away from home.

Table of Contents

On Travel Day 

If you’re looking for the perfect toys to keep your baby entertained in the stroller, on the plane, or in the car, read on for details about these tried-and-true travel-day winners that double as great playtime toys once you reach your destination.

1. Fat Brain Toys’ Squigz 

These high-grade silicone Squigz from Fat Brain Toys serve as great airplane-window toys, teethers, and rattles. 

2. Suction cup spinners 

Stick these flower-shaped or critter-themed spinners on airplane windows, or set them up on flat surfaces like the bath or food tray once you reach your destination. 

3. Baby keys 

There’s something about car keys that always keeps babies coming back for more. Look for noisy or chunky options that are easy to hold.

4. Electronic phone toy

Help your baby fit right in with their parents with a cell phone of their very own. Skip Hop and Fisher-Price make baby phones with simple mirrors , lots of buttons and sounds , and fun animal faces .

5. Teethers 

Soft toys to chew on are a must for adventures with your baby, both on travel day and throughout the trip. Some of our favorites are Razbaby’s berry-themed teethers , Nuby’s set of three soothers , and Itzy Ritzy’s rattle ring or teething tube .

6. Cardboard cube books 

Our daughter has loved flipping through and chewing on these hilarious cardboard books throughout infancy, and our toddler enjoys the silly stories, too. Bonus: they double as stacking blocks.

7. Crinkle books

Fabric books are easy for little hands to hold and squeeze. Opt for this fun Farm Tails book from Jellycat, or invest in a set of soft books to attach to the stroller, car seat, or pacifier clip.

Rattles are small and ideal for travel. Fred’s Buff Baby Dumbbell is always a crowd pleaser, and an accidental bump with Jellycat’s plush rattle won’t hurt little foreheads.

9. Fat Brain Toys’ MiniSpinny 

Flip the MiniSpinny , watch the gears turn, and be amazed.

10. Pop-up toys 

Pop-up toys from Kidoozie , Skip Hop , and VTech are entertaining for babies on road trips and throughout your stay away from home. 

11. Fisher-Price’s Kick & Play Piano 

Repurpose the piano from your Fisher-Price Kick & Play Gym by hanging it from the headrest and letting those little toes play some tunes in the car.

12. Vulli’s Sophie the Giraffe 

Sophie the Giraffe , which is also available as a teething ring or as an adorable fawn , is a popular multipurpose toy for babies. Little ones can chew its soft ears or nose to soothe sore gums, squeeze it to hear a satisfying squeaking sound, or hold it close for cuddles.

13. Vulli’s Shake Shake Electronic Rattle 

Our baby girl loves her musical rattle by the makers of Sophie the Giraffe. This maraca-shaped toy is easy to grasp and small enough to keep in a purse. The rattle displays eye-catching lights, plays soothing lullabies, and makes fun sounds with movement.

14. Fisher-Price’s Linkimal Panda

We keep this road trip essential in our car for our kids to play with on long and short drives. Fisher-Price’s cuddly panda plays adorable songs about sharing and kindness, and even sings in sync with other Linkimal products nearby. (For a similar plush toy that sings and laughs, try Fisher-Price’s Laugh & Learn Puppy .)

15. Modern Baby’s Lovey Blanket

These tiny lovey blankets double as cuddly animals, with built-in teethers and rattles attached for entertainment. 

16. Fisher-Price’s Sooth ‘N Snuggle Otter

Parents can set this Fisher-Price otter soother to play white noise, a heartbeat sound, or a calm lullaby. It even has a warm light on its heart and a moving chest to simulate breathing. Another soother option that hangs on the stroller, car seat, or crib is this huggable giraffe music-player . 

17. Bubble poppers 

Bubble poppers are a must for car rides, plane trips, sports games, and restaurants. 

18. Slider books 

Board books with sliders are the perfect, quiet activity for babies on airplanes. A couple of our favorites are Potty Time and this fun version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star .

19. Melissa & Doug’s Poke-a-Dot Series 

Melissa & Doug’s Poke-a-Dot books come in a variety of themes, like animals , holidays , shapes , and colors . These sturdy board books hold up well over time, and their satisfying pop doesn’t lose its novelty with babies and young toddlers.

20. Lift-the-flap books 

Lift-the-Flap books are another plane-ride favorite that babies love to read on repeat. Try Baby’s First Bedtime , Where’s Spot? , or Dear Zoo .

21. Busy board toy

Busy boards are typically considered toddler toys, so we were surprised by how much our infant loved playing with this buckle version .

22. Baby Einstein’s Take Along Tunes

With a simple large button for playing music, an easy-to-hold handle, and dazzling lights, you’ll know these Baby Einstein tunes by heart in no time.

23. Hanging stroller toy 

Keep your baby entertained in the stroller through the airport or in the car seat with Skip Hop’s hanging rattle or music player . 

24. Buttons-and-lights board 

We always keep a buttons-and-lights activity board in the back seat of the car, like this music-themed version from LeapFrog . 

25. Learning Journey’s Wheels on the Bus

If you don’t mind hearing the same lines to the same song over and over again, this toy is for you. We’ve found from experience that the joy our babies find in this Learning Journey music player makes the repetitive tunes well worth it. 

26. Baby Einstein’s Light Bar Activity Station

This Glow & Discover Light Bar from Baby Einstein is shaped in an arch that fits perfectly over babies’ bellies and on their laps in the car. A folding kickstand makes this activity station double as a tummy-time toy once you reach your destination.

27. Fisher-Price’s Storybook Rhymes

With chunky pages that are easy for babies to turn and large, light-up buttons, this musical book lets babies listen to their favorite nursery rhymes on the go.

28. VTech’s Busy Learners Activity Cube

VTech’s Activity Cube is a staple for car travel, with 14 interactive features and 25 catchy songs.

At Your Destination 

Wondering what toys are worth stuffing in your suitcase without taking up too much space or weighing down your luggage? Here are our favorite compact toys to pack for babies on family adventures:

29. Stacking cups 

Simple stacking cups have always been a lightweight family favorite for travel. They nest into each other for a compact fit and even double as bath toys .

30. Kidoozie’s Press ‘N Go Inchworm 

The Press ‘N Go Inchworm is lightweight and zooms far across a smooth floor, with various rattles and sound-makers incorporated throughout.

For more toys on wheels that babies find mesmerizing, try these back-and-forth animal cars .

31. Baby Einstein’s Sticky Spinner 

Stick this spinner on the dishwasher at your rental or on your hotel window to keep your baby entertained on stays away from home. 

32. Fisher-Price’s Stacking Action Blocks

We received these Fisher-Price blocks years ago when we had our firstborn, and we still take them with us for every trip or visit to a restaurant. For a more compact option, try this set of five nesting blocks .

33. Bunmo’s Poppin’ Pipes

These incredibly clever Poppin’ Pipes are one of our favorite simple toys of all time, so they’re definitely worth packing in our bags for travel. Babies love to stretch them out and hear that satisfying popping sound, while older toddlers will have fun putting them together or connecting them into loops.

34. Infantino’s Textured Ball Set

We always bring along a set of baby ball toys when we travel. While toys that roll aren’t good ideas for cars, planes, and trains, they’re perfect for having some fun when you get to your accommodation. 

35. Skip Hop’s Baby Bath Buckets

These lightweight bath buckets nest within each other to save space. Babies love their animal-themed designs and handles that are easy for tiny hands to grab.

36. Adora’s Baby Bath Doll 

This 8.5-inch, quick-dry bath doll is one of our daughter’s favorite toys. It’s the perfect size for babies to hold, with an adorable bunny bathrobe and refreshing baby-powder-scented skin.

37. Freezer teethers

You never know when those achy gums will strike. If we’re staying somewhere with a freezer, we always try to bring some teethers to keep cold when we arrive, like a teething ring or set of keys . One note we’ve learned from experience: set a reminder to take them out of the freezer before heading home!

38. Fisher-Price’s Rock-a-Stack 

The popular Rock-a-Stack might not be the smallest toy, but we always find it worth bringing for trips with baby. Although not ideal for travel, we also love the brand’s hilarious giant-sized version for home.

39. Fisher-Price’s Laugh & Learn Mixing Bowl 

This clever mixing bowl , which comes with various toy food items, measuring cups, and a mixing spoon, lights up and sings when items are placed inside.

40. Fisher-Price’s Cat on a Vacuum Toy

This clever version of a cat riding a robot vacuum slides forward when pressed from the top, to encourage crawling. Even better, it plays catchy R&B tunes about pets and cleaning that parents actually won’t mind hearing on repeat.

41. Sound books for babies

We travel with children’s books on every trip we take, and we always make sure to throw a few sound-making books in the suitcase. Some of our current favorites are Busy Noisy Construction , Potty Time with Elmo , and Noisy Baby Animals .

42. VTech’s Smart Wheels Cars

Whether your baby knows who Mickey Mouse is or not, packing these Disney-themed cars with lights and songs will provide some serious entertainment on your trip. Bonus: these cars work with various VTech Smart Wheels Tracks to build and play with at home.

43. Fisher-Price’s Crawl with Me Puppy 

This Fisher-Price puppy that actually walks forward and backward across the floor is one of our favorite baby toys for crawling.

44. Fisher-Price’s Smart Stages Piggy Bank

This singing piggy bank with coins encourages babies to sit and play for extended periods of time, promotes fine motor development, and introduces counting concepts. 

45. Bright Starts’ O-Ball

This multicolored ball features a built-in rattle and wide webbing that’s easy to grasp. For an alternative, try Sassy’s Developmental Bumpy Ball or Bright Starts’ smaller, classic baby o-ball .

46. Soft blocks 

With these lightweight blocks that double as bath toys, build those towers and let baby knock them down without getting hurt on sharp corners.

47. Fisher-Price’s Little People 

Little People figurines, which are sized for little hands, are small enough to stuff in the suitcase and perfect for interactive play between parent and baby. For engaging play at home, we love the Little People Farm .

48. Haba’s On the Farm Stacking Cubes

These farm-themed, sturdy stacking cubes weigh less than a pound and nest within each other to conserve space.

49. VTech’s Baby Busy Ball 

This spinning, singing ball is ideal for little ones who are lying on their tummies, sitting upright, or crawling.

50. Instrument shakers

We love to bring along the instruments and have a baby jam session when we’re visiting with family.

The Upshot: The Best Baby Travel Toys

Traveling with a baby can be difficult. From our experience, toys help ease their travel troubles, because they keep babies engaged and happy on the go, and they provide entertainment and distraction when little ones are away from their normal home environment. 

We hope our comprehensive list helped inspire your packing list for your next family adventure. For other must-have baby travel gear, check out our guides on the best baby travel beds , portable high chairs , baby and toddler sun hats , car seat travel bags , travel strollers , and baby carriers .

*Some links in this post are affiliate links that support our site at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we personally use and love. Everybody wins!

With a background in medicine as a licensed physician assistant, Christy is a freelance writer and mom of two young kids. As someone who loves to ski, run, and hike, she most cherishes introducing her son and daughter to the beautiful outdoors and spending time with her precious family.

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Best Travel Toys for Babies and Toddlers

These travel-ready toys will keep your little one busy and entertained., by briana engelbrecht.

Some people love traveling—they live for long-distance road trips and collecting sky miles. Babies? Not so much. Being confined to a car seat without much of a view can be really frustrating, especially for a tiny, wiggly person.

Whether you’re driving, flying or even just going out to a restaurant for an hour or two with your baby or toddler, you’re going to want to bring something to keep your little one entertained. But you don’t want it to lug around an entire activity center. The best toys to take with you, whether on plane rides or road trips, are small and portable so you can easily fit them in your diaper bag and pull them out at a moment’s notice.

Our top tip: keep a special set of toys for travel that you only bring out when taking a trip or going out to dinner, to keep them feeling new and exciting for your baby or toddler.

Here are our favorite travel toys for babies and toddlers.

Best stroller toys for babies.

Stroller toys make the perfect travel toys since they are meant for taking on the go. These picks are super portable, simply clip them onto the stroller or car seat and they’ve got something to keep them entertained for the ride. These are best for younger babies from 0-6 months and slightly older for babies 6-9 months .

Lamaze   Clip & Go Stroller Toy

Fisher-Price   Slow Much Fun Stroller Sloth

Skip Hop   Bandana Buddies Activity Toy

Manhattan Toy   Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile To Go & Travel Toy Bundle

Tiny Love   Stroller Arch

Itzy Ritzy   Link & Love Activity Plush with Teether

Best tummy time toys for on-the-go.

While you can’t really take their bulky activity center or play gym with you on your next vacation, what you can do is pack a travel playmat and engaging tummy time toys to set up a safe space on the floor wherever you’re staying.

Toddlekind   Portable Playmats

Skip Hop   Farmstand Tummy Time Wedge

Fisher-Price   Grow-With-Me Tummy Time Wedge

Melissa & Doug   Take-Along Farm Play Mat

Wee Gallery   Activity Pad

Melissa & Doug   Flip Fish Baby Toy

Best travel books for babies and toddlers.

Books are always a great source of entertainment. From lightweight, soft busy books to a truly indestructible pick, these books are easy to throw in your carry-on or diaper bag.

Manhattan Toy   Llama Soft Book

Lamaze   Peek-a-Boo Forest Cloth Book

Indestructibles: Things That Go!

Little Park Ranger Board Book Set

First Words 12 Book Set

Sassy   Rookie Books Baby Box Set

Best baby sensory toys for traveling.

Sensory exploration has many developmental benefits (think motor skills development ), and these travel toys will both encourage learning and entertain fussy babies.

Munchkin   Twisty Figure 8 Teether

Sassy   Do-Re-Mi Textured Tunes Musical Toy

Sassy   Crinkle Ball

pamexin   Silicone Pull String Activity Toy

Quark   Thiingy Teething Ball

Manhattan Toy   Wild Bear-y Plush Toy

Best travel toys for toddlers.

From a busy board to a portable shape sorter, these travel toys will keep their little minds and hands busy while en route.

Melissa & Doug   Take-Along Shape Sorter Baby and Toddler Toy

Sassy   Busy Bands

Hape   Little Copter

Esjay   Toddler Busy Board

ALASOU   Suction Cup Spinner Toys

Tegu   Pocket Pouch Magnetic Wooden Block Set

Best on-the-go activities for toddlers.

In addition to a couple of travel toys, these portable activities for toddlers will provide some extra entertainment on the way to your destination. If you’re taking to the skies, the airplane’s tray table provides a great spot for your toddler to get to work.

Melissa & Doug   On the Farm Reusable Puffy Sticker Play Set

Bluey   Aqua Art Water Doodle Book

Crayola   Peppa Pig Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring Activity Set

ORSEN   LCD Toddler Doodle Board

Skillmatics   Dot it - No Mess Sticker Art

Melissa & Doug   Tape Activity Book

35+ Best Travel Toys for Babies

Are you flying with a baby for the first time,  road-tripping with a baby , or visiting the grandparents for the weekend? Are you an avid traveler, or soon-to-be parent, trying to figure out what to add to your baby registry? Then you are at the right place because I have over 35 of the best travel toys for babies.

My guide to the best baby travel toys is perfect for newborns through 18 months old. There will be tummy time travel toys to challenging sensory-focused activity toys. 

More importantly, every child develops at their own pace. Therefore, my guide is organized by the type of toy rather than by the baby’s age. 

You will find the best tummy time toys, rattlers, teething toys, toy straps and suction holders, sensory play toys, books, car toys, and more. All perfect travel toys for babies ready for an adventure! 

This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on the link you will have the option to purchase a product at no extra cost to you, but I would receive a small commission. I want to thank everyone for following and supporting us on all of “Our Sweet Adventures.” 

Read next: 20 + Best Travel Toys for Toddlers (18 Months to 3 Years Old)

Table of Contents

Best Travel Toys for Babies: Tummy Time

If you are traveling with a baby that is not mobile yet (which is one of the best times to travel with a baby), everyday items such as an activity mat and a tummy time pillow are the perfect travel toys. At this early stage in life, they are trying to develop their brain, learn immense skills, and take in their surroundings.

One of the first essential skills a baby is trying to learn is to hold their head up on their own and roll from tummy to back and back to tummy. So continue their development while you are on the go. Promote growth by showing them the world and continue tummy time with these travel toys.

Boppy Tummy Time Prop

When we traveled with our twin babies, we brought our Boppy pillows, which were life savers! You might think it’s too bulky to pack for a trip, but it’s not. The Boppy Tummy Time Prop pillow is slightly smaller, making it the PERFECT tummy time pillow for traveling.

It also comes with a plush crinkle toy and rubber teething ring to attach to the patented SlideLine. The SlideLine is not limited to the toys included with the Boppy pillow. You can connect your baby’s favorite toys to make tummy time more fun and active.

Splashin’kids Inflatable Tummy Time Water Mat 

One of the best ways to promote tummy time is the Splashin’kids Inflatable Tummy Time Water Mat. Babies will have fun splashing on the water without getting wet, which means no mess!

The water mat has fun, brightly colored sea animals that float in the water. Babies can try to touch the sea animals and watch them move along the water.

It is easy to inflate and deflate. You simply blow air into the outer ring and fill the inner mat with water. When you need to pack up and go, deflate the outer ring, empty the water, and then fold it, which fits nicely in a suitcase or a large diaper bag.

Lupantte Baby Activity Mat

If you still need an activity mat, this one is highly recommended and perfect for traveling. What I like most is the replaceable washable cloth covers, which come with two! So when you need to wash one, your baby can still play on the activity mat.

The Lupantte Baby Play Mat has cute animals, detachable sensory toys, a black and white crinkle book, and a mirror. It is also easy to assemble or disassemble, lightweight, and easy to carry—all great for traveling with a baby.

Pro tip: the arches should fit in a suitcase, but you can also slide them into a pack n play bag or with your car seat bag.

Taf Toys Tummy Time Activity Book

We love the Taf Toys Tummy Time Activity Book. We have used it for all three boys.

The Taf Toys Tummy Time Activity Book is a great travel toy for babies who need to work on tummy time. It is double-sided with crinkle pages for two developmental stages.

For the first three months, your baby can enjoy the first developmental side with high contrast, black and white single image pages. There is also a baby-safe mirror. The other side is for the second developmental stage, which includes vibrant colors with multi-sensory textures, fun 3D activities, and a tethered baby koala teether.

Best Travel Toys for Babies: Toy Straps and Suction Holders

Before we get into ALL the best travel toys for babies, one of the must-have items you need to buy is a toy strap or a suction holder for toys. When traveling with a baby, you want them to avoid dropping toys on dirty surfaces constantly.

Toy straps and suction holders allow you to attach the toys to these devices. So your baby can play freely, and you can be (almost) worry-free of germs and stop the “drop game.”

Silicone Toy Straps

A silicone toy strap is a wonderful accessory on the go. You can use it on car seats, strollers, high chairs, and anything else it can wrap around.

Attach the toy strap to a pacifier, teether, rattler, bottle, sippy cup, or any toy with a handle, and you will stop the “drop game” forever. We love it for everything, but especially on planes and car rides.

These toy straps are washable, stretchable, adjustable, and made from BPA-free food-grade silicone.

Grapple, The Baby Suction Cup Toys Holder

The Grapple is a cute apple-shaped suction toy holder that firmly sticks to flat, smooth surfaces. It also has three adjustable toy straps tethered to keep toys within the baby’s reach and from falling to the floor.  I want to specify the within reach because the toy straps are short. So we attach longer toy straps to the Grapple. 

It works excellent for airplane trays, high chairs, and restaurant tables. Going out to eat and flying is so much easier with the Grapple!

From personal experience, the bottom of the Grapple easily collects dirt. It works best when it is clean and moist. People often use a baby wipe or get the bottom wet with water to help with suctioning.

Otherwise, we love it! It is small, light, made with BPA-free food-grade silicone, and easy to wash.

Sassy Wonder Wheel Activity Center

The Sassy Wonder Wheel Activity Center is one of the best travel toys for babies because it’s multi-functional. The main component is the spinning Ferris wheel with bright colors, grooved textures, and cascading beads.

The activity toy can also suction to flat surfaces and has “click clack” rings. We like to use the “click clack” rings to hold more toys with a toy strap.

Most importantly, the Sassy Wonder Wheel Activity Center has many benefits for a baby’s development. It has fun sensory elements, strengthens fine motor skills, encourages tactile exploration, and teaches the connection of sound to sight.

Best Travel Toys for Babies: Rattle and Teething Toys

When a baby is teething, EVERYTHING goes in the mouth. Honestly, does this stage ever end?

Whether it is a teething toy or not, a baby will chew on it, and they will most likely drop it too. Therefore, I like to pack rattle and teething toys that can attach to a toy strap.

BABY ELEFUN Teething Toy Ring

I know everyone loves Sophie the Giraffe (I do, too), but the Baby Elefun is one of the best travel toys for babies. You can easily loop a toy strap through the center of the teething elephant. So you can have a piece of mind that your baby won’t drop it.

The Baby Elefun has several soothing textures to help massage those sensitive pressure points in the baby’s mouth. Little fingers will find it easy to hold and maneuver to find the right texture in the right spot.

Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle & Sensory Teether Toy

Of ALL the rattle and teething toys, this is by far the favorite for all three of my boys. We can’t ever part ways with it because it’s been a lifesaver as one of the best travel toys for our babies.

The Winkel is a colorful rattle and teething toy. It’s a maze of soft, continuous BPA-free teething tubes connected to a center cube that rattles. The Winkle is easy for tiny fingers to hold and inevitably shake to hear a rattle, providing auditory stimulus.

When your baby is teething, you can refrigerate The Winkle for additional soothing comfort. It is a simple toy, but one of our most effective and used toys.

Itzy Sloth Lovey and Teether

How can you resist a cute sloth?!? The Itzy Sloth Lovey and Teether is so adorable and snuggly. It will immediately be your baby’s new best friend.

The Itzy Lovey features soft sherpa fabric and a gentle minky plush for delicate baby skin. It’s also more than just a lovey. The sloth arms make crinkle sounds, there are textured ribbons for a baby to touch and explore, and an attached silicone teether to massage sore gums.

It’s the one and all lovey that you must get for your baby! In addition to the sloth lovey, Itzy has other cute animals, such as a bunny, dinosaur, koala, and lion.

Bright Starts Oball Shaker Rattle Toy

The Bright Starts Oball Shaker Rattle Toy is among the best and most popular rattle toys. It is a simple rattle with an award-winning flexible   Oball at both ends. Between the Oballs is a clear, textured handle with colorful beads inside. 

The Oball finger holes make it easy for little hands to grip, squeeze, and play.   Or a baby can easily grab the textured handle and shake it to hear the rattling sounds of the beads. It is so much fun! Your baby will never put it down, especially if you loop a toy strap through the Oball.

Skip Hop Infant Pineapple Rattle Toy

How cute is this pineapple rattle toy? It has cool summer vibes! The perfect travel toy for babies heading to a tropical destination.

The Skip Hop Infant Pineapple Rattle Toy has easy-to-grasp openings for little hands to grab, roll, and shake. Colorful rattle beads sit on top of the sweet pineapple to entertain a baby with delightful sounds.

It’s also a multi-sensory teething toy with rubberized leaves with different textures to help soothe the baby’s gums.

Best Travel Toys for Babies: Sensory and Play

Sensory toys are crucial for a baby’s development. Yes, sensory toys are fun to play with, but more importantly, it promotes language, cognitive growth, fine motor, and gross motor skills.

So what are sensory toys? Anything that stimulates a baby’s sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch in a safe and natural environment using play. Some elements include bright, contrasting colors, sounds, different textures, and spinning.

Almost every baby toy has a sensory element, but here are the best travel toys for babies that strongly focus on sensory through safe play.

Melissa & Doug Flip Fish Soft Baby Toy

The Melissa & Dog Flip Fish Baby Toy promotes many development skills through sensory play. It squeaks and crinkles, has bright colors, several textures, a silicone tail for teething, a small mirror, and hidden pictures under the scales. It is the fish that keeps on swimming; I mean giving.

Your baby will have endless fun with this cuddly fish. Yes, it’s a little big, but it fits perfectly in a diaper bag. Trust me. It will be one of the best toys to keep your baby entertained on a flight and at home!

Melissa & Doug Soft Taco Fill & Spill

A baby’s first taco! This adorable sensory toy is a perfect travel toy for babies because it is light and small. The 12-piece soft taco includes a soft taco shell with smooth fabric, textured crinkles, and food-shaped fabric pieces.

When your baby is young, the pieces are great sensory toys to discover sounds and textures. As they grow, the soft taco toy will continue to engage the baby by developing their fine motor and problem-solving skills.

Show them how to fill their taco shell! And they will be making a delicious taco in no time.

3PCS Suction Cup Spinner Toys

Hands down, you must get Suction Cup Spinner Toys. These are the best travel toys for babies. It is the most used travel toy from our one-year-old twins.

The Suction Cup Spinner Toys will stick on any flat surface. From car and plane windows to airplane tray tables, hotel mirrors, and tables – we stick these to anything we can!

The three-piece set has different colorful bugs that promote visual and auditory senses and fine motor skills. Babies can spin the bugs in the center or its large “wings.” Your baby will have endless fun spinning, watching, and hearing the soft jingle bells from Suction Cup Spinner Toys.

Montessori Pull String Activity Toy

The Montessori Pull String Activity Toy is one of our favorite screen-free airplane activities for kids . It’s a beautiful multi-sensory activity toy for babies around 12 – 18 months old seeking a challenge. There are several ways for babies to have fun and develop skills with this travel toy.

Through sensory play, your baby will learn cause and effect when they pull the textured cords. The textured cords make it easy for babies to grasp a hold while promoting fine motor skills and sensory exploration. It will also stimulate auditory senses because your baby will feel vibrations and hear sounds from the textured cords.

If you feel your baby will just put this toy in their mouth, that is okay! The teething journey never ends! Thankfully, the textured cords are BPA-free food-grade silicone. Our babies would chew this activity toy in between sensory play, which was a win in my book.

teytoy My First Baby Tissue Box

The teytoy My first Baby Tissue Box is a fun sensory activity toy that will entertain your baby by pulling out and putting in scarves and crinkle papers. The soft cotton tissue box is great for traveling because it can collapse into a diaper bag and open to its (almost) rectangular form.

It comes with 12 rainbow dance scarves and three crinkle papers. The crinkle paper makes stimulating sounds and is double-sided with vibrant colors, animal patterns, numbers, and the ABCs.

Fat Brain Toys MiniSpinny

The Fat Brain Toys MiniSpinny is an exciting sensory toy that will encourage fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination and teach cause-and-effect. The MiniSpinny has three vibrant propellers that spin down the free-standing corkscrew pole.

Like a rainstick, you can flip the MiniSpinny repeatedly to watch the propellers and listen to the sounds it makes while it spins down the corkscrew pole. Little fingers can also hold the MiniSpinny and spin the propellers down the corkscrew pole one by one.

It’s mesmerizing to watch, and it’s fun to play. Your baby’s senses will be spinning with joy when you take the MiniSpinny everywhere you go.

Sassy Fishy Fascination Station 2-in-1 Suction Cup Toy

The Sassy Fishy Fascination Station 2-in-1 Suction Cup Toy is among the best sensory toys for high chairs and tables. Moreover, it can suction on any flat surface. It is one of the best travel toys for babies because you can suction it to airplane tray tables.

The Sassy Fishy Fascination Station 2-in-1 Suction Cup Toy is a spinning Ferris wheel with many sensory features. The spinning Ferris wheel encourages the baby to reach, tug, and bat the individual spinning fishy toys. It teaches cause and effect while strengthening hand-eye coordination. Each fishy spinning toy also has colorful beads inside the clear structures to allow the baby to connect the sound to sight.

Again, this is a great travel toy for babies because you can remove the spinning wheel from the base for floor play. Hence, the 2-in-1 toy. Your baby can play with the spinning wheel inside a hotel room while you unpack and get situated.

HABA Rainbow Fabric Ball

The HABA Rainbow Fabric Ball is the first and only ball your baby will ever need! It features eight diverse sections with unique textures, contrasting colors, and gentle rattle and crinkle sounds.

The soft, colorful fabric ball is easy for a baby to grasp, toss, and roll. It is a great sensory toy to encourage tummy time, independent play, and crawling.

Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Pull-Back Vehicle Set

Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Pull-Back Vehicle Set includes a plastic storage bag (great for traveling) and four soft vehicles – a school bus, a family car, a fire truck, and a police car.

A baby can effortlessly pull back the vehicle and watch it accelerate at full speed. Bonus, it does not require batteries because it has a rev-up mechanism inside each vehicle.

The pull-back vehicles teach babies cause and effect while promoting independent play and fine and gross motor skills. They are great to play in a hotel room or grandparents’ house.

Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Take-Along Shape Sorter

The Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Take-Along Shape Sorter is one of the best travel toys for babies 9 months and up. The shape sorter is a padded case with a take-along handle and includes two activity sides.

One side has a shape sorter to fit nine textured shape blocks. The other side has crinkle flaps with pictures and matching shapes beneath the flaps.

Babies developing skills to become toddlers will enjoy learning to identify and match shapes by dropping the textured blocks through the appropriately shaped slot.

Fat Brain Toys InnyBin Baby Toy

The Fat Brain Toys InnyBin Baby Toy is a cube with vibrant-colored elastic bands. It includes six fun textured and different-shaped blocks to push through the elastic bands of the cube.

It’s a challenging toy for babies, but it’s manageable. Once they understand the concept, they will stuff the cube with any object they can find.

Although the Fat Brain Toys InnyBin Baby Toy is a 5.5 x 5.5 x 5.5 in. cube, I still enjoy bringing it with us on our trips. It keeps our twin babies entertained in the hotel room as they enjoy putting anything inside the InnyBin cube.

Best Travel Toys for Babies: Books

Books play a significant role in a baby’s development. So I recommend packing at least one book when you travel with a baby. Books help cognitive development, increase vocabulary, and reinforce basic reading concepts, such as turning pages and following text from left to right.

Babies are still developing their eyesight for the first few months of life. Therefore, babies should “read” high-contrasting, black-and-white images. As they get older, books with interactive elements such as crinkle pages, different textures, and peek-a-boo flaps will engage and stimulate your baby’s senses.

Here are a few of the best books for babies to pack on your trip!

Hello, Baby Animals Book

Hello, Baby Animals  is one of the best and cutest first books for a baby. It has high-contrast black-and-white pictures and patterns with friendly text. 

Hello, Baby Animals  is also one of many in the  Hello,  baby book series by duopress labs with art illustrations by Julissa Mora. Other books in the collection include  Hello, My World , and  Hello, Ocean Friends .

Beiens Visual Quiet Books

The Beiens Visual Quiet Books are high contrast, crinkle books with stimulating exercises on the pages. There are flaps, a turning dial, a baby-safe mirror, a squeaky, and more. All designed to help facilitate development in the retina, optic nerve, and brain.

You can choose Beiens Visual Quiet Book Shapes & Color, Animals & Color, or both!

Lamaze Peek-A-Boo Forest Soft Baby Book

Peek-a-boo books are a favorite at my house. So the Lamaze Peek-A-Boo Forest Soft Baby Book was an instant hit for us at home and on the go.

The Lamaze Peek-A-Boo Forest Soft Baby Book has soft pages with crinkle flaps and 3D features for your baby to interact with and play peek-a-book with all the cute forest animals. The book helps develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Every page has bright, vibrant colors with friendly animals. When you read this book to your baby and play peek-a-boo, both of you will have smiles and giggles!

Melissa & Doug K’s Kids My First Activity Book

You can count on Melissa & Doug to make a fantastic baby activity book. Every page is an activity of learning and fun.

The Melissa & Doug K’s Kids My First Activity Book is a perfect baby travel toy. It has eight interactive pages: learning how to button, buckle, count, match, play peek-a-boo, and more. This activity book can keep a baby engaged for hours, which is great for plane rides.

Best Travel Toys for Babies: Car Travel and Stroller

Road-tripping with a baby  or going to an amusement park might feel daunting, but if you prepare with fun car seat and stroller toys, you will do great! Here are a few baby travel toys perfect for the car and stroller. 

Read next: A Complete Guide to Epcot with a Baby or Toddler

Manhattan Toy Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile To Go

Baby mobile for a car seat?!? What a genius invention! Speaking of a genius invention – the travel mobile is from the award-winning Wimmer-Ferguson infant collection, the original innovator of black and white developmental toys.

The Manhattan Toy Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile To Go has three reversible discs that display black-and-white graphics on one side and high-contrast color images on the other. So as your baby grows and has the ability to see color, you can change the reversible discs.

The travel mobile is lightweight, easy to pack, and can attach to most car seats, infant carriers, and strollers with the sturdy plastic clamp.

Baby Einstein Star Bright Symphony Plush 

The Baby Einstein Star Bright Symphony Plush is a cute musical toy at home or on the go because it has velcro straps to wrap around a car seat and stroller. The smiling star has vibrant colors, plays six classical melodies, and has gentle lights that dance around.

It has two settings that caretakers can control. One is a cause and effect, where babies can push the smiling star to turn on the music and lights. The other setting is where the music and lights will play continuously.

Taf Toys Koala in-Car Play Center

The Taf Toys Koala in-Car Play Center is a unique combination of a high-quality, baby-safe car mirror and a soft, colorful car toy for rear-facing babies. There are three cute activity toys tethered to the car toy – a crinkle rainbow, a koala that rattles with a chime bell, and a snail with a baby teether.

The car toy is easy to attach and adjust for the baby’s reach and play. The mirror and car toy attach separately, so if you already have a mirror, you can still utilize the car toy. With that said, Taf Toys also has other fun activity car toys for rear-facing babies, such as a stirring wheel, a cool penguin, and safari animals.

BeeSpring Hanging Spiral Car Seat Toy

Keep a baby happy and calm on your road trip with this BeeSpring Hanging Spiral Car Seat Toy. You can wrap the spiral car toy around an infant carrier and let your baby enjoy the hanging toys.

The spiral car toy also has contrasting colors and patterns to help stimulate a baby’s sight. Tethered to the spiral toy are a flower teething toy, a flower toy with colorful beads inside a clear center, and a rattling cow. If those toys are not enough for your little one, you can also attach more toys to the spiral with a silicone strap.

Lamaze Freddie The Firefly

Lamaze Freddie The Firefly is a fun, interactive travel toy for babies that can easily clip on a car seat and stroller. It has a Soft velour body with multiple textures to explore on the wings, including crinkle wings and a squeaker. There is also a baby-safe mirror for self-discovery.

On the top of the wings are high-contrast black-and-white patterns, while the bottom of the wings has vibrant, colorful patterns. Babies will have so much fun playing with Lamaze Freddie The Firefly while strengthening their tactile processing and auditory and visual development.

Tomy Lamaze Mortimer The Moose

A distant cousin to Lamaze Freddie The Firefly, Tomy Lamaze Mortimer The Moose is another interactive travel toy for babies that can clip on a car seat and stroller. The body is snuggly soft with a squeaky tummy while his antlers are textured to soothe teething.

His dangling legs have colorful hooves with fun patterns and make crinkle sounds to the touch. Babies will enjoy exploring Tomy Lamaze Mortimer The Moose to stimulate their tactile senses.

And if you are wondering which one to get, either Lamaze Freddie The Firefly or Tomy Lamaze Mortimer The Moose, get BOTH!

Infantino Hug and Tug Musical Bug

The Infantino Hug and Tug Musical Bug is a cute musical toy for road-tripping. Wrap it around an infant carrier and let your baby reach, hug, and tug at the musical bug. Babies can either tug the bug or use their tiny fingers to wrap around the clacker rings and pull.

The musical bug is a great sensory toy to teach babies cause and effect from sight to sound. It only has one tune, which plays for 90 seconds as the bug slowly inches its way back up. It’s fun to watch and pleasant to listen to.

Best Travel Toys for Babies: BONUS Activity Center

Check out this bonus travel toy for babies – a portable activity center!

Summer-Pop ‘N Jump Portable Baby Activity Center

The Summer-Pop ‘N Jump Portable Baby Activity Center is a fantastic travel toy for babies. Let your baby get all of their energy out bouncing on the jumping activity center. This portable activity center is a must for active babies whether you are going on a trip with plenty of indoor or outdoor time.

There are three levels of height adjustment to grow with your baby, a floor mat, a removable canopy, and the seat is removable for machine washing. A few fun toys come with the activity center – a spinner ball, rattler, teether, and mirror book.

The Summer Pop ‘N Jump Portable Baby Activity Center is lightweight and unfolds in seconds. So your baby is ready to bounce while you kick back and relax on your trip. It also includes a travel bag with a shoulder strap making it easy to pack and carry.

I hope your cart is full of new, engaging, and sensorial travel toys for your baby. After three babies, I know that having interactive toys is important for a baby’s development on the go, just as much as if you are at home.

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The Best Baby Toys for Airplane Travel

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When you’re flying with a baby, it’s a good idea to bring some great baby toys for keeping your baby entertained on the plane. In this post we’ll share some of the best baby toys for airplane travel! 

The idea of flying with a baby can seem intimidating, but a little preparation can help things to go a lot more smoothly.

In our many flights with our babies, we’ve had mostly positive experiences (with a few exceptions here and there) and we’ve found that one of the best things we can do for an uneventful flight is to bring some engaging airplane activities for our baby. 

Travel activities help keep your baby entertained during the flight, making it more enjoyable for everyone. They also provide some peace of mind for parents going into the trip knowing that you have some items you can pull out if your baby is having a hard time.

Read on for some of the best baby toys for airplane travel!

For more helpful travel gear, see our list of baby travel essentials!  

The best baby toys for airplane travel

In this list we’ve included airplane toys for babies of various ages and stages. Obviously the term “baby” covers an age range where children can have very different interests and abilities, from infants who mostly sleep and eat to older babies who are more mobile and active. 

If you have a very young baby, you likely won’t need many toys and activities because your baby just won’t be interested in them. But the older your baby gets, the more toys and activities are going to help you in your travels. Keep in mind the age and interests of your baby as you peruse this list of baby toys for airplane travel, as some of these activities that are perfect for older babies will be too advanced for young babies. 

LAMAZE Plush Activity Toy

We love plush activity toys, and this little moose from LAMAZE is simply adorable! The great thing about these toys is that there are so many things they can do with just this one toy. Not only is it a soft, snuggly stuffed animal, this moose also has teether antlers, knotty legs, tail rings, and crinkle hooves to engage your baby’s senses. 

The toy comes with a clip that can be used to attach it to a stroller or car seat so that it doesn’t get lost or dropped. There are also other animal options if you’d prefer something different from the moose, including an octopus , firefly , and jellyfish .

Our sweet little activity toy has been loved by each of our three babies and makes a nice travel toy!

Window Clings

Older babies will have a grand time sticking window clings to the window and tray table on the airplane! This is a nice way to buy a few minutes of peace on the plane. And the clings are reusable, so you can pull this activity out time and time again! 

This was one activity that my babies have always enjoyed when we fly. In fact it was a lifesaver when I was flying alone with my baby and ended up stuck on the runway for over an hour before takeoff!

Fidget Popper

My babies have always loved pushing buttons (in more ways than one…), so fidget poppers have always been a big hit! 

This silicone fidget popper has five large buttons of different sizes and colors, perfect for little fingers. Small and lightweight, this toy is easy to pack for travel. 

Your child is sure to be entertained by popping the buttons on this fidget toy! It can also be very calming for when young children are feeling anxious or overwhelmed. (And it’s fun and soothing for adults too!)

Melissa and Doug Soft-Sided Shape Sorter

For older babies, a shape sorter can be an engaging activity that will keep their attention. 

This soft-sided shape sorter by Melissa and Doug collapses down for easy storage during travel. It comes with nine textured, colored blocks in various shapes to fit into the holes in the case. Babies will love handling the blocks and putting them in the open container, even if they still need a little help matching the correct shapes.

In addition to the shape sorting you can also find another activity on the back. Nine crinkly flaps show common objects and underneath you can find the correlating shape. 

The case zips open and has a handle to carry it easily.

Nuby Interactive Suction Toy

The Nuby Interactive Suction toy can conveniently be suctioned onto the tray table or window to keep it secure while your baby plays with it. 

The toy is made of a soft silicone and has various textures on the surface, perfect for teething babies. There are also rings of various shapes that can be moved, pulled, and shaken to hold your baby’s interest.

This toy is also dishwasher safe (top rack only) for easy cleaning!

ELEFUN Teething Ring Toy

Teethers are a perfect way to keep a baby entertained while traveling. It provides them with something to hold and chew on, which typically is a baby’s favorite activity! 

This ELEFUN teething ring toy is easy for small children to hold and has lots of different textures for babies to explore. Made of food grade silicone, it can easily be cleaned by placing it in the dishwasher, microwaving, or boiling it. 

If you have a child who is teething, you can also place the teether in the fridge or freezer to provide soothing coolness on their gums. I also love that it’s easy to attach to a pacifier clip so that it doesn’t get dropped or lost. 

Pull String Activity Toy

For a fun, multipurpose toy, consider this pull string activity toy ! The main draw of this toy is the various textured cords that can be pulled from one side to another, creating vibrations and soft sounds as you do so. 

On the center of the toy, you can find pop buttons on one side and holes and a moving slider button on the other. 

There is so much here to keep a baby entertained and we love that there are several activities included in one toy!

Usborne Touchy-Feely Play Book

Our babies loooove touchy feely books, especially the Usborne Touchy Feely Playbooks . 

These books have so many different textures, patterns, and colors set in bright, fun illustrations. There are also finger trails, flaps, and peep holes for curious fingers to explore.

This has been an engaging activity for our babies on many flights and it’s one that they keep coming back to again and again!

Oball Classic Ball

The Oball Classic Ball has always been a favorite with our babies. They love sticking their fingers through the holes, chewing on it, and shaking it. I also love that it can squish down, making it easy to store in our luggage when we’re not using it, and that it’s easy to attach to a pacifier clip so that the baby can’t drop or throw it too far.

This is a toy that we’ll often attach to our baby’s stroller or car seat to keep them entertained when we’re out and about. 

Bright Starts Link Rings

These bright and colorful link rings by Bright Starts are perfect for attaching toys to a stroller or car seat or playing with on their own! Babies can shake them, chew on them, or pull them apart. 

The rings come in a pack of 24, but you can link as many or as few together as you would like, making it easy to pack just a few when you’re traveling.

Note that older babies will get to the point where they can start pulling them apart, so if you want to be sure your toys don’t fall, I would suggest using pacifier clips and keeping these for play.

My First Baby Tissue Box

If you have a baby who loves to pull all the tissues out of the box, this tissue box toy is for you! This toy comes with 3 reusable crinkle tissues and 12 colorful scarves in a soft (packable!) tissue box. 

To make it easy, you can just stuff all the tissues into the container and let your baby pull them out at will. Or, you can fill it so that when one comes out another pops up into place, like a store bought tissue box. It’s not very challenging to do and you can look up videos of how to do this, which is much easier than trying to type it out (which I figured out when I tried to type it…).

All in all, this is a toy that is great at capturing and keeping a baby’s attention.

DIY stick jar

If you’re up for a little DIY (and I mean VERY little), one of our favorite airplane activities for babies and toddlers has always been a stick jar! 

For this one you just need to find a condiments jar with a slit on the top (think squeeze bottle of horseradish or mayo) and get some popsicle sticks. 

Then you just hand your baby the sticks to put in the jar one by one. Simple but EXTREMELY effective. For babies, usually I’ll just take the whole lid off, but as they get older and more coordinated they can start putting the sticks in the slot.

This activity can keep my babies and toddlers occupied for a very long time!

Tip: If you can find it, a mini jar with mini sticks is awesome because it is so small to pack, but a regular sized jar with regular popsicle sticks will work too (we have both!). Also, be sure to not hand your baby a bunch of sticks at the same time or they are likely to end up all over the floor. If you hand them one at a time, you can control the sticks and avoid having to pick all the sticks up when they get dropped.

Tablet/headphones

Although I don’t make a point of doing much screen time with my babies and toddlers, this is one situation where I feel it can be a very useful tool to have a tablet ready with some fun shows or movies (especially if you have a long flight). 

At this age, our kids have always loved Little Baby Bum songs, but go with whatever works for your child. 

Be sure to download what you want to watch in advance so you can access it in flight. 

Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Sensory Teether Toy

The Manhattan Toy Winkel Sensory Teether is a fun teething with lots of soft teething tubes, which are fun for babies to hold and chew. The toy can also be refrigerated for additional comfort for teething babies. The maze of tubes and quiet rattle beads in the center block make this a fun toy for babies to shake and grip.

My First Activity Book

The My First Activity Book has many activities to keep an older baby engaged on the plane. This book has fun activities like peek-a-boo, buttoning, matching, buckling, touchy feely elements, puppets, and more! 

Although some of the activities might work better for toddlers, it’s amazing how much entertainment babies can get from these activity books as well!

Stickers/tape/post-its

Give your baby something sticky and let them go crazy! Stickers, colorful tape (my kids love this colorful painters tape , and it doesn’t leave a sticky residue!), or post-its are fun for little kids to place on pieces of paper, on their arms, on you, or on the tray table. Just be sure to clean them up before you get off the plane!

Snack catcher 

One of the best activities for older babies is snacks! And a snack catcher is a great way to turn snack time into a fun activity as well. Babies will love fishing snacks out of their snack catcher, and you’ll love having a break from entertaining them!

We love this BraveJusticeKidsCo snack catcher for travel because it’s collapsible and can be stored compactly when not in use. The one thing I would say about these snack catchers is that they do tend to gather lint and dust if you stick them straight in your bag, so I try to put them in their own little baggie first.

How to pick good baby airplane toys

Select toys that are lightweight and compact. Try to avoid baby airplane toys that take up too much space to make packing easier. And of course, lightweight toys are easier for baby to hold and easier to transport.

Avoid toys with noise. Trust me, the other passengers will thank you. Toys with faint rattles or crinkle sounds might be okay, but avoid any toys that actively make noise.

Use novelty to your advantage. Have a new toy or two in reserve that you can pull out at a time when your child is having an exceptionally hard time. The novelty of a new toy can often distract a baby on the verge of a meltdown. Also, babies don’t have a very long attention span, so bring several different toys that you can trade out when they start to get bored of their current toy.

Choose multipurpose toys. Toys that have various features to capture your baby’s attention are a great use of luggage space because they have more uses and more potential ways to entertain your baby. You also want toys that can be used over and over again to make the most of the toys that you bring.

Baby Airplane Toy Tips

• Keep toys and snacks organized in separate bags so you can easily find things and not end up with too many things out at one time.
• Bring a pacifier clip to secure baby airplane toys. We all know that babies are constantly dropping their toys, which can get old in a hurry on a plane. When possible, secure your baby’s toys with a pacifier clip to prevent them from falling on the floor when they are inevitably dropped or thrown.
• Make do with what’s available . The great thing about the baby stage is that babies are easily entertained by everyday objects. Plan on bringing a couple of good toys, but then be sure to use whatever is available to you as a form of entertainment for your child. Our babies have loved the flight information cards from the seatback pocket, empty cups from the beverage service (great for stacking), and holding the crinkly snack packages. 

Final thoughts

Whether it’s your first time flying with a baby or your twentieth, baby toys can make a huge difference. They can help keep your baby occupied, prevent meltdowns, and provide a bit of a break for parents. 

This list of baby toys for airplane travel will help you find the best activities to keep your baby entertained so that you can relax and enjoy your flight!

Other posts you might be interested in:

The Best Diaper Bags for Travel

How to Fight Jet Lag in Babies and Toddlers

The Best Baby Monitors for Travel

Related Posts:

11 Amazing and Best Baby Travel Toys

One question I see coming up time and again when discussing travelling with young kids is how to entertain babies and toddlers while flying or on long car journeys. In a bid to answer that question I’m sharing with you some of the best baby travel toys that can help with long journeys, by car, plane or even train.

Lacing Toys

Best way to sanitize baby toys, the best baby travel toys.

When it comes to the best toys for travelling with baby, it very much depends on their age. Most babies under 6 months of age will either sleep or eat on the plane and may not require entertaining at all. One of the easiest sets of flights I had with my son when before he was 6 months old and he fell sleep on take-off and woke just before we landed an hour later. Easy peasy.

However, we’ve found that once our son was over 6 months, entertainment in one form or another was required, particularly for long flights. While the seat and surroundings can be a great source of entertainment with seat buckles, tray tables and fellow passengers, these can start to become boring after a while.

Sure your baby might nap if you time your flights well but it is always a good idea to have a backup plan. And this is where my suggestions for the best travel toys for babies will come into play.

And once you hit the 1-years-of-age mark, things can get a little trickier, especially if your baby is now on the move. The baby travel toys below will work up to about an age of 18 months before you may need to resort to other forms of entertainment and tactics.

If you are looking for something for your toddler, this post about the best travel toys for toddlers has plenty of suggestions. And if you need additional tips for flying with babies and toddlers, particularly if it is your first time, read this post .

Now, let’s take a look at the best baby travel toys.

Ring-o-link Teethers

One of the best baby toys to bring with you when travelling is a ring-o-link teether. Not only are they good for babies who have started teething, but they can be fun toys thanks to their bright colours. Our son used to love trying to pull them apart, although he never fully managed it. There are many ring-o-link teethers on the market, but three I found are perfect travel toys for baby.

Buy it here .

Buckle Toys

Another great baby travel toy is a buckle toy. These early child development toys are both playful and educational, and can help with fine motor skills development. Typically they are types of stuffed toys for babies that have straps with buckles on the ends which interlink with another.

They come in all shapes and sizes, and some will even come with zips for added entertainment and engagement. The Bingo Cube buckle toy is a square cube that comes with buckles and zips and is brightly coloured. The Bentley Caterpillar buckle toy is shaped like a caterpillar with lots of buckles and bright section, and there are even flat versions of buckle toys such as the Buster Square buckle toy .

And for something really cute, you could get a Blizzard Penguin buckle toy . He is adorable with five buckles to the front and numbers and shapes on his back. He even has a small zipper section on his back. He can double up as a sleeping companion for toddlers and older kids.

There are lots of buckle toys to choose from. See the full range on Amazon here . Just be aware that these toys’ recommended age begins from 12 months of age.

Activity Soft Toys for Babies

Activity soft toys for babies such as the Lamaze baby toy range are ideal travel toys for babies. They have a range of toys which are perfect for car seat entertainment for babies and on planes too.

One of our son’s favourite baby toys was his Lamaze stroller and car seat fly toy, similar to Freddie the Firefly . We would bring him in the car and attach it to his infant car seat handle and he would play with him while he wasn’t sleeping. Then the toy would be out and about with us, providing hours of entertainment, even outside of the car.

A great Lamaze toy that would entertain your baby on the plane and at your destination is the Lamaze My First Fish Bowl . This soft fish bowl comes with four sea creatures that crinkle, rattle, jingle, or squeak which will delight any baby. All the creatures fit inside the bowl for easy storage and transport. It is recommended from 6 months and above.

And finally, how about some soft stacking rings. The Lamaze Rainbow Stacking Rings toy comes with a soft central pillar and four additional rings of varying textures and patterns. Recommended for babies from 6 months of age.

There is a huge range of Lamaze baby toys available on Amazon. See the options here .

Spin Ball Toys

Great toys for babies under 1 years of age are spin ball toys. These come in a range of shapes and sizes and, as with most baby toys, come brightly coloured. Many will contain a rattle of some type and will make noise as a result.

One of the best baby toys for airplane travel is a suction spin ball. This is a spinning ball toy that has a suction cup at the end of it to keep it on a table, or tray table in the case of plane and train travel. One such suction spin ball is the Baby Einstein Sticky Spinner Activity Toy which is brightly coloured, spins and has a suction cup. What makes it perfect for travelling with a baby is that it does not have a rattle to it so won’t annoy your fellow passengers.

Another great spin ball toy is the Baby Einstein Bendy Ball Rattle Toy . This colourful activity ball has an outer frame that holds another ball inside. It is a fun and captivating toy for babies and ideal for travelling with them. It is recommended for ages from 3 months.

Take-along Shape Sorter

One of the best educational toys for babies you can take when you travel is a shape-sorter toy. The best, and most practical, on the market is the Melissa & Doug Take-along Shape Sorter .

Unlike traditional, bulky baby shape sorters, this one comes in a padded, but small, carry case in which you will find nine shape holes for nine plastic shapes. The back also has nine crinkly life-the-flaps corresponding to the case’s shapes. And with a carry handle, this is an ideal travel toy for babies. This toy is recommended for babies from the ages of 9 months.

Lift-the-flap Books

Some of the best travel toys for babies are lift-the-flap books. These can be handy and small books, in which the pages have flaps that your baby must lift to reveal a hidden picture. Some may simply have pictures, others may reveal textures and patterns, making them some of the best interactive baby toys. Amazon has a large range of lift-the-flap baby books. See the range by clicking here .

Activity Balls and Toys

Activity balls are also among the best travel toys for babies. These can keep your baby entertained while also helping with their development. Each one has features that help with fine motor skill and other important developmental characteristics.

The Manhattan Click Clack Ball is one such activity ball that is brightly coloured and easily handled by babies. There are handles around the ball which click with each turn making it fun and engaging, and within the ball are beads that rattle too. This is recommended for babies from the age of 12 months.

Another great activity toy to take with you while you travel with a baby is the Coolecool Baby Rattle toy . This brightly coloured toy has lots of activities on it to keep your baby happy and entertained while also helping with their development. There are various aspects to this activity toy: grasp handles, moveable cubes, a rattle, sound button, and more. This is recommended from the age of 3 months of age. A similar product is the Bright Starts Activity Ball which has a central spinning frog and other activities around the grasp handles.

Water Magic Pads

Water Magic Pads are a great way to keep your baby entertained for a while. These can come in a range of sizes and work by using water pens to create drawings and pictures which fade, making the pad reusable time and time again. These are some of the best travel baby toys. Check out the range here on Amazon . Just ensure to check what age the product is recommended from before you purchase.

Dimple Toys

Dimple Toys can make great travel toys for babies to help keep them entertained while helping with their development.

There are lots of options on the market of different shapes and sizes. Dimple toys are colourful toys with silicone bubbles built in to engage your baby. Perfect for ages 6 months and above, these toys, such as the Anpole Baby Simple Dimple Toy , will fit into your hand luggage easily, won’t take up too much room and can be easily cleaned as well.

Wooden Puzzles

A nice, quiet toy for travelling with babies are small wooden puzzles. These puzzles have large, chunky pieces, usually no more than 6 pieces and create colourful pictures such as ladybirds, cars and butterflies. These are ideal from the ages of 12 months and won’t take up too much space in your carry-on luggage. An example of these are the Magifire Wooden Toddler Puzzles which are available in a four or six-pack.

Lacing toys for babies from the age of 6 months and above is a great travel toy that is quiet while helping with their fine motor skills. These usually come with a string and hollow toys to lace through them, but the TUMAMA lacing toy has chunky building blocks that have a double use. They can be threaded with the string (be careful of this with younger babies) or they can be used as building/stacking blocks.

If you’d prefer a lacing toy where everything is incorporated into one item, then there are items such as this available here on Amazon . However, most of these are recommended from the ages of 3 years due to potential choking hazards. It is down to you as a parent to assess these to decide if you want to purchase any of these items.

Tips for choosing travel toys for babies

Before you go buying any travel toys for babies suggested here, I thought I share a few hints and tips to help you even further.

Consider size and weight

While you may want to buy some of the best travel toys for babies, whether the ones suggested here or other types, you need to double check the size and weight of the items before purchasing. Most should be fairly light in weight but it is probably worth checking the dimensions. You want to keep the size as small as possible so it can fit inside your carry-on luggage in particular if you will be flying. Large, bulky toys may be great but they will take up a lot of room.

Consider the noise element

While there are some great musical toys for babies, you don’t want to be annoying your fellow passengers, especially if it is a red-eye flight and your baby’s body clock is still in another time zone. The same goes for toys that rattle. These are great for day time flights but it might be best to hide them for night flights.

Try to avoid small toys that can get lost easily

I suggest avoiding toys that are quite small or that can easily roll off the tray table. Firstly, while your baby might find this game hilarious, it can become annoying very quickly for us parents. And anything that rolls can roll far from your seat and get lost. If your baby loves small activity balls and rattles and you can’t leave them at home, consider a travel tray that has four sides such as the Fun’N’Fly foldable Travel Tray on Amazon .

Buy toys that are easily cleaned

You want to make sure that the baby travel toys you buy are easily cleaned. They may end up on the floor, put into your baby’s mouth, or slobbered over by your family dog, so you need to ensure they can be cleaned easily. Most plastic toys are easily wipeable as are many wooden ones. And soft toys can often be washed in your washing machine so long as it does not contain any electronic parts.

There are a few ways to clean and sanitize baby toys. Some apply to home and some are applicable for when you are travelling, but I thought it would be helpful to add all the methods here.

• In this day and age, soap and water are the best way to clean hands, and this is also true for baby toys such as rattles, teethers, plastic blocks and other smooth-surfaced toys. However, do not put anything electrical or with electronic parts underwater! This is a quick and handy method whether you are at home or on your travels.
• Some baby toys are dishwasher-safe meaning they can be washed on the upper rack of your dishwasher. Check labels carefully before putting anything in there though! Toys that often come dishwasher-safe include rattles, building blocks, shape sorter pieces, stacking cups and teethers.
• Environmentally-friendly surface cleaners are some of the best surface cleaners to use on baby toys as there are no harmful chemicals in them. Look for ones that are free from dyes, non-toxic, free from phthalates and parabens, and that are biodegradable. Since babies often put toys in their mouths, environmentally-friendly cleaners are best.
• Surface wipes are another great way to sanitize baby toys as they are often dedicated disinfectant surface wipes . These are also brilliant for on-the-go cleaning of baby toys. Pop a packet into your carry-on luggage and use them to clean all the surfaces your baby will come in contact with, as well as having them as a backup for dropped toys.
• Stuffed toys can be washed in your laundry machine provided they do not contain and electronic components or parts. Pop them into a laundry bag to give them some protection and wash at the recommended temperature (check the tag on your kids’ soft toys for this).  

I hope you’ve found my suggestions for the best baby travel toys helpful. This is not an exhaustive list but many of the items we tried and tested with our son at that age and know your baby will love them too.

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Family Travel / May 20, 2023

50+ Best Travel Toys for Kids, From Babies to Teens

Travel toys for kids can make the difference between a terrible trip and an opportunity for the whole family to relax and have fun. Y oung kids can be the most enthusiastic travelers. But, long-haul flights can feel like several days when you are struggling to entertain a child on a plane. Whether you are taking a plane ride with kids or a family road trip we have put together a list of the best travel toys for kids, from babies to teens.

Choosing the right travel toys for kids can transform your trip. © Skye Gilkeson

The Best Travel Toys for Kids

The beauty of long haul flights is that any premium carrier will provide personal entertainment screens. But, screen time isn’t going to offer hours of entertainment to your children on a long flight.

Not only does the novelty wear off fast, but there really are limited options for kids when it comes to airplane entertainment systems.

That’s why you need to make sure to pack a selection of toys and activities for each of your kids.

This is a comprehensive list of the best travel toys for kids.

Obviously, you don’t need to pack all of these items. But use this as a guide so you pick and choose those which you think would suit your own kids’ interests and ages. 

The Best Travel Toys for Babies

Sensory toys are perfect for babies and toddlers.

Not only are they great travel toys to help develop their fine motor skills, but they are also a particularly great distraction during take-off and landing when the pressure may be affecting your little ones’ ears.

A rattle or pretend keys . If you’re traveling with a baby and you have to use the insanely small change table in the airplane bathroom, keeping a small toy in the diaper bag is a clever idea.

These Hit The Road Activity Keys are a great toy that we carried on planes (anything with a mirror is a winner with babies).

We must have taken Sophie the Giraffe on at least 30 flights when Alaska was a baby.

Great for teething, chewing during take off if they won’t feed, or as a travel toy to entertain during the flight or car ride, this is one of our favorites.

Suction spinner toys are the perfect toys to stick to the plane window during take-off to entertain babies when they can get frustrated and tired of being in that infant seat belt.

A tummy time book with a mirror and teethers were one of my daughter’s favorite travel toys as a baby.

It was the simplest and easiest travel toy to carry in the carry-on , the baby backpack or to use in the hotel room for playtime. 

Musical pram toys. While most traditional pram toys are too bulky to take traveling, a small pram toy can be surprisingly entertaining for your baby during transit.

We would attach a pram toy like this one to our travel pram, then place it in the car seat of the rental car and use it again when exploring. It easily hooks onto a travel backpack for transit.

Picture books . I’ve mentioned my love of the chew-proof books the Indestructibles series, before. They are lovely and thin, colorful, and cannot be ripped by little hands.

Read Next | What to Pack for Travel With a Baby

Screen time will likely only occupy your kids during take-off and landing. Pack some fun travel toys as well. © Skye Gilkeson

The Best Travel Toys For Toddlers Aged 1-2 years

Toddlers love to build and flex their growing independence.

The best travel toys for toddlers are colorful  and tactile and help them master their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Soft toys are one of the best travel items for toddlers who can easily be overwhelmed by the intensity and unfamiliarity of a long-travel day.

Bringing a soft toy (not their favorite) from home is a really important comfort, particularly for little kids.

If you choose to buy a new soft toy for the trip, buy one that has either a keychain or a hook so you can attach it to the pram or bag while in transit or an educational soft toy that serves a double function – play and comfort.

Busy books are the perfect travel toy for toddlers. Small children love exploring with their hands so these books are ideal.

You don’t need a huge busy board, simply choose the right size quiet book that’s the right size for your carry-on.

A Melissa & Doug refillable water pen and coloring pad is a genius idea as there is no mess, no fuss and you don’t have to watch them like a hawk as you do if you carry markers or sharp pencils.

A magnetic play set will get their little fingers working and test their imagination as they design different scenes.

Animal playsets are the best toys for your toddler to take in the car, plane, or even the bath. You don’t need to pack a whole set, just throw a few in their pencil case.

A Duplo set is a double-duty travel activity as your toddler can build the scene and then use it for imaginary play.

Fingers puppets are a super packable fun travel toy for toddlers. Choose silicone or plastic as they then double as bath toys.

Popper fidget toys are a simple yet effective travel activity for toddlers. The mickey mouse poppers with a key chain are easily attached to your travel bag for entertainment while in transit.

A silicone coloring placemat sits neatly on their tray table and is another fun way for kids to color and draw and is reusable.

A collapsible bucket and sand set is such a handy toy to keep in the car for road trips or to squeeze in your luggage for a holiday.

They are underrated travel toys. But, we have taken beach toys to the beach, used them in the bath, or for park picnics.

Activity books and craft activities make the best travel toys for preschool and early school-aged kids. © Skye Gilkeson

The Best Travel Toys for Kids Aged 3-5 Years

Kids’ creativity and imaginative play really flourish at this age, meaning they have a much broader range of interests when it comes to play.

Dot books are a fun travel toy for preschool to school-aged children. They are a new take on a coloring book. Older toddlers will love these too.

Coloring books are the perfect travel toy for a budding little artist. If you travel or go out to eat frequently, I recommend you buy a pack in bulk and keep them in the cupboard. 

Twistable crayons are a great idea as there is less chance they will make a mess and you don’t need to carry a pencil sharpener.

They are suitable for toddlers to school-aged children and we’ve found they last a long time compared to regular crayons.

Reusable Sticker Books . Reusable stickers are a clever option over a single-use sticker pad as they can design the scene, pack up and start all over again.

Magnatiles are a great way to play with your child on the plane. You can build structures and shapes together and they easily pack away afterward into a ziplock bag or carrying case.

Suction toys are fun airplane toys but also double as bath toys once you get to your hotel.

A talking flashcards toy is one of the best travel items for toddlers for long road trips. This is a good way of entertaining and educating a toddler while they sit in the back seat as they can learn unassisted.

A small magnetic drawing board . Kids follow the pre-made pattern by placing colored magnets to create a picture.

A mini Etch A Sketch is great for small hands as you simply draw with the knobs and shake to erase.

Wikki Stix are bendable crafting sticks of twine that children can shape into whatever they like.

Both little kids and older kids will like getting creative with these and as they are waxy, they don’t require glue to stick onto surfaces.

An airplane tray table cover . A tray table cover is a simple way to keep your child’s snacks and hands on a clean surface (because we know they never keep their food on a plate).

This cover keeps the space clean while adding a couple of extra activities to their schedule.

A foldable travel tray . If you are doing a lot of long-haul travel or a big road trip, consider a tray table organizer. Your child can settle in and get set up and you don’t have to crawl on an airplane floor every five minutes in search of a missing crayon.

Simple, fun, thin books . Both of my kids love the School of Monsters series.

The Best Travel Toys for Kids Aged 5 to 7

Preschool and early school-aged children love to learn in a practical way. So, the best travel toys for 3-5 year olds are fun, educational, and creative activities.

Kids’ tablets can come in handy when you are on a long car ride or family road trip (or you’re flying with a budget carrier that doesn’t provide screens – check that before flying).

While it’s simple to download shows and movies onto your children’s tablet, they can be educational too by adding games like Reading Eggs, World of Peppa Pig, or the Grandma’s Garden series.

If you don’t have the budget for an Apple iPad , buy the top-selling kids tablet with built-in software, parental controls, and a shock-proof case. 

We have these kid’s wireless headphones for our kids to watch tablets or the inflight-screen. They are fun colors, the kids get stickers to customize them and they have a safe, maximum sound limit.

Don’t forget to grab a headphone adapter for flying.

Handheld water games are not only compact but can be quite challenging. These are the perfect game to keep your kids occupied while waiting in those long airport lines.

An activity book is the best travel toy for preschool and early school-aged children, particularly on long trips. T hey can do coloring, solve puzzles, answer questions, and draw.

We like activity book kits that come themed with their favourite characters and include stickers.

Mini Lego sets will keep those with a keen eye for building busy. There are so many different sets to choose from. These have small parts so be mindful of that if you are travelling with younger children.

Explorer Flash Cards . If your 5-year-old is anything like mine, they won’t be able to learn enough facts in a day and love to show off their reading skills.

So, these cards will be a fun learning activity to do with your kids. Choose one of the different themes for each international flight.

A Polly Pocket travel toy is a small play set that your child can get to play with in the lounge and carry on to the plane themselves with its necklace or fanny pack options.

Read Next | Qatar Airways QSuite Review: The World’s Best Business Class

There are so many simple travel toys and activities that will keep your kids engaged during the journey. © Skye Gilkeson

The Best Travel Toys for Kids Aged 7 – 12 years

The tween age group is all about self-expression and exploring their passions. Creative toys for travel are a great option to entertain your tween kids on your next holiday.

Card games . Older kids will enjoy card games like UNO, Memory, or Go Fish. These are also a fun way to pass the time playing together in an airport lounge.

Foldology is an origami-style game that challenges the brain and coordination by creating different shapes out of paper to reveal a photo.

Craft kits . Let them immerse themselves in some craft with a friendship bracelet-making kit .

Drawing Kits . Fashionistas will love trying their hand at designing with this fashion drawing kit including stencils and stickers.

A Rechargeable Game Activity Cube will test their problem-solving skills and enables your kids to play together too.

It includes arcade games, brain games, and disco lights with music for dance parties when you reach your destination.

Tween coloring book . The young artist in your family will love tween coloring and good quality pencils to keep them entertained on the plane.

Mad Libs is a fun word game that can be played with the whole family – perfect for a holiday road trip.

DIY designer water bottle . Let them get creative and decorate a brand-new water bottle that they can then use on their trip so they get a great travel gift too.

Travel Activities for Teens

A Kindle means your teenager can dive into their favourite new travel reads without having to weigh down their carry-on with paperbacks.

This is the perfect gift too for your teenager who commutes a lot between home and school.

A travel journal . Why not encourage them to record their travel memories for later? They can write, draw and scrapbook as they go.

These travel games will fit easily into their carry-on to ease the boredom when it hits promising hours of fun.

Road trip riddles . Get the whole family involved on your next family vacation with some brain-twisting riddles in this book.

Vlogging camera . Is your teenager an aspiring vlogger? Get them an entry-level vlogging camera so they can record your next vacation.

Activity books and craft kits are great travel toys for airport lounges. © Skye Gilkeson

Sticker books are always a hit when travelling. © Skye Gilkeson

Tips for Choosing the Best Travel Toys for Your Trip

Be smart about which travel toys you take.

You absolutely do not have to pack an entire suitcase full of toys for your kids to travel with.

A handful of different toys is the perfect amount. Be smart about what you choose to pack.

The best travel toys for kids are those that are dual-function (like a soft toy with sensory extras like teethers), reusable, compact, and easily washable.

Opt for Quiet Toys

Consider your neighbors on that flight, train ride, or airport lounge. The majority of toys should be quiet toys that don’t disturb others.

If your kids are using a tablet, ensure they have headphones plugged in. And, don’t use musical toys or loud rattles unless you are in the car or out in the open.

New Toys Are Key

New toys are key to keeping them engaged for longer. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune or go overboard with how many you take.

Ration Your Kid’s Travel Activities

Be strategic about the way that you present the travel toys and activities you pack. 

You need to ration each activity out. Then you have an ongoing supply of surprise toys which is especially important on a long journey.

Make sure you have some travel toys in your carry-on and some in your checked baggage for when you arrive at your destination.

You may need them for the wait in the luggage hall, the transfer trip, or the hotel waiting area.

How to Pack Kids Toys for the Plane

Encourage each child to decorate their own packing cubes that will fit easily in a carry-on.

Make sure you have two separate bags or activities for younger and older siblings or a bag for each child, so you don’t risk arguments over who owns which toys.

Make sure each child (if they are 5 years old and up) knows they are responsible for their own travel activities, including packing everything away once they’re finished.

When you’re packaging up your toys into different bags, ensure anything that could leak is in a well-sealed snap-lock bag.

Ask For Inflight Entertainment

Don’t be afraid to ask the flight attendant whether the airline has any travel toys for kids.

Some airlines have great kids activity kits like the Qantas kids pack that contains a mini Etch A Sketch style toy.

We hope this comprehensive guide to the best travel toys for kids gives you some inspiration and helps you pack for your next trip with the kids.

More travel tips and inspiration:

4 Lake Como Towns You Must Visit

A Guide on Epic Things to Do in Queenstown New Zealand

The Ultimate Travel Guide to Banff

How to Spend Two Days in Zurich – Tips From a Local

Skye is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Fit Traveller.

She is a journalist, writer, photographer, intrepid traveller and a former personal trainer with a passion for helping others reach optimal health.

As a TV journalist and producer, Skye has worked for household names such as 60 Minutes, Sunrise, TODAY and Nine News. She has also written for Women’s Health, Fodor’s Travel and Yahoo7 Travel, among many others.

Equally comfortable in a 5-star resort or hiking a far-off mountain, Skye loves the unexpected and enriching life experiences that each trip brings and can often be found in a backstreet chatting to locals with her camera in hand.

Skye is based in Sydney, working to master the balance between motherhood and her appetite for adventure.

Read more about Skye’s story here .

The Fit Traveller may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Prices may be subject to change without notice.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Read more here.

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The Best Cleaning and Organizing Deals From Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Spring has sprung—which means it’s time to crack your windows, soak up some sunshine, and maybe, just maybe, tackle a few spring-cleaning projects.

Wirecutter journalists think about cleaning and organizing year-round, recommending all the best tools and methods that leave your space feeling fresh. The only thing better than having cleaning supplies that get the job done is stocking up on them at a discount.

We’ve rounded up the best deals on some of our favorite cleaning and organizing supplies below.

A sleek shoe rack

Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack — Upgrade Pick Amazon deal price: $94 ; street price: $115

The durable, investment-worthy Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack  is stylishly sleek enough to display in your entryway and slim enough to tuck away in a closet if you’d rather keep your kicks out of sight. It can store up to 24 pairs of adult-size shoes on its five shelves (plus the space on the floor underneath). The top of the rack can also double as an entryway shelf, and the tower includes two hooks on the side for hanging keys or an umbrella. The shoe rack is currently on sale only in white.

Read our review of the best shoe racks .

A vacuum that doesn’t suck

Roborock Q5+ Robot Vacuum — Our Pick Roborock deal price: $370 ; street price: $550

A self-emptying robot vacuum allows you to tackle other chores while it goes around your house sucking up debris and dirt. Compared with other robot vacuums we tested, our top pick, the Roborock Q5+ Robot Vacuum , offers better battery life, app navigation, mapping, and voice-command response. It’s excellent at cleaning hard floors and low- to medium-pile carpet. Like nearly all of its competition, it struggled to pick up debris near thresholds and baseboards in our tests. The Roborock Q5+ comes with a charging station that empties debris into a disposable bag. Use the code ROBOROCKS for the deal price.

Read our review of the best robot vacuums .

A high-security shredder

Amazon Basics 8-Sheet High-Security Micro-Cut Shredder with Pullout Basket — Top Pick Amazon deal price: $62 ; street price: $69

Mail and documents with personal information can pile up quickly, and it can be easy to let them just lie around if you’re not sure how to securely dispose of them. Opting for a high-security shredder—such as our top pick, the Amazon Basics 8-Sheet High-Security Micro-Cut Shredder with Pullout Basket —can help you micro-cut documents with ease. It can run jam-free for nearly 10 minutes without overheating, and it includes a separate CD/DVD shredding slot. This shredder is slightly larger than other eight-sheet shredders with lift-up tops, but its functionality is worth the extra space it occupies.

Read our review of the best paper shredders .

A lopper for too-big branches

Fiskars 28″ Power-Lever Bypass Lopper — Also Great Target deal price: $20 ; street price: $23

Spring is the perfect time to give your outdoor spaces some love. If you have branches that need pruning, the Fiskars 28″ Power-Lever Bypass Lopper may be able to help you tackle those that are too big for your average pruners. It works more quickly than a saw, and it’s long enough to prune harder-to-reach branches just as easily as the low-hanging ones.

Read our review of garden gear to clean up your lawn .

A secure lockbox

Barska Compact Medication Lock Box — Upcoming Pick Amazon deal price: $41 ; street price: $51

If you’re reorganizing your medicine cabinet, it might be a good time to also invest in a lockable box to keep prescriptions and other medications safe from the little ones in your home. The Barska Compact Medication Lock Box is a wall-mounted metal lockbox that we’ll be recommending in our upcoming guide to keeping your stash—whether it’s marijuana or something else—secure. This mountable lockbox can accommodate pill bottles of all sizes and heights, along with other first-aid resources. It can also sit on a countertop, though we know that its stark-white metal style isn’t for everyone. Make sure to clip the on-page coupon for the deal price.

A quick fashion fix

Homeasy Fabric Shaver — Our Pick Amazon deal price: $22 ; street price: $25

Instead of replacing your closet staples, consider investing in some laundry aids that can help your clothes last a bit longer. The Homeasy Fabric Shaver is our top-pick electric fabric shaver for big jobs, such as de-pilling and de-fuzzing sweaters in need of some TLC after a long winter. It features six sharp blades, a wide head, and intuitive controls, and it proved very effective during our testing. It’s quiet, comfortable to hold, capable of lasting up to six hours on a full charge, and USB rechargeable. The deal price is about $2 higher than the lowest sale price we’ve seen, but this deal is still a good value.

Read more about the best cheap(ish) laundry aids .

This article was edited by Elissa Sanci.

Meet your guide

Gabriella DePinho

Gabriella DePinho is an updates writer at Wirecutter. Previously, she worked at NBC News writing about deals and product launches. She loves working in product recommendation but personally hates shopping—and she knows that doesn’t make sense.

Further reading

How to Tackle Intimidating Spring Cleaning Projects

by Elissa Sanci

The tasks on your spring cleaning list can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. We’re here to help.

The Best Cheap Mattresses (Under $500)

by Caira Blackwell

It takes some effort, but you can find a decent, comfortable mattress that won’t break the bank. Here are five we recommend.

The Best Amazon Black Friday Deals Under $100

by Wirecutter Staff

Some of the best Black Friday deals can be found on Amazon, and here we’ve collected those that can be had for under $100.

Refresh Your Space This Spring With Discounted Wirecutter Picks From Fully, Yamazaki, and Cuisinart

Save this spring with these great deals on tools to organize, declutter, and brighten up your home.

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