Since we池e traveling to Ethiopia with two children (5 and 2) and returning from Ethiopia with 4 kids, I致e been giving this topic some serious thought.

My husband says I知 overthinking this-- maybe so. But I have a three-part plan for occupying the little girls on the way there. Our first flight is only a couple hours. I値l be bringing fanny packs loaded with goodies for the girls, and plan to keep them in my own bag until after take-off. Hopefully we can get through at least the first half hour just with windows and tray tables and the novelty of flying. But when restlessness sets in, I値l hand each little girl her own fanny pack filled with goodies.

Each fanny pack contains:
- a three-color pen on a string to wear like a necklace or draw with.
- a tiny notebook
-stickers
-a fake cell phone which is also a candy dispenser
- a tiny doll with bottle and blanket

Hopefully with the charms of their own little pack full of goodies, we値l get to San Francisco easily.

By the time we get on the next plane, to Frankfurt (10 hours) it will be nap time for the 2 year old. I知 guessing she値l go to sleep pretty quickly with a bottle, leaving us to occupy only the 5 year old for awhile. I値l be packing a good selection of items, including a new Lauri foam puzzle/lacing set, a travel-size game of Connect Four, a tiny suitcase full of dollies, Color Wonder finger paints, and really cool-looking wooden spool lacing toy.

Once the two year old wakes up from her nap and plays with the toys until she gets bored, we'll probably break out my laptop and a DVD. I'm packing a splitter and a pair of headphones so they both can listen together. I also invested in a honkin' big auxiliary battery that extends our DVD play time to about 5 hours-- enough for three kids' DVD. I'll let the girls watch the first DVD on the plane to Frankfurt, and save the other two DVD's for the 9-hour leg of the journey between Frankfurt and Adddis.

Also in my stash is an iPod and a Gameboy. If we get really lucky, we'll have seatback TV's with programs that are interesting to the girls. But those are not always available on Lufthansa-- thus the laptop. And there's always Benadryl if we get really desperate. We may have some really restless times on the plane. But I'm sure with a little luck, a lot of patience, and a lot of prayer, we'll get to Ethiopia and back just fine.

Related links
Traveling with little ones, part one | part two
The perfect bag
Preschoolers on planes