5 hour flight with 4.5 year old

[cjt110]

We've got the usual tablet loaded with stuff but what else?

Snacks, pad and colouring pencils/crayons.

Reading books, colouring books, card games.

Tbh with take off, landing, meals, drinks, toilet trips and a couple of activities, there won’t me all that much time left.

I remember hour flights feeling like the LONGEST ones in the WORLD and we vowed we'd only take him on 2 hour flights in future... then we booked this holiday

You will be fine, a deck of cards, a new game they haven't played yet - travel connect 4 or travel guess who. Treat them to a magazine at the airport which should have some puzzles in it, snacks to keep them quiet. Layered clothes, and a no spill water bottle to fill up when you get air side.

Use it as an opportunity to spend some quality time. Choose a movie together, snuggle up and it will fly by x

Things wrapped up. Old things, new things, snacks... nothing expensive. But if they have something to unwrap every now and then, just getting the wrapping off passes a couple of minutes, and anything seems more excited when it's wrapped up.

Colouring books, puzzles, travel guess who, playing cards. Didn't have tablets when mine were that age and we regularly took 10 hour flights and were fine.

Headphones for the tablet.

Little packs of snacks, those 3x biscuits in a wrapper, cereal bars, little fruit packets etc. Little and often.

Non-spill bottle as mentioned above. Take it through security empty and fill it up in departures.

We do this regularly and just planning for my just 5 year old and 3 year old, I have (or have had in the past), in addition to tablet:
Dobble
Small LEGO/playmobil set
Crayola mess free colouring
Sequin stickers
Magnadoodle
Dot to dot book
Colouring books
Julia Donaldson activity/sticker books from book people
Usborne dolly sticker dressing books
Paw patrol/peppa 1000 sticker books
Lots of food
Wipe clean activity books
Little animals/cars/people

I really limit screen time a week before we go so they watch more on board!

What time is the flight and what time do you land (local?)

Kid sized headphones, wet wipes, a full change of clothes (possibly a change for adults too for when the dc are sick on you), calpol watchers. Plenty of water and enough snacks in case they refuse to eat the food provided. Sucky sweets for take off and landing.

When dd2 was 4 we did a 5 hour flight, and she managed well watching films and playing on her tablet. We also brought sticker books, colouring, activity books, her fav cuddly toy and some plastic animals.

We depart at 0845 UK time but need to be at the airport fro, 0645 - which means leaving the local hotel at 0600ish maybe getting up at 5?

We land at 1500ish Cypriot time and booked a private transfer as opposed to the 2 hour bus journey.

It will go quickly. Headphones and a tablet are your friends.

It’ll be fine.
Tablet, few extra ‘activities’ as mentioned above, food, trips to the loo etc and you’ll be landing.
Good luck