How do I keep my 12mth ds entertained on flight to Florida

[aprilmeadow]

We are taking our 12mth ds to Florida in 2 weeks and it has just suddenly (dense i know)hit me 'how am i going to keep him entertained!'. HE loves to crawl everywhere and has just taken his first steps (this last week). He has ants in his pants at the best of times, so what can i take to keep him occupied for 9 hours?

I thought about his favourite book, plus some new ones that he hasnt seen before, as well as his favourite teddy, but not sure what else to take. Any ideas?

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=3&threadid=160893&stamp=060406093809\try this - ther are lot of thread about it if oyu searhc through tavel}

lots of very small toys, instead if a few big ones.
books
colouring
wee men, cars, animals.
a few new things, for novelty factor (if he starts acting up)
plenty of food and snacks (the inflight baby food was gross)
lots of drinks to prevent dehydration
very comfortable clothes, layers are good as it can get quite hot.

and we got a childrens bag of goodies.

ds was also 12mths when we went to florida and we had no problems. they can be amused by the simplest things...a quarter-filled water bottle to shake etc, lots of walks along the plane.

Brilliant thank you for the link Cod and also for the tips Gloworm.

Hi, we've done it a couple of times with our two as toddlers and I was really pleasantly surprised how pain free it was (cf how I'd imagined it was going to be!). I agree with Gloworm about packing a variety of things. We pack our two with a goody bag. They don't get to see what's in it until the plane takes off . Just emptying it out takes up time for them. I pack little treats such as raisins and snack bars (& sweets) plus pocket money/stocking filler toys. The first year we did long haul, Shrek had just been released and ds and I watched it 3 times on the flight! A good (child friendly) in flight movie really helps!
Also, I always pack a spare set of clothes (top/bottoms) in the hand luggage. We've never yet managed a flight without one of the kids spilling a drink.

When ds was little he was happy to stand on his chair and abuse the passenger in the seat in front. so,on the way back, dh and dd sat in the 2 seats in front (window and middle seat) and ds and I had the same seats but the row behind, then ds could stand on his chair on smack his Dad on the head instead of some poor unsuspecting stranger. Also sometimes if the flights not full you get the 3 seats between 2 of you. I have to say, stopping him from 'abusing' the passenger in front was the hardest part! DH did a lot of walking up and down the plane with him too. Fingers crossed for you!