Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Just “plane” fun!

***Update: Since you asked...the container is actually a beef jerky container from this little family owned place that my dad often stops to get beef jerky on the way to see us. (it's called Robertson's...maybe if you emailed them, you could just buy a container! ...But, the lady that I got the idea from just used a 2 liter bottle, so that works too! :) ... And, the trinkets are just stuff from around the house, alphabet beads from Michael's, and some other things from Mardel’s 10 for $1.00 bin, party favor sections and the Target dollar section. All in all, I think the project only cost me about $10.00. Good luck! :)

Since Quinn was such a precious little love on this trip, I thought I’d share some of the things that kept him entertained! I’m SO glad that they worked! I was a little nervous about how he’d do on a 3 hour flight and then in a hotel with VERY few of his toys! Here’s how we came prepared…

#1: 51Ne2YYzN%2BL__SL500_AA240_ Curious George Sticker Activity Book: This was an airport find from Melissa and was a HUGE hit with Quinn. He loved the “hidden pictures” and all of the stickers!

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Thomas & Friends Surprise Ink Book: Serious geniuses create stuff like this. No mess! And, Quinn was so excited to see what the magic pen would reveal!

#3: MiniPlayDoh Play-doh: You can NEVER go wrong with good ‘ol fashioned play-doh. Quinn was entertained for almost an hour on the flight back. I loved watching his imagination work. My favorite was when he made a birthday cake, added the straw for the candle, sang “Happy Birthday” and then blew it out! Cuteness! OHIO 166

#4: Apple_iPod_Nano_8GB_ IPOD Nano: Yes, my two year old officially has his own Nano. It was Matt’s (before he got his IPhone…but after we saw how much he LOVED watching shows on this little thing, we knew it was no longer ours. It was a perfect thing to entertain our little man. And, it was stocked with these…

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OHIO 028

#5:

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Shake & Find Bucket: I’d seen things similar to this for crazy amounts of money and had intended on making one for Quinn for a long time. I thought this trip was a perfect opportunity to get it done. I found lots of little trinkets, dyed rice, took pictures of the trinkets in color groups, and then put the trinkets and rice in a clear container.

Here’s what to do:

Add a few drops of food coloring and 5 squirts of purell to 1 1/2 cups of dry rice in a Ziploc bag. Shake until all are dyed.

Shake and Find Pictures 001 Take pictures of all of the items that you plan to put inside. Then, add the pictures to a mini photo album.

Shake and Find Pictures 008 Shake and Find Pictures 002 Shake and Find Pictures 003 Shake and Find Pictures 004 Shake and Find Pictures 005 Shake and Find Pictures 006 Shake and Find Pictures 007 Shake and Find Letters 001Shake and Find Letters 003OHIO 003I’m not exaggerating when I say that Quinn played with this for HOURS on the trip! He LOVES it, and I was so glad. It did take me quite a bit of time to put together for him…but well worth it! :)

OHIO 026 OHIO 021 There you have it! Hope these things help you on a trip…or just for fun! :)

11 comments:

Brandi said...

That is awesome!!! What kind of canister did you put the rice and items in?? way cute!!! LOVE IT!

The Rodriguez Crew said...

holy COW i will be coming back to this post for sure on our next trip. that shake n find is AWESOME! Jagger would go nuts over it. thanks for sharing, I always get the greatest tips from blogs!!

Mary said...

You're incredibly creative--going to make a shake n find thingy for sure. Do tell where you found the canister though...and where did you find all of the little trinkets? Dollar store maybe? Share your secrets please!

Tara G. said...

I used to travel with some of those same things during a particular military assignment- brings back memories! I love your shake and find idea!! We're being sent back overseas and it's going to be a little different this time with 3 small children on an overseas flight (after already being in transit for a month!). We used to say when I was teaching that if you don't have a plan, the kids will have one for you (and you may not like it!)- the principle is the same at home for anything and your planning certainly paid off and made for a pleasant trip!

Danielle (Life with the Hewitt Family) said...

You guys were well prepared! That shake and find bucket is amazing! It sounds like it would provide so much entertainment. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

holy cow! i am definitely going to make a shake and find for our next road trip! love it! i always get great ideas from blogs! you have some great ones! thanks!

Jennifer said...

I love the rice idea! We fly a lot and Landree can play with stickers for a good 1+ hours, but this is so cool! So do you cross items off your list when you find them, or it is more just a 'look for' game? I love your craft fun days too! Thanks for sharing!

kristin fulghum said...

i love that idea! i'm storing the shake and find bucket away for later. thanks for sharing.

The Rodriguez Crew said...

fyi, i bet the Archer Farms containers from Target would work great for this... they are the same shape and size. They come with popcorn/crunch'n'munch type goodies in them! hope that helps everyone!

Meredith said...

I agree with everyone about how neat that Shake and find is. How did you use it? Did you have Quinn shake it, grab something and identify it or does he just dig around?

CASEY said...

I found your blog through some mutual friends and have borrowed several of your ideas with my nephews. By far, this was a favorite. So much so that I just blogged about it. Thanks for the great idea!