Our Train Bag

Travelling long distances can be difficult with young children and it pays to be prepared.  I regularly visit my sister in the Highlands of Scotland – this involves a 7 hour train journey (including time waiting for connections).  To cope with this, I started to develop a train bag, but we’ve used it on aeroplanes and taken it with us on shorter journeys when we want to travel light, but want access to some toys and activities. Keeping children entertained on a train journey takes a lot of the stress out of travel.

The train bag is basically a Bookstart book bag (the ones like school book bags) that I’ve filled with a range of items.  I’ve culled these items from magazines, spotted in gift shops and donated by friends.  I started with paper, pencils/crayons and some stickers for art work on the go.  I’m always on the lookout for lightweight items that have good play and entertainment value.  Obviously I replace and top up stationery supplies as and when we need to.

We’ve collected quite a few items from Virgin Trains goody bags, including a mini blackboard with chalk and a ticket collector’s kit complete with coins, tickets and conductor’s visor.  Aeroflot contributed an aeroplane jigsaw and Thistle hotels a mini connect 4 style game.  These sort of travel items are really appropriate for a journey and only playing with them on a trip means they have a novelty value.

Toys from magazines can be good (as long as they don’t break within minutes).  We have some Peppa Pig dominoes which can be used as dominoes, as part of a memory game or for imaginative play adventures with Peppa and the gang.  A set of Bob the Builder foam tools has been remarkably robust despite a lot of use.  As a bit of a treat I’d buy a magazine for a longer journey, ideally selecting one with a good free toy.  If the toy is still intact (and popular) after two 7 hour journeys to Scotland and back, it becomes a permanent addition to the train bag.

We also have a number of McDonalds toys which were given to us by friends and family.  These are plastic, so they are light, but they are a bit more bulky.  We tend to take these on journeys in the car or where we have more carrying capability (i.e. two parents instead of one).

I’ve also bought a couple of items specially for the train bag.  In my case some small tubs of playdough; a finger puppet story satchel set like this one from Zuza Books and some Pop & Slot animals from Petit la Borde.