With the summer fast approaching, it’s time to get ready for having the kids off school. If you are lucky enough to have a  holiday planned and you’re travelling with a 9 or 10 year old, then you might find this blog helpful. This is my last blog on travel activities. If you missed my last ones and they interest you, you can find them here:

Travel Activities for 3 and 4 Year Olds

Travel Activities for 5 and 6 Year Olds

Travel Activities for 7 and 8 Year Olds

Today I’m focusing on travel activities for 9 and 10 year olds. Like the other blogs, these activities aren’t necessarily for doing while in a car/on a plane (and most of them aren’t suitable for this) but rather toys to keep your child busy on a rainy day or when they are hungry and waiting for food to be served. They are toys and games which you will hopefully enjoy doing with them or which might encourage other children to join in with. So, here they are !

1. A pack of playing cards

There are so many games you can play with one pack of playing cards. If your child is alone, they can play solitaire or if there are others willing to play, there are countless games. Our family favourites are Spit and Spoons.

2. Rory’s Story Cubes

This is a fun game where a different story is made up everytime you play it depending on what the cubes show! Simply throw the 9 cubes and make up a character and a beginning, middle and end of the story. It comes in a really handy travel tin.

3. Gepettos Hippo – 3D Wooden Puzzle

Definitely don’t try and do this on an airplane or the pieces might end up everywhere! This puzzle is flat and light – prefect for travelling with. It has 45 pieces that slot together and no glue is needed to complete it.

4. A French Knitting Doll

Making a French knitting rope takes time and you will probably find that your child has more time than usual when they are on their holidays. This is the kind of activity you can put down and pick up again throughout your holiday. Once you have made the rope, coil and shape it into whatever you desire to make.

5. Juggling Balls

There’s no better time than holidays to learn a new skill, as you have time to practice and juggling is a skill that will always impress!

6. A French Skipping Rope

Also known as ‘elastics’, ‘Cats Cradle’ or ‘Chinese Rope’ this is an activity where you wrap the long elastic rope around the ankles of two people and then the third person jumps over it in an arranged sequence. Once achieved, the rope gets raised until the sequence is no longer possible and the next player tries it. They are super light and small for travelling with and great if you are staying in a caravan park or somewhere where there are other kids as it will encourage them to play together.

7. Return Ball

It’s not always possible to have someone you can throw a ball to but these return balls can fix that problem. The tennis ball is connected to a wrist band with a long elastic rope. Throw the ball and it will return. The challenge is to learn to catch it!

8. Origami Sea Creatures

Learn how to make cool sea creatures by folding paper in a specific way and if sea creatures aren’t your thing, I also stock origami dinosaurs, airplanes, animals and small boxes.

9. Where’s Wally – Find it Fast

This is such a fun observation game where you have to find items on your card before everyone else does.

10. Make your own Brazilian style, friendship bracelets

This activity will keep your children busy for hours. There’s five styles of bracelets to learn to make and enough thread for seven bracelets. What’s great about this holiday activity is that you have gifts to bring home to friends once you have made them!

I hope that helps you as you prepare going on holidays with your nine and ten year old children. If none of these suit your child or children and you think travel games might work better, you can find my blog ‘Travel Games for 9-12 year olds‘ here or you can find my full range of toys for this age group here:

Toys for nine to twelve year olds

Happy holliers!

xx Suzie