Family boredom kit

Classic spotting game — take turns describing something you can see. Great for airports and car journeys.

Think of an animal, person, or object. Everyone else asks yes/no questions to guess what it is.

Spot things beginning with each letter of the alphabet in order. First to Z wins.

Create bingo cards with numbers 0–9. Spot them on number plates to cross them off.

One person starts a story with a sentence, the next adds one, and so on. Gets wonderfully silly.

Take turns asking "Would you rather…?" questions. Great for all ages and sparks brilliant conversations.

Hum or whistle a song and see who can guess it first. Works brilliantly on long journeys.

Classic one-on-one thumb battle. No equipment needed, works anywhere.

Run a family tournament — best of three, then the winners play each other.

Take turns naming countries, capitals, or famous landmarks. Great for older kids.

Download a spot-the-difference app before you travel. Quiet, absorbing, and great for focus.

All you need is a piece of paper and a pen. Play best of five.

Classic word-guessing game on paper. Great for practising spelling too.

Draw a grid of dots, take turns connecting them. Complete a box to score a point.

Download a family trivia app or print questions before you go. Great for competitive families.

Give each child a small notebook to draw, write, and stick things in. A brilliant keepsake too.

Pack a colouring book and a small tin of pencils. Absorbing for toddlers and young children.

Reusable sticker books are brilliant for toddlers — no mess, endlessly entertaining.

Print or buy a simple origami guide. Fold paper planes, animals, and boats.

Satisfying and calming for younger children. Pack a few different difficulty levels.

Wordsearches, crosswords, and sudoku for older kids. Great for quiet focused time.

Write 20 drawing prompts on cards before you go — "draw the funniest animal", "draw our family as superheroes".

Download a family audiobook before you travel. Great for long car journeys — everyone listens together.

Story podcasts like Wow in the World or Story Pirates are brilliant for car journeys.

Give older kids a task: research one thing to do at your destination and present it to the family.

Look out the window and find shapes in the clouds. Who can spot the best animal?

Pack a few small finger puppets. Toddlers love them and they take up almost no space.

Fill a zip-lock bag with rice and small toys. Babies and toddlers love squishing and finding hidden objects.

A handful of pipe cleaners can keep young children busy for ages — bend them into shapes, animals, and jewellery.

A mess-free drawing board is brilliant for toddlers on planes. Erase and repeat endlessly.

Print or buy a set of family conversation cards. Great for getting teens talking without screens.

A small tub of playdough is endlessly entertaining for toddlers. Pack it in a sealed bag.

At international airports, see how many different country flags you can spot on luggage tags and clothing.

Create a bingo card of things to spot at the airport — red suitcase, sleeping adult, dog in a bag, pilot.

Teach kids box breathing (4 counts in, hold, out, hold). Brilliant for anxious flyers and meltdown prevention.

Pick a family playlist and have a sing-along in the car. Embarrassing for teens, brilliant for everyone else.

On road trips, keep a tally of animals spotted — cows, horses, sheep, birds. Who spots the most?