I am getting ready to travel cross country with my two children, by myself. I posted a question similar to this. I can think of plenty of things to entertain my 4 yo, but my 1 yo has me stumped a bit. We have a DVD player, but besides Tinkerbell she has little interest in TV. I was able to find a small round plastic tub (at home depot), that she can reach from her car seat to get things out herself. For normal running around town I have a magna doodle, one of the water ring toss games (she can't play it, but LOVES to push the buttons) and books and her "car" baby.
For our trip I have lots of not too messy snacks planned.
I also found a small purse at Goodwill yesterday. I plan on just filling it with "stuff"....a play phone, keys, an old change purse. She loves to carry things around and fill bags, so I am hoping that will keep her busy for a bit.
She has recently gotten into matchbox cars, so I bought her some little cars that are larger than matchbox cars, but still small to play with.
And we have two different versions of the giggle sound station http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=8001&e=product.... I have hidden them so they will seem "new" on our trip. My little button pusher LOVES this thing. Her brother and both her cousins loved theirs too...I found them all at Goodwill for just a few dollars. In the car they can be a little noisy, but I put tape over the speaker and it mutes is enough for the car.
And her leapfrog Chat and Count cell phone (http://shop.leapfrog.com/leapfrog/jump/Chat-%26-Count-Cel...) has saved many a shopping trip...so it's hidden to be a "new" toy for the road. Again...using the tape over the speaker trip.
I also got her an mp3 player. I found a very simple plain one online for $10. If she gets a hold of it and mashes all the buttons all she will do is skip around the songs. I bought some volume control headphones for kids, so I don't have to worry about that. Many people suggested kid songs and story Cds to me. So I got a ton from our library and added them to her player. I can also clip the player out of her reach in car seat, so I am not too concerned about any choking hazards...plus she is positioned where can see her at all times. We tested it yesterday in the car and grocery store...she was one happy little camper.
I think this with our plan to make lots of stops will keep us sane! I am bringing our lunches and breakfasts, but for dinner wherever we eat will have a playground, so they can run around. And our hotel will have a pool, so we can burn off all the extra energy. Safe travels!!!