Ellen: I don't think that is much of an issue, unless that which packed shows up as questionable under the scanner. Additionally, we "wrapped" the new toys in (fancy, expensive, luxurious) brown paper lunch bags. Ok, so we skimped on time, money and energy, but the net effect was the same (after he figured out what they were).

If you want to give wrapped presents, bring some materials like small lunch bags with you on the plane. You can just slip the toy inside and tie the top with ribbon. If your child enjoys coloring, they can then color the bag, too. Also, my kids used to enjoy making puppets out of the bags; bring a couple glue sticks, some scraps of paper, fabric, pipecleaners, etc. Wipes, of course, for the glue stick remains on the tray table.

Things I brought for a wiggly son: <BR><BR>Get one of those paint-with water activity books with the paint-spots already on the page. Use q-tips for paintbrushes, and put 1/4 inch of water in a cup. My son painted gifts for all the flight attendants. <BR><BR>Hand lotion for taking turns giving hand massages. <BR><BR>A SMALL carton of play-doh. Put a collection of small toys, plastic animals, walnuts, closepins, etc in a ziploc bag, and make impressions of the toys in the doh. Take turns guessing what each is. <BR><BR>Fact is, I brought all this cool stuff and he promptly fell asleep (drug-free). I couldn't even wake him for the meal. <BR>

WARNING; if you are using a child safety seat, you probably cannot sit in the bulkhead row. The reason is that most carseats cannot be secured unless you raise at least one armrest on the aircraft seat, and the armrests in the bulkhead row don't lift.<BR><BR>It is an FAA rule that the carseat cannot impede egress for another passenger. What that normally means is window position only. However, I have found that on two-aisle widebody aircraft, you might also be allowed to place the seat in the exact center seat of the middle row.<BR><BR>Most transatlantic flights now have personal video screens at each seat, Thank God! My 3 yo spent most of the return trip last time watching cartoons and Mary Poppins, and playing simple video games.