Things To Buy Before Your Family Train Day

In my previous post, I talked about some great destinations to check out if you a have a train lover in the family. While I believe all of them do have a gift shop (some may not be open at this time), and I fully believe in supporting small businesses when possible … it’s not always practical. If you have older children, they might be great at window shopping, saving their own money, or staying within a budget. But at 4 and 3, my kids simply aren’t. Not to say that I never buy them souvenirs when we’re out, but I DO try to plan ahead and balance occasionally letting them pick something out themselves at a gift shop AND more often than not, I already have a few surprises tucked away in our bag.

This works well for our family because it sometimes distracts the kids from wanting to go into a store at all, or at the least, it can help diffuse a potential meltdown if they’re asking for something I’m not willing to buy. PLUS, bringing along a few little things can help with car boredom to/from the destination and sometimes also comes in handy on the train. (My kids love train rides, but at their age, they still have a short attention span!)

Here are some of train-themed items that we either own and love, OR I have my eye on them for future “Train Days.”
Note: This list is limited to small items that can easily be stowed in a large purse, backpack or diaper bag or worn the day of!

1: Thomas Engineer Hat Every little engineer wants his own hat!

2: Day Out with Thomas Wooden Car with Sir Topham Hatt This is a great Amazon find because it actually says Day Out with Thomas on it. I gave this to Henry when we ate lunch at the Red Caboose, and he went nuts!

3: Thomas & Friends Red Railway Box of Books Henry has had these since his 2nd birthday, and we still read them constantly.

4: Thomas Activity and Imagine Ink Books Both of my kids LOVE Imagine Ink books. This is a cool set that also includes coloring and stickers.

5: Train Whistle I sometimes hide these … but they always find their way back. A kid favorite.

6: Train Ultimate Sticker Book This will be making its way to my cart for our next train ride.

7: Mens & Youth One Track Mind Tee Shirt Funny shirt that comes in both adult and youth sizes.

8: Thomas Tee Shirt & Shorts I love to dress the kids with our theme.

9: Wooden Magnetic Thomas The CLASSIC.

10: The Big Book of Trains Perfect for your child that wants to know all the train facts.

11: The Little Engine That Could The classic story is still great today.

12: Thomas & Friends Minis Blind Bags These are meant for party favors, but I love them for little rewards. They come in “blind bags,” which adds a little more fun to the presentation.

13: I May Spontaneously Talk About Trains Adult and Youth Tee Shirt I know a few people this is fitting for.

14: The Little Train This is a favorite in our house. A short and sweet board book that also teaches parts of the train.

*I’ve included links here wherever possible. I have found that the best prices for Thomas shirts are usually at Kohls if Jumping Beans has any in their current collection. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.