This holiday season, AAA projects more than 8 million passengers will take a domestic flight between December 20 and January 1, surpassing last year’s record number of holiday travelers by 2.3 percent. With so many of us heading to the airport, chaos and crowds seem more likely than candy canes and Christmas cheer.
If you’re traveling with kids, air travel brings another whole set of issues. After watching their favorite stuffed animal go through the security screening, children must sit for hours. And as a parent and a former pre-school teacher, I can say also without a doubt that sitting quietly in an airplane seat goes against almost every young child’s natural instinct.
When you’re flying, your trip begins and ends at an airport terminal. A smooth on-the-ground experience can start your trip off on the right foot, but unfortunately all airports are not created equal. An airport with family-friendly services and facilities such as casual dining options, playgrounds, clean family bathrooms, and private nursing areas are key when you’re traveling with kids. Which means you’re in luck if your holiday travels take you through one of these family-friendly airports that will help make your trip a little merrier and bright.
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Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport
At this point, O’Hare International Airport is almost synonymous with flight delays. But for many travelers, connecting through O’Hare is virtually unavoidable. And at Christmastime, at least, there aren’t many other airports in the U.S. better suited to help families weather the experience.
“My favorite airport to travel through during the holidays with my kids is Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport,” says travel writer Johnny Jet, who traverses the world with his wife and their two young children. “The airport does a fantastic job with holiday decorations and our kids love recreating the famous Home Alone scenes. The children’s playground and a four-story-tall replica of a Brachiosaurus skeleton always impresses them.”
Kids and hot dogs are a match made in heaven. America’s Dog in Terminal 1 serves a snappy Chicago-style version that locals call “dragged through the garden,” piled high with an assortment of crunchy vegetable toppings. Of course, many kids may prefer a plain hot dog, which is also available.
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Mamava Lactation Pods are designed to make breastfeeding and pumping easier in public spaces. In 2025, O’Hare topped Mamava’s annual list of the best airports for breastfeeding parents.
“Airports are stressful, hectic environments, and the physiology of nursing requires a certain amount of calm for let-down to occur,” says Sascha Mayer, Cofounder and Chief Experience Officer at Mamava. “A dedicated private space makes a meaningful difference. At large airports like O’Hare, pods supplement existing lactation spaces and help meet demand.”
Each movable, private pod is designed with a built-in seat, lighting, mirror, and fan. The XL Lactation Pod model is wheelchair accessible. Download the free Mamava app to easily locate and access the pods.
Boston’s Logan International Airport
Airport playgrounds give kids the opportunity to get physical. At Boston Logan, playgrounds have been created with the help of experts in the field of museum education. In partnership with the Boston Children’s Museum, Logan is home to Kidport play areas in terminals 1, 2, and 3. According to Charlayne Murrell-Smith, VP of External Relations at the museum, “Kidport provides a welcome respite for parents and their children in the midst of a hectic travel day. For children, it serves as a space to burn off energy, play, and interact with others, making the airport experience more enjoyable for all.”
Restrooms are a fundamental part of the airport experience as well. Logan has baby changing tables in all men’s and women’s restrooms and spacious family restrooms, also called companion-care or family-assist restrooms, in all terminals.
Looking for kid-friendly dining options that lean local? There’s nothing more New England than a bowl of clam chowder at Legal Sea Foods, made from the chain’s award-winning recipe. The kid’s menu includes chicken fingers, burgers, and fish and chips.
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New York’s LaGuardia Airport
The revamped LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B has an innovative water feature: an audio-visual show with 4,000 cascading gallons of water that wows young passengers as they watch the water form abstract shapes and patterns. The terminal’s two play areas are also a perfect elixir to sitting onboard for hours.
On level 3 in Terminal C, a Sensory Room provides a calm space for neurodiverse and sensory sensitive passengers. To further support passengers with sensory needs, Sensory Bags containing noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, sunglasses, and communication aids are available at Guest Service Desks in Terminal B.
Food options, from chewy bagels at Poppy’s to Brooklyn’s best cheesecake at Junior’s, give sense of place. Spacious restrooms for families feature large stalls and hands-free soap dispensers.
If you’re a top-tier American Express card holder, the airport’s Centurion Lounge has a designated family room. According to Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel, “Our Family Rooms in the Centurion Lounges were designed to alleviate some of that [travel stress] by offering a welcoming space where kids can feel comfortable and parents can take a moment to pause and recharge.”
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