My kids are 2 and almost 4. At this rate, I hand the almost 4 yr old her carryon, and tell her "Fill it with shit you want to play with. Then come show me."

I check to make sure she didn't put a fish in there, or food, or like, my perfume. You'll probably be doing tons of stuff during the day - my DD barely plays with any toys while we're traveling. We run them ragged and then at night they drop. It's great.

Voting for regular backpack. Rolling backpack is hard to steer through crowds, and it's extra weight if you have to carry it yourself.

I use a biggish rolling backpack for me, and if I need to sling the kid backpack over the handle, I do that.

Good ideas, PP. We leave Dulles at 6 p.m., which I hope will work great because DD is normally in bed at 7:30. She'll be so pumped up, which will last her a couple hours, then I hope she will crash.

I've been debating on whether to get her a rolling backpack vs. a regular backpack. I want her to be able to carry it, but realistically, I guess that won't happen, esp. when she gets tired.

Coming back, we leave at 7 a.m. THAT should be a fun morning, lol

What time are you leaving? For overnight transatlantics, I head to the airport with plenty of lead time (might eat dinner there if the flight is, say, 9-ish. We either change into PJs at the aiport, or travel to the airport in PJs. In the kid's backpack goes 2 pairs of undies, 2 pairs of pants (one a pair of fleece sweats that can double as backup PJs), cozy sweater and a couple of t-shirts, plus spare socks. Headphones if you have them, an empty water bottle (fill after security), teddy or stuffed toy, toothbrush & toothpaste, couple of books/sticker books. Small fleece blanket if it will fit.

In my carry on, change of shirt/undies/socks, as much warm stuff as I can fit (but I freeze on planes and don't sleep if I'm cold). Empty water bottle for me, some emergency snacks (granola bars, etc).

Hidden weapons:
A new item to be passed out at the gate (or some other strategic time) -- sticker book or other absorbing item that doesn't have small lose-able pieces.
Immigration line candy. For when you get off the plane at the other end, you are exhausted and cranky, and you are facing down a 30 minute wait to have passports checked.

slipper socks for the plane

Bad past trip, PP??

Liquor.

So, this will be DD's first overseas trip. She is generally a good traveler, but she's only been tested to about three hours. First leg of the trip is overnight, so I'm hoping she will sleep some. We are staying about 9 days in December.

Beyond snacks and an extra change of clothes in the carry-on, what else do I need to have with me? Do I need a sleep pillow/blanket?

I'll have an iPad, so I'm also looking for show/app suggestions and travel toys/games/things to keep her occupied?

Thanks!