Isn’t it nice to take the whole family out and relax with a good meal? Wait, you must be talking about a family WITHOUT small children…right?! Wrong! I’m talking about you! The family with the toddlers or baby or better yet, both!
Is it truly possible to take toddlers and babies to a restaurant and actually enjoy your meal? I’m telling you, with these restaurant busy bags, we are taking mealtime out of the house and actually enjoying the experience! Let’s start with the basics:
What are Busy Bags?
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Busy bags are pretty much exactly what they sound like; bags full of things to keep your little busy! There are no rules (in my world, at least!) as to what can go into a busy bag. Every child is different, so every busy bag should be tailored to the interests of that specific child.
How do you Build a Busy Bag?
Our busy bags change depending on where we are going, how long we will be there and when the last time we used them was. I like to choose items that my kids haven’t seen in a while to get them excited, along with a few favorites that I know will hold their interest. When I build restaurant busy bags, I am sure to include quiet items with as few pieces as possible. We do this so we don’t disturb other people or lose pieces during the meal.
The key to busy bags for our family is: variety! If I simply pack the bag full of books (which my kiddos love), they will be busy for a bit, but as soon as they get tired of reading they will probably start exhibiting normal, bored toddler behaviors…which I would like to avoid in public! So, be sure to include a variety of activities to hold their attention when they are tired of one item.
Related: Need to keep the kiddos busy on the go? Be sure to bring these with you for plenty of creative play!
Restaurant Busy Bags for Babies
These bags should mostly consist of toys that can be chewed on since babies love to explore with their mouths. Be sure to pack enough items to last your mealtime since at least a couple will probably end up on the ground. And you definitely don’t want to give them back to baby after that happens, yuk!
*Pro tip: Bring a small grocery or resealable bag to hold all of the toys that have hit the ground. That way, they won’t accidentally be given back to baby and they won’t get clean toys dirty by sitting in the same bag!
Here are some of our favorite items for a baby restaurant busy bag:
- Indestructible books – We are obsessed with these books! If you haven’t checked them out, you need to do so NOW! They withstand whatever baby can do to them and when you get home, just throw them in the washing machine to clean (that’s right, they can go in the washing machine!!!). They are brilliant!
- Teething toys
- Chewable jewelry for Mom
- Bath books – These are easily wiped down and sanitized right at the table for multiple rounds of fun!
- Wooden toys
- Clip-on toys – Perfect stroller or car seat attachments so you know there is always a ‘chew toy’ nearby!
I try to steer-clear of toys that are noisy so we don’t disturb other people (with anything other than my noisy children, that is!) in the restaurant.
Restaurant Busy Bags for Toddlers
This age-group can be a bit tricky, because many kiddos at this stage are still teething (molars take forever to come in!), but they want to do the ‘big kid’ stuff. So, use your best judgement as to what your kiddo is ready for and always remember to supervise them when using things that shouldn’t end up in their mouths!
- Chunky board books
- Magnetic Doodle Board – This version even comes with a travel size board!
- Chunky crayons and coloring book
- Reusable Sticker Book – These books are amazing because the stickers are puffy, which makes it easy for little fingers to grasp AND they can be reused again, and again, and again, and…you get the idea!
- Water Wow books – My kiddos love how the colors magically appear and then disappear again! Just make sure they are gentle with the water pen holder on the front of the book, we have definitely had a few rip off from some, not so gentle, tiny hands!
Restaurant Busy Bags for Preschoolers
I have a lot of fun creating busy bags for this age-group. You, typically, don’t have to worry about them putting things in their mouths and Preschoolers can generally hold interest in one item for much longer than a young toddler. Here are some of our favorite items:
- Stickers and paper – my oldest could play with stickers for hours!
- Crayons and coloring book
- Lift the Flap Books – Usborne Books and More has some awesome ones!
- Dry erase cards (or a dry erase board and marker)- These are so much fun and hold my attention just as much as my kiddos! Tip – bring a burp cloth to wipe off the pages when you’re done (or just use your napkin!) – We have the pack from Usborne Books and More.
- Magnetic Drawing Board
As I’m sure you noticed, there aren’t many activities with multiple parts/pieces here. We tend to try and steer clear of activities with many pieces when we go out to eat. As careful as the kiddos may try to be, things always end up on the floor and the last thing I need to do is crawl around a restaurant floor to find the dinosaur figure or puzzle piece that is missing.
Put It All Together!
Now that you’ve decided what you are going to bring to keep your kiddos busy, it is time to pack it all up! I have 3 different ways in which I pack busy bags:
1. Diaper Bag – If you only have 1 kiddo, your kids are around the same age or you need everything to be in one bag (definitely easier to keep track of!), I recommend putting everything in your diaper bag along with diapers, wipes and anything else you may need.
2. Toddler Backpacks – If your sweeties are old enough to carry their activities, bust out the backpacks to lighten the load on you and make them feel like big kids! It’s a bonus if the backpack has built in activities like this one! The con with doing this is that they have access to all of the activities at once and may not pace themselves through the meal.
3. Reusable Bags – My Mom got us these awesome bags from Sea World and Busch Gardens (pictured below) and the kids love bringing them along. Just like with backpacks, the con is that your littles will have access to everything at once, so they will need to learn how to take out one thing at a time to avoid the activity dump on the table!
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend! You can find us over on Pinterest and see what we are up to on Instagram.
Now, get busy with some busy bags and enjoy your family meal out! What do you bring to occupy your kiddos during meals out?