11 Ideas for Your Kid’s On the Go Busy Bag -

Dining out, long car rides, traveling on an airplane.

These can seem pretty daunting when you have a little one with you. As a family who enjoys eating out, we tried avoiding restaurants with our little one. It seemed like one of us was always up chasing our son or trying to keep him from touching everything.

Bringing some toys and/or activities to keep our son entertained and busy has been helpful during our outings. Keep reading for some fun toys and activities to put in your toddler’s busy bag to keep them entertained while enjoying some time out of the house.

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What to put in your busy bag

1. Coloring & activity books

A classic. A coloring book with some crayons can keep your little one busy for a while. For the older kids, maybe an activity book to practice their letters, numbers, and shapes. Even bringing some printer paper or a notebook can be entertaining. You can get a game of tic-tac-toe going, make origami, or doodle. My son currently loves tracing everyone’s hands. Throw in a couple pages of sticker books and your kids will have plenty to be creative.

2. Play-doh

Play-doh is one our son’s favorites. Just throw a color or two into your busy bag for when your little one feels like sculpting.

You can also throw a portable placemat into your busy bag for your little one to play and/or eat on.

3. Legos

If you’re like our family and have a box full of Legos (most of which used to be nicely built pieces before little mister decided to take them all apart), then you can grab a couple handfuls and put them in your busy bag.

The portable placemat might come in handy to keep the pieces together.

4. Fidget toys

There are so many types of fidget toys out there. Some are more noisy and annoying than others, so just keep that in mind when choosing which ones to put in your busy bag.

5. Puzzle

You can find some cool on-the-go puzzles on Amazon. Many of them come with a container or bag to keep your puzzles organized and from getting lost.

We used a photo storage box to keep all of my son’s smaller puzzles organized. This organizer makes it easy to store puzzles and grab one for the busy bag when needed.

6. Small toys for imagination play

Dinosaurs, cars, dolls, animals. Whatever your child is into. Let them use their imagination and pretend to feed their toy dogs while out at dinner or have their doll tag along for the long road trip.

7. Magnetic drawing board

Even I think these are cool to use! Your little one can write and draw without the mess of of crayons or markers that might get all over the restaurant table or their little hands. There are some small ones the size of an iPad, which is perfect for traveling.

8. Books

Story time doesn’t have to just be for bedtime. Bringing your kid’s favorite books could help keep them entertained for a while.

9. Building Blocks

There are a good amount of magnetic building blocks and tiles that will be great additions to your child’s busy bag.

10. Mini Board Games

Play a game of Tic Tac Toe or Connect 4 on the go. The mini magnetic board games are great for travel and help those little playing pieces from getting lost.

11. Tablet or Phone

Let me be real with you all. Yes, we definitely give our son the phone or tablet when we’re out. If he’s not feeling his dinosaurs or the coloring book that day, then we will let him play and watch on the phone. For long flights, we download a couple movies and shows for him to choose from.

The right bag for the toys and activities

You’ll need something to put these activities in – a bag, small box, or backpack that is easy to carry and pack. Once you figure out what you will be including in your busy bag, you can find the right bag or case to put it all in.