Out and About Toys to Keep Your Kids Entertained

Last week we were out at a brewery with a few other families and all the kids were tired and whinny. The other two moms we were with busted out their backpacks stocked with all.the.things for the kids to play with. It seriously saved the afternoon and let all the parents enjoy a few beverages before complete meltdowns. Sure, I sometimes throw a few things in my purse here and there to (hopefully) keep her entertained when we are going to dinner or something, but these moms are way more prepared than that.

They explained me to that they have a backpack filled with specific toys and activities suitable to entertain their kids during outings like this. Their kids only see and play with these toys when they are out. The kids do not play with these at home, so that makes it more special that they don’t see these toys daily.

I loved this idea so much that I had each mom email me all the toys their kids love to play with while out and I’m starting to build my own “outing backpack” for these specific occasions. I figured some of you mamas out there might agree that this is an awesome idea and want to build your own collection of “out and about toys”. Many of these items would also be great for the airplane or long car rides.

One friend uses a Herschel to keep everything organized in and I’m using my State backpack.

Other Honorable Mentions:

Boogie Board Jot , silly putty, Chalk Fun book, animal erasers, post-it notes + pens, dry erase boards + markers with erasers, mini jenga, and spirograph.

More Tips:

My friend says she has a few sets of toys in reusable bags that she will rotate in and out of her travel backpack as needed to keep the entertainment fresh. She will also keep goodie bags from birthday parties and put them in her backpack to surprise the kids with as needed.

I love getting hot parenting tips from other moms. Please share travel toys your kiddos are obsessed with, so we can all drink our glass of wine in (somewhat) peace while out at dinner 😉

xx, A