Best Activities for Kids at Restaurants

Having kids at restaurants can be an adventure! There are so many cute restaurants around Atlanta and if you want to enjoy them at all, you need busy and happy kids at restaurants. Here’s what I keep in my restaurant activity kit:

Pouch or Bag

Clear pouch – I like that these are reinforced and you can color code kids (or different activities). We use all the different sizes around the playroom too! We also love the Band-Aid Buid Your Own First Aid Kit bags from Target!

Activities

• 4×6 album & dry erase marker – When my kids were younger, I filled the book with alphabet tracing pages (downloaded and scaled them to fit). You could also do counting, sorting, patterns, matching…My Teaching Station and The Artisan Life are some of my favorite places to get free printables. Print at 50% and cut out to fit in the album. I’ve created an alphabet and a couple sample pages that you just need to print and cut – no scaling required. (link below)

• Blank notebook (not spiral bound) – Great for stickers and coloring, or you can create educational activities for your kids to work on (this does mean more guidance from you). I included pictures of sample pages below so that you can get some ideas! Some pages are just chaos scribbles and that’s fine too – whatever is going to keep your kids occupied at the restaurant! I also made a FREE little book that you can download and print on 8.5″ x 11″ paper with some pre-made activities. (link below)

• Stickers – anything goes here. I use ¾” color dot stickers and write on them with a Sharpie- numbers, letters, faces – and use them for matching activities. I love using the stickers for matching letters, words, counting, adding/subtracting. Kids love stickers and it makes “boring” tasks more exciting. We also include random stickers that the kids stick in the book (cars, princesses, whatever your kids like). These are great for counting activities. Emma is older and sometimes draws pictures around her stickers.

• Markers (or crayons) – I just include a basic 8 color rainbow (although my artist is offended when she doesn’t have a good selection of colors). You could do less if you’re trying to save space, or change out the colors each time. If you use markers, tape all the lids together and just have your kids pull one marker out at a time – it’ll help you not lose the tops!

• Small toys – I avoid cars if I can since those can go zooming off the table too easily, but dinos or small figures are great! I especially love finger puppets.

• Sharpie, paper clips, pen – These are for you. Use them to write on the stickers, write instructions, and clip specific stickers to the pages so that planned activities stay together.

• Snacks!! Because nothing keeps kids going like food.

I hope this helps you enjoy your time at restaurants with kids! When all else fails, we have a few coloring apps on our phones that we pass over (shh!).

Get the FREE DOWNLOAD activities here!

Other tips for happy kids at restaurants

Going to a restaurant with kids (especially toddlers) is an adventure on its own. This is what helped me get through meals without losing my mind.

If you are on a bedtime schedule, plan to eat early. My calculation was always drive time, 30 minutes from arrival to food, 30 minutes to eat, then the drive home. Going earlier in the evening usually means we don’t have to wait for a table.

Look for restaurants that have outdoor seating when the weather is nice.

When you order, ask for the kids’ meals to be brought out when they are ready. Fed kids are usually quieter and will stay seated longer. It also gives you a chance to cut up their food and get plates made before the table is full of plates.

Dessert. Just plan on getting a treat at the end.

Activities for Kids at Restaurants

If you’re looking more more activities for your kids, check out this blog post with my favorite games to play on the playground to keep things feeling fresh and new.