Restaurant Survival Kit for moms and dads desperate to go to a restaurant with toddlers and eat a hot meal!

Before we had any kids, we would always go out to eat at restaurants near me. That was our thing. We never really enjoyed going to the movies, primarily because I’m a yapper; I’m that annoying person who asks too many questions and talks too much in the middle! We don’t go out clubbing either because neither of us drink and after a while, it gets repetitive.

So trying new restaurants and reviewing them was our thing. When we had Serena, we agreed that we would still go out to eat often, continue our little tradition of trying new restaurants, making sure the restaurant is toddler friendly. It worked for a little while because she would be in her car seat and sleep through the whole experience. But as she started growing up and didn’t want to be stuck in the car seat, we had to either give up hot food at the restaurant or come up with screen free ways to keep her entertained while we eat.

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Why You Need a Restaurant Survival Kit

I swear, the moment Serena was old enough to be in highchairs, the tantrums started. (If I was being honest, I would probably get cranky if my parents stuck me in a chair and ate food for an hour.) The first time we went out to a restaurant as a family of three, we probably lasted ten minutes the first time at a restaurant before we decided to pack our food and come home.

It was that bad.

We were scarred. We tried a few more times. We really didn’t want to resort to giving her our iPhones because she has already broken one (yikes!) so we tried to be a little creative with our solution.

Introducing our Restaurant Survival Kit!

What’s Inside the DIY Restaurant Survival Kit

• Melissa and Doug Alphabet Magnets
• Crayola 4 pack Crayons
• Play-Doh Mini
• Stickers (we have Halloween and Minion)
• Slap Jack Card Game
• Clothes Pins
• Mini Pom Poms
• Mini wooden pencil (this one is from Ikea but you can find similar ones here: Mini wooden pencils)
• Brown paper (actually the paper that comes in the Amazon packages. I just unraveled it, flattened it, and refolded it. You can use any scrap paper or construction paper you like!)

What I Love Best

The best thing about this is that you can also use this anywhere you go that you need to keep a toddler busy, not just a restaurant. For example, we went to a baby shower recently and needed to keep our daughter distracted while the adults played some games. The box kept her entertained until lunch.

We have made three or four different types. To be honest, you can put anything you like in it. Others have included Ziploc bags with mini pom poms for counting, books, mini white/chalk boards, etc. Get creative!

What other ideas do you have to keep a toddler busy at restaurant?