Blue Bag

Anyone who has a two-year-old -- especially an energetic two-year-old boy -- knows how difficult it can be to enjoy a meal in a restaurant.  Crayons only entertain most kids for so long, and when that child is hungry, there is no rationalizing or explaining that the food still needs to be ordered and made.  This is where our blue bag comes in.  (Actually, Brennan called it a blue purse for a while, but Jim has broken him of that since he has to carry it too.)

Last spring for Mother's Day my sweet mother-in-law bought me a fabulous gift.  She bought a little Take Along Thomas set that Brennan calls his "Thomas Box."  She told us that it was to be used for restaurants only in a restaurant survival kit.  Along with that she bought some Thomas colorforms for the same purpose.  Well, that has turned out to be one of the smartest and best gifts anyone has bought us in these last two years.  I don't know how we would ever enjoy a meal without our restaurant survival bag!  Several times total strangers have complimented us on Brennan's behavior in restaurants, and I always say the same thing.  I tell them that it's all about the blue bag.  

Now, I understand that when Brennan reaches a certain age, we will need to engage him in conversation more at meals, and it won't always be appropriate to entertain him with toys.  But he is not there yet.  He doesn't understand waiting, he can't talk about much (not for an hour and a half anyway!), and, let's face it, it's unrealistic to have those kinds of expectations from a small toddler!  So until he is a little older, we will depend on our blue bag.

For those people who might be interested in starting their own restaurant survival kit, let me emphasize first the importance of finding portable, small toys that do not make much noise, do not require a lot of parent help, and that the child cannot play with at any other time. 

Here is a list of what I always keep in our bag:

• Take Along Thomas kit (I cannot find the link for this anymore, and I'm not sure that the exact item we have is even available anymore.  I'll keep looking because B loves it.)
• Thomas Colorforms (This is not the actual set we have, but it looks good.  I've seen it at Toys R Us.)
• Magnet tin
• Non-rolling crayons  - Melissa & Doug makes the best ones... they're chunky for little hands, do not break easily, and don't roll away.  They're worth ordering online.  Buy two sets!
• A small coloring book and sometimes a little blank notepad
• Wipes and diapers (the wipes are mostly for cleaning fingers and anything else!)
• Disposable bibs - I'm bad about remembering to repenish these!  (These are available at Target.)
• Disposable placemats - We don't always use these, but they're nice to have for fast food or less clean restaurants!  (These are also available at Target.)
• Snacks / finger foods for when the wait is long at a restaurant.  I generally keep a bag of raisins, some applesauce to supplement a meal, and some Cheerios or other finger food.  These things can stay in the bag for a while until they're used up.  However, I will often just throw in whatever will work in a pinch.
• A sweater for me (I'm often cold in a restaurant)

I leave the bag hanging on a hook by our back door, so when we decide to go out to eat, I can just grab it and go without having to round things up.  I check on the snack situation before we leave, and then we're on our way.