It's holiday season once again. It's that time of the year
when we shop for gifts, organize/attend plenty of get togethers, and for
parents of toddlers, worry about keeping our kids seated during Noche Buena and
all those dinner parties.
Audrey and Antonino will be two years old this Christmas and
I sometimes feel like telling them to sit still and behave for an extended meal
like Noche Buena is a lot to ask. After all, they're both typical toddlers with
short attention spans and plenty of energy. We're lucky that we have family and
friends who are more than happy to play with the twins whenever they get
restless during gatherings so that Joey and I can finish our meals. But of
course, we still have to come prepared with some form of entertainment which is
why we're always ready with our bag of tricks. And no, it's not just an
expression. We really have a huge bag filled with all sorts of toys and
supplies that can keep the twins occupied during parties. So today I'm going to
share with you what we usually bring with us along with some things we keep in
mind when packing our bag of tricks.
Keep things small.
Since we have to bring double of everything, we always go
for small, simple, travel-sized goodies like:
Small word board books. National Bookstore has a lot of
these from P50-100 only.
Toy cars
Travel sized magnetic drawing board
Crayola Color Wonder mini mess-free kits.
Blocks
Stickers
We normally pack 5-8 different books and toys per child. The number of
items really depends on how long your child can play with one toy before moving
to the next. Audrey and Antonino normally use the mess free kits for around
10-20 minutes which is pretty long for toddlers so we always bring them with us.
What's great about these items is they still allow for interaction with other
people at the table. Family members engage the twins in conversation by asking
them questions about their books, teaching them colors or asking them to
describe what they're coloring.
Keep things together.
We organize toys/activities with multiple pieces like cars
and blocks in separate resealable bags. This makes it easier for us to bring
out and pack away each activity.
What goes in the bag of tricks stays in the bag of tricks.
This helps keep the toys special to the twins' eyes because
they only get to play with them when we're out. As a result, they play with
each item longer.
Distribute slowly.
We bring out toys one at a time then switch them when they
get bored. This way, we always have something new and the twins become interested
in them longer.
Bring snacks.
As I shared in a previous post, snacks have saved us from
meltdowns on several occasions. The twins can already manage eating on their
own but we still have to cut up their food for them. This means they have to
wait a bit before they can start eating. We give them snacks while we prepare
their food and they happily munch away while waiting.
Got any tips for keeping toddlers still during extended meals? I would love to hear them in the comments below.
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