24 Fun Restaurant Activities for kids
Dining out with kids can be an enjoyable family experience, but finding fun restaurant activities for kids isn’t always easy. With so much entertainment at their fingertips, kids are used to having screens, toys, and activities on hand, so sitting still and waiting for food can feel like we’re asking a lot of them. But learning to deal with boredom is a great skill for kids to learn. Boredom can lead to creativity and even great innovation.
In this post, I’ve compiled 24 creative and fun restaurant activities for kids that you can bring along with you the next time you’re out. These ideas help kids find fun ways to entertain themselves and teach them how to manage boredom without screens. Plus, it takes only a little prep. I keep a bin of these activities in the back of our car so we have entertainment for the kids anytime we’re eating out.
Next time you’re going to a restaurant or need to keep the kids entertained without resorting to screens, try pulling out one of these activities. Screens can be a quick fix in a pinch, but let’s not make them our only entertainment resource for our kids. Instead, try some of these ideas to keep your little ones entertained, build their creativity, and make eating out less stressful for everyone.
24 Fun Restaurant activities for kids
1). Magic Clay. I keep magic clay in our car at all times. I buy small tubs of it so that it can be used more than once. It’s lightweight and less messy than Play-Doh.
2). Scratch pad notebooks. These are great for creativity and fine motor skills. Children often like scratch paper better than simply coloring with crayons.
3). Blank journals and stickers. Let your kids go to town with stickers on the blank pages. They can create sticker stories or stick them however they want. Just be clear that stickers don’t belong on the table.
4). Froogly Suction Toys. The children in our child care center love playing with these. They can build, fidget, or stick them together. They’re also small, so they work well for packing in the car.
5). Wiki Sticks. These are good for building fine motor skills, and kids can get super creative twisting and building.
6). Activity books. Remember to bring pens or markers! Activity books help children learn preschool or elementary prep work in a fun way. They can do mazes, matching games, practice letters, or dot-to-dots.
7). Mini Magna Tiles. I haven’t met a child yet who doesn’t love Magna Tiles. Kids build little houses and tunnels, or toddlers like to stick them together and pull them apart.
8). Play Tic-Tac-Toe. This timeless game is a fun way to engage with your kids at the table.
9). Napkin Folding. Learn to do fancy napkin folds, such as various animals. You can learn it together or teach it to your kids.
10). Food Drawing Game. Play a drawing game in which your child draws what they think their food will look like when it comes out.
11). Fidget toys. Fidget toys are great to bring for toddlers. Baby fidget spinners do an amazing job of entertaining our little ones.
12). Mini Chalkboard, Chalk, and Eraser. Bringing a little chalkboard makes simple drawing special for kids. Even if they don’t love coloring, most kids like to draw on a chalkboard.
13). Bring pipe cleaners. Kids love to bend, tie, and twist these into crazy and fun shapes.
14). Mini-Puzzles. Bring mini-puzzles for the kids to do at the table. Just be mindful of how many pieces you’re bringing!
15). Hidden Picture Books. My kids love to find hidden people, shapes, and animals in these books.
16). Foil Art. Numerous books today provide foil for art and making arts and crafts.
17). Travel-sized Etch-a-Sketch. Bring one of these along, and your child may even feel like they have a screen in hand while being way more creative.
18). Thumb wrestling. Teach your children those old-school hand games, such as thumb wrestling or Rock, Paper, Scissors.
19). Conversation Starters. If your children are school-age, bring some conversation starters with you. You can even have your child draw one out of a cup.
20). Coin stacking game. If you happen to have coins in your wallet, give them to your children and have them practice stacking them. This takes more focus for them than you might think.
21). Water Wow Books. These are great, especially for toddlers, because all you need is water for them to color away!
22). Magnetic Board Games. Small board games are fun for the whole family to play at the table. Make sure the games you choose are quick (maybe don’t bring Monopoly), so when your food comes, you can wrap it up without tears.
23). Foam Sticker sheets and Foam Stickers. Amp up your sticker game by getting these just for dining out.
24). Finger Maze Cards. You can find finger mazes to print and laminate or you can purchase mazes on Amazon for your kids to enjoy.
When you’re heading out to a restaurant with your family, try packing a few of these fun restaurant activities for your kids—you’ll be amazed at how much smoother your dining experience can be! Hint: To keep things exciting, reserve these activities just for dining out. Children playing with something new or special keeps their attention better than the usual toys from home. And don’t forget to join in the fun, too! These activities are an excellent chance to connect with your child one-on-one and make special memories together. If you enjoyed this post, you may also like my blog post: Fun Things to Do on a Plane for Kids.
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