Busy Bag

For a while now, our Church hasn’t had a daycare or Sunday school option for young ones during service, but we still think it’s important we take the kids. We participate as much as we can, and the kids get to see us prioritizing our time and be exposed to the people, songs, and sermons. And of course we’d love for him to get more and more active with the service himself, but I don’t think I have to tell anyone with a baby/toddler that an hour is a long time to be still and quiet!

Enter…. The Busy Bag! We’ve always called ours his “Church Bag”, as we mostly pull out on Sunday, but it’s been such a hit that I’ve started to use it in some other cases too. Headed out to eat? Church bag. Need some extra help at sis’s doctor appointment? Church bag. Mass on Sunday? CHURCH BAG! 

Across the last 2 years I’ve purchased some items here and there to be specifically for the “busy bag”. I rotate between them every few services, and he really only ever sees them at Church, so he’s usually pretty excited to see what’s in there.

So what IS in there!?

Starting out, my staples were always a couple books, snacks, and paper + crayons + stickers.

For Easter this year he got a new “beginner Bible” that he LOVES. It has fun, colorful Bible stories in order that he’s able to understand. It’s so fun having it be at his level where he can tell stories back to us – his favorite is “The Sneaky Snake” story of Adam and Eve. https://amzn.to/3AC6pIq

I’m a big fan of Montessori toys, and these wood lacing toys have been one of his favorites. https://amzn.to/3hkRSsR (since they are wood, these do have potential to be loud if have wooden pews for them to bang against, speaking from personal experience 😅) If Montessori is your thing, I also think these blocks, https://amzn.to/2TFlXKF, or these busy books, https://amzn.to/3AxFDRe, would be great options! 

Having simple things like a writing pad and some crayons or stickers have always been a good option, but recently we were recommended this LCD drawing pad, https://amzn.to/3dMS9CP, and he thinks it is magic! It was about $10, we don’t waste paper, and the stylus doesn’t mark up the pews or hymnals. He was gifted some sticker books for his birthday that are also a fun idea! https://amzn.to/3yu4TWC https://amzn.to/2VhrveZ

Last up, our biggest hit, has been this bubble popper/fidget toy. The first Sunday he saw this I didn’t hear a peep out of him for the entire hour, and he begged to keep it out for the rest of the day. We got this rainbow 2 pack, https://amzn.to/3hgbVbP, for $10, but they do have others in different shapes and colors! (The second one has come in handy as a back-up chew toy for sis 😂).

Toss any combination of these into a small bookbag or drawstring, and you’re good to go! You might even hear a whole sermon or make your way through apps and an entree.

Good luck! 😁

For other recommendations, here are my Amazon idea boards! Happy browsing ☺️ https://www.amazon.com/shop/nicolelucashall?ref=inf_own_nicolelucashall

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