12 Activities Bag Items for Church, Roadtrips, Waiting Rooms, and More

For most parents, keeping their children entertained can prove more difficult every day. From trying to keep them calm throughout an hour-long church service to ensuring they’re entertained during a long doctor’s appointment, it can be frustrating when your bag of tricks runs empty.

Fret not, because we’re here to help you keep your kiddos entertained for hours by filling back up that bag of tricks—literally. That’s right, these activities are compact enough to fit into one bag that you can bring anywhere. So, the next time the little ones are bouncing off the walls, have them choose their favorite thing straight out of your bag of tricks.

Coloring Books and Pages

Coloring books and printable pages are first on the list—and probably the most popular—. Depending on your child’s age, coloring books can provide hours of activity, allowing you to complete your tasks uninterrupted.

Fidget Toys

For kids who have trouble sitting still, fidget spinners and toys are a great way to keep them busy and help calm them down. Plus, these nifty tools are small enough to add to your activity bag or purse.

Mad Libs

Let your kids’ imaginations run wild with a kid-friendly Mad Libs book. Not only will they be thoroughly entertained, but it will allow them to continue learning while playing. Help them plug in nouns, adjectives, and verbs to create fun stories.

Road Trip Bingo

While it may require getting involved, road trip bingo is perfect for those long road trips. Print out various pages and have them stay focused on what they see around them. And if they win, have small prizes readily available!

Books

Depending on their age, keep various books in your activities bag ready for your kiddos. Have them go with you to the bookstore or library to pick out their favorite reads. Be sure to switch them out with other books so they have something new to read when needed.

Magnetic Puzzles

Puzzles can tend to get messy, so having a few magnetic puzzles in tow is a great way to keep your kids busy and their minds engaged. When they’ve completed the puzzle, swap it out for a different one. Just use these sparingly to avoid switching them out often.

Card Games

Get all of your kids involved in this activity. Keep a couple of small boxes of card games in your activity bag and teach your children how to play them. It will keep them entertained and allow them to spend quality time with their siblings.

Sticker Books

Sticker books take up virtually no space but provide hours of fun. Instead of coloring, have your child decorate a sticker book with colorful and fun stickers to create a creative picture.

Building Blocks

Building blocks are typically not recommended for places like planes, churches, or other areas where they can lose the pieces. However, they are perfect for places like doctor’s offices to keep them plenty occupied.

Window Decals

If you’re looking for fun activities on planes or in a car, window decals are great for entertaining the kiddos. They can easily stick and unstick these on windows without making a mess.

Mini Board Games

Larger board games can take up a lot of space and get messy, so smaller board games were invented. These fun games are fantastic for road trips or doctor’s offices, keeping the kiddos occupied.

Sensory Bags

Finally, sensory bags are a creative way to keep your children occupied, especially the younger ones. You can create these at home and get your little ones involved by helping you fill different Ziploc bags with sand, hair gel, rice, or other textures. Just be sure the bag won’t easily break, or double-bag it to make it extra secure.

Other Tips For Activity Bags

• Be sure to take stock of what you have in your bag every month or so (depending on how often you use it). Switch out or replace anything that’s often used to keep things interesting.
• Instead of throwing these items in your bag, add an organizer to keep everything in its place.
• Take it a step further and keep each activity in its own separate category. For instance, items for doctor’s offices go in one compartment, while road trip activities go in another.
• Break out your label maker to quickly locate every activity.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©iStock.com/Antonio_Diaz.