Restaurant Bag Essentials

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Taking toddlers to restaurants can feel overwhelming (and sometimes impossible!). But like most things, practice – and a little preparation – make it easier. We love going out to eat as a family, and our kids now do, too. One thing that helps? Our restaurant bag essentials. Here’s what we pack to make eating out with toddlers screen-free, smooth, and actually fun. (And, to make it easy, a final checklist is at the bottom!)

Image with toddler restauarant essentials for our restaurant bag - items they use to eat, play, and clean up.

Eating Supplies

Just like at home, having utensils and placemats just for them can make eating out so much easier!

Silicone Placemats: We absolutely love our silicone placemats (and entire restaurant pouch) from Yeah Baby Goods! They are a good size, wipe clean easily, and don’t slide all over the table.
Scissors: Our food scissors also come from our Yeah Baby Goods Restaurant Essentials Kit. Highly recommend having a pair of scissors to easily cut foods like pizza, chicken nuggets, even dumplings to let them cool quickly and make them an easier size for your toddler to eat.
Toddler-sized Fork & Spoon: Even with two placemats and the scissors, we have enough room in our Yeah Baby Goods kit to slide in our favorite toddler fork and spoon.* (Our daughter “aged out” of wanting/needing a small fork at around 4.)
Small Cup with a Lid: Restaurants either have cups without lids or ones that hold about 3 gallons (exaggeration, but still), so I always bring the toddler his own stainless steel cup.* (We also use these at home!)
Bib: Now this is totally child-dependent, but my almost 3-year-old still needs a bib. Otherwise I’m going to have to get macaroni-and-cheese grease stains out of his clothes.
Seat Cover: Another that is totally up to you, but we loved – the Copper Pearl Multi-Use Cover.* If your Child is still in a high chair, this is a game changer. It catches a lot of the dropped food so that there is a lot less on the floor! (And less for you to clean up.)

Our Favorite “Restaurant” Toys

These are our some of our favorite toys to take on-the-go – whether on a road trip, at church, or out to eat at a restaurant. For restaurants specifically, I like to keep a few different categories of toys and switch them out from time to time.

Small Books: Something for them to flip through on their own (or read with you!). For the littlest hands, we love the Indestructibles, and for slightly older kids I’ve thrown a few small paperbacks in.
Mini Games: When eating out with toddlers, games like Spot It!* are a classic for a reason! Don’t forget games that don’t require packing anything – like iSpy or an easy version of 20-questions for your toddler.
Building Toy: These Tegu wooden magnetic blocks* and mini magnet tiles* are a great choice!
“Fidget” Style Toy: For babies and young toddlers, a teether is a restaurant must. (Just maybe attach it with a clip so it doesn’t hit the floor!) We’ve also loved pop toys – the Dimpl for babies* and fun shapes for bigger kids. These “wiggly worms” from Mini Voyager were a surprise hit!
Cars or Small Animals: These are the best for character play, whether alone or with a sibling or parent. Our kids have LOVED this set of mini wooden cars,* and this set of mini animals from Mini Voyager is perfect to toss in a bag!

Clean-Up Essentials

Even for the tidiest eater, you’ll want a few of these things on hand when eating out with toddlers!

Hand Sanitizer: For you or for them, just in case!
Alcohol Wipes: I like to have these on-hand* to wipe the table down if it still seems sticky. (Or, to be honest, if we’ve just recently gotten over something and the idea of getting sick again makes me paranoid!) Just remember to close the package tightly, as I’ve had them dry out if not closed properly.
Face Wipes: We love The Honest Company’s Hydrate + Cleanse Wipes* for faces and hands after eating. They are perfect for dried on food, and leave hands and face feeling soft! We also use the same wipe to quickly clean the placemat and silverware so they’re clean(ish) before throwing them back into the bag.

A grandfather reads a paperback book to a little girl at a restaurant table. Other toys are in the foreground - a few mentioned as restaurant essentials. — Books and small wooden cars are almost always in our restaurant bag!

A boy plays with small wooden cement mixer - a toy on our restaurant essentials list. — Books and small wooden cars are almost always in our restaurant bag!

Tips for Toddlers & Restaurants

Check the Menu: Before you arrive, check the menu for your kids (and maybe even you!) and decide what you want to order. We’ve sometimes put their order in as soon as we sit down so that they don’t have to wait as long.
Beware Too Many Parts: Avoid toys or activities (like puzzles!) that will require a lot of clean-up when the food arrives. (Or limit the amount you give them.)
Toys Away: We’ve always had a rule that toys go away once the food arrives. This keeps the toys from getting gross and the kids focused on eating!
Snacks Optional: If you’re not sure of the menu or you think your little might be a little OVER-hungry when you arrive, I pack a simple (but kind of boring) snack like plain Cheerios as an emergency option.

Enjoy Eating Out!

We genuinely love going out to eat with our kids – not just for us, but them too! Not that every meal goes perfectly, but I certainly don’t dread it like I did. Why? Practice! The more restaurants (and cuisines!) your children are exposed to, the better eating out with toddlers will be!