Toddler restaurant entertainment

[Pear]

We need to add more to our 2 year old's restaurant entertainment kit. Currently we have crayons and the doll of the day. Any suggestions for things I can slip in the diaper bag to get us through a meal?

[alirebco]

little cars, wikki sticks, sticker books!

[karstmama]

snacks, snacks, snacks! and snacks.

[zag95]

How about a book? Or one of those travel draw thingies!

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Doodle-Pro-Tag-Along-Blue/dp/B0015KU14O/ref=pd_sim_t_2

Some little cars or little dolls (we like My little Pony figures) would also be small and lightweight!

[rin]

etch a sketch!

[katydid1971]

I have a little tin box with a small 24 piece puzzle in it. I got it last year in the Target Easter treat stuff. DD loves puzzles. FWIW I keep the target spot lego box in my purse for DS. I don't keep crayons because pretty much every place that I take DC already has crayons for the kids.
Flash cards are another thing my kids like. I have sight words for DS and letters for DD.
ETA: at bag of 6 duplos has been another favorite with my kids. I do try and rotate the activity so its stays interesting.

[ray7694]

Play doh with shape cutters

[salsah]

books, stickers, wiki sticks, travel magna doodle, post-it notes and pencil, play dough, i spy books . . .

[larig]

DS can spend a good 15 minutes with a ball point pen.

snacks, magna doodle, little books, stickers, tape, ...

[lchang25000]

We take our portable DVD player out of the car and bring it into restaurants sometimes.

[Melaine]

I'm going to stock up on stuff at the Dollar Spot. They have cute Disney pen sets and notepads and mini coloring books. My kids are all about drawing. They had the MOST fun at Cracker Barrel the other night with their kids menu. It had a "crossword" puzzle where you look at a photo and put the first letter in the corresponding square to spell a new word. They LOVED it, I wish I could buy a book of those.

[hillview]

stickers
crayons
beanbag/find it thing (I spy)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54396414/lilypad-froggies-treasure-hunt-with?ref=sr_gallery_2&ga_search_query=i+spy&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
iphone
mini puzzle
matchbox cars/mini car set
hth
/hillary

[DietCokeLover]

We would die in a restaurant without our iPods. We have lots of kid apps on there and that keeps them entertained pretty well.

We also use small containers of play dough, crayons/ paper, books, magnadoodle type things, etc.

Our kids don't eat anything, so sitting at a restaurant is very difficult for them. I'm sure they are bored to death.

[ahrimie]

How about asking your toddler to pack a bag for themselves? DD loves doing this now. She puts together little knick knacks in a small backpack and plays with it. She loves magnatiles too so usually she'll pack some of those. They're compact yet interactive so it keeps her busy for a bit. But I always try to remember to bring her a small snack while we're waiting for our food. I think it's a lot to ask a toddler to sit still for so long... I don't know how some are able to sit still the ENTIRE meal! :)

[hillview]

One other thing I will mention is that I have a place for "restaurant toys" and "airplane toys" the kids know they are there and that they are ONLY allowed for the restaurant/airplane. It was special and made the toys more special.
/hillary