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Beat Boredom With These 35 Entertaining Busy Bag Ideas

busy bag ideas

March 8, 2022 //  by Cynthia Thompson

Kids love to be busy so that is why the Busy Bag was created!  Keep young kids entertained for hours with these cute and simple busy bag ideas.  When you are heading out on a road trip or simply need something to occupy your little one while you take care of other things, these Busy Bags have you covered!

1. Tried and True Busy Bags

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Keep kids busy while waiting with these Mom-approved Busy Bags.   These fresh ideas will make waiting for the doctor, sitting at a restaurant, or waiting on Mom or Dad to finish a chore something kids will look forward to!

Learn more: How Wee Learn

2.  Restaurant Busy Bags

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Long waits at restaurants can make anyone restless, especially small children!  Make the wait time easier with these fun ideas!  Fun items and activities will turn wait time into fun time!

Learn more: I Heart Arts n Crafts

3.  Busy Bag Ideas for Toddlers

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Ignite kids' imaginations with pattern recognition, counting practice, and playtime!  With 15 ideas to choose from, you are sure to find the perfect activity to keep your child busy and entertained!

Learn more: Intentional by Grace

4.  7 Inexpensive Busy Bags

When searching the internet for ideas, look no further than Youtube for 7 easy and inexpensive busy bag activities.  Fill up on-the-go bags or a weekly busy bin with simple materials to keep kids entertained.

Learn more: Ryan & Marsha

5.  Dollar Store busy bags

Activities for toddlers shouldn't cost an arm and a leg!  Head over to the closest Dollar Store and load up on these successful items that toddler moms, dads, and guardians will love!

Learn more: Debtisdum

6. Busy bags with a purpose

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Sometimes we need to keep kids busy, but we want it to have a purpose.  With lots of ideas that allow kids to practice the ABCs, color recognition, or simply have quiet time, these simple education ideas will take the frazzle out of free time.

Learn more: Small Potatoes

7.  Road Trip Busy Bags

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Traveling with kids can be challenging, but it is possible to have fun on road trips by creating a road trip busy box!  Let kids choose the toy items while you assemble simple and creative activities that will entertain for hours.

Learn more: Mrs. Jones' Creative Station

8. Cars Busy Bag

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Pave leftover popsicle sticks to look like the road as you create the Cars Busy Bag.  This darling idea will not only provide entertainment but will work on motor skills as kids try to move their cars along.  Keep it at home or stash it in the car for a quick and easy go-to activity.

Learn more: Still Playing School

9. Fall Busy Bags for Kids

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Fall will be fabulous with these 6 fall busy bags for kids.  Make waiting time fun with activities such as a felt tree button bag, learning math with Fall leaves, a little pumpkin fine motor skill activity, and more!  Kids will ask for them by name!

Learn more: Views From a Step Stool 

10.  Counting busy bags

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Young kids love stickers so what better way to work on counting and number recognition! Take this along on to soccer practice, gymnastics, band practice, and anywhere else your little one has to wait.

Learn more: Fun with Mama

11. Ice cream themed busy bags

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Free printable ice cream cones and scoops prevent boredom during wait time as they learn to match numbers and letters!  Kids will have lots of fun as they make a triple ice cream cone of their very own!

Learn more: Motherhood on a Dime

12.  Mega BUSY BAG IDEAS 

Organize busy bags by skill level and age to keep things relevant and fresh!  Parents don't always know when to get rid of a tried and true activity, so let the kids help declutter as together you organize the collection of Busy Bags.

Learn more: The Purple Alphabet

13. Travel busy bags

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Keeping kids occupied when traveling can be difficult, especially on a plane.  These 6 mom-tested must-haves are easy to store in pockets or carry-ons. "I'm Bored!" will be a phrase of the past as family trips become a time of relaxation!

Learn more: Alaska Airlines Blog

14. Mess-free busy bags

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No-Mess busy bags make traveling simple and easy!  Give yourself the gift of quiet time while kids practice counting, learn color recognition, as well as incredible motor skill practice.

Learn more: Teach Me Mommy

16. Busy Bag Bundles

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This bundle provides a wide variety of activities to keep young children busy!  Color match pages, racing pages, letter and drawing pages, sticker fill activities, and more will have young ones begging parents to play with their Busy Bags Bundle.

Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers

17. Busy bags for church (and other quiet places)

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All parents struggle with how to limit screen time and keep young ones engaged and entertained while waiting at church, restaurants, offices, and more. These genius ideas will not only keep kids quiet during those important times while learning and having fun!

Learn more: Chicken Scratch Diaries

18. Easy Busy Bags for Toddlers and Preschoolers

10 Simple Busy Bags are perfect for active toddlers and preschoolers!  Grab some pencil bags and make a collection of fun activities that all kids will love!

Learn more: Powerful Mothering

19.  Phonics busy bags

Learning phonics can be fun with these fun activities!  Complete with links to items and sites, learning and fun will fit together like a glove!

Learn more: Mumma Diaries by Amruta Ram

20.  Busy Bag Exchange 

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Perfect for parents on a budget!  Instead of always shelling out money to create Busy Bags, learn how to join a Busy Bag Exchange! Get started with some free ideas for your little one. With tons of great ideas, parents and kids will never be bored!

Learn more: Unoriginal Mom

21.   Winter busy bags 

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Cold winter months can make kids cooped up inside more than normal.  Beat the wintertime blues with adorable and fun Busy Bags!  Re-usable materials organized into fun bags will turn cold dreary days into magical times of learning and play!

Learn more: Modern Parents, Messy Kids

22.  Portable busy bag for road trips

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Long trips can be overwhelming for young kids, but they don't have to be!  This portable activity kit will keep kids entertained for hours while parents get some much-needed quiet time.  Pack these binder ideas on your next road trip and see what a difference they make!

Learn more: Mama, Papa, Bubba

23. Pinchers & Pom-Poms busy bag

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Learn color sorting and counting with this fun pinching pom-pom activity.  Use items you have at home or pick them up at the Dollar Store to create this fun and educational activity!

Learn more: Money Saving Mom

24. Yum Yuck Busy Bag

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Kids love to pick their own food so what better way to let them decide what is Yum and what is Yuck with this fun activity from Wittywoots.  Kids will be creating new food combinations in no time!

Learn more: Witty Hoots

25.   Colors, shapes, letters, and numbers busy bags

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Sometimes it seems like there are never enough activities to occupy kids!  These 60 ideas will keep kids entertained and occupied for hours on end for months to come!

Learn more: My Joy-filled Life

26. Fall busy bags

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Help kids learn letter recognition with a simple and inexpensive pumpkin seed activity!  Use at home or on the go and watch kids have a blast while learning.  Put it in a suitcase or purse and watch the time fly by!

Learn more: Fantastic Fun and Learning

27.  Fine motor busy bag

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Little hands and minds will have so much fun with this fun activity that they won't even realize they are developing motor skills, learning colors and math skills, and more!

Learn more: Schooltime Snippets

28.  Space-themed busy bag

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Nothing makes kids happier than snacks and activities and these space-themed busy bags are sure to please!  Easy to make in lunch bags or zip locks, you will arrive at your destination before kids can say "are we there yet?"

Learn more: The Peaceful Mom

29.  Letter E and F Busy Bags

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Printable letter activities are a great way for parents to keep children busy while learning!  Kids will master the Letters E and F with engaging and fun activities that will have them asking for more.

Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers

30.  Button Ribbon Busy Bag

Learning how buttons work will help develop fine motor skills while keeping kids engaged and interested.  Watch them beam with pride as they learn to button on their own and check out the links to some other great busy bag ideas.

Learn more: The Exploring Family

31.Bugs busy bags

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Be prepared for long road trips with these awesome road trip busy bags!  Explore bugs, learn the alphabet, work on hand-eye coordination with lacing activities, and more!  Traveling with a  little one has never been easier or more fun!

Learn more: The Nerd's Wife

32.  Math practice busy bag

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Make math exciting with creative and innovative ideas!  Counting sticks are great for the classroom during independent learning time and are perfect for at-home or on-the-go activities.  Teachers, kids, and parents will be thrilled with the results!

Learn more: The Elementary Math Maniac

33.  Animal-themed busy bags

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Mix and Match animal parts and create new and exciting animals to keep kids busy and entertained.  Easy to make puzzle pieces make wait time for kids fun and stress-free as they decide what animal parts should go together.

Learn more: Itsy Bitsy Fun

34. Pizza activity busy bag

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All kids love pizza so keep them busy building their own with this adorable felt pizza busy activity.  Easily store the pieces in a bag and take them along to a doctor's appointment, church, restaurant, or brother or sister's practices.  Kids will love creating their own special pizza!

Learn more: The Little Mom Aid

35.  Boredom Buster Busy Bags

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Boredom is the # 1 reason kids get antsy when waiting.  Boredom Busters will prevent that with awesome activities to keep your child engaged and entertained.  Use items you have at home or re-purpose old toys to create fun and challenging activities that will eliminate the phrase "I'm Bored" for good!

Learn more: And Next Comes L

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