Dining Out with Toddlers... OUR toddler!

Last night we went out to dinner with friends, the first time in a long while! Usually we only take Aubrey into a restaurant when surrounded by family who can all take turns trying to keep her busy... and often times even that's not enough. Anyone with a toddler like mine knows that eating out is nearly impossible... we've tried it so many times and finally decided it just wasn't worth it. But, sometimes its just nice to go and hang out, so I spent the entire day reading up on it, preparing myself. I read lots of good tips on how to keep my little Tasmanian devil occupied and content throughout the whole meal and guess what, it TOTALLY worked! Below you'll find all of our tricks.

First I prepared a special dining out bag, full of goodies that are only to be used while out at a restaurant. In it I included plastic ware, snacks, a new toy, a few little old toys, black paper, a paintbrush, and a little dish to hold a tiny bit of water (I'll tell you why in a minute)
I started out with her snack and the plastic ware. She really enjoyed cutting up her food. This kept her busy and held off the hunger while we were waiting for our order.
Next I got out the black paper, the small dish, and the paint brush. Aubrey loves painting and could do it for big chunks of time. However, bringing painting supplies to a restaurant just isn't realistic. Instead, I put a little bit of water in the plastic dish and showed her how to "paint" the black paper. The wet brush darkened the paper just like paint would. It worked like a charm! Not only did she love it, but the only mess involved was a little bit of water... perfect!
Once she was over that I brought out the big guns.... a brand new toy. This toy was extra special for dining out because it is a cooking toy by Melissa and Doug. It was perfect because it totally pertained to her environment (a restaurant) and it was all wood (thanks Melissa and Doug) so no obnoxious music (I'm deaf to it now, but other customers might find those toys annoying!), and it still had all the fun.
In the end, it all worked out beautifully. She did so good, and even though there were a few "here it comes" moments, I just kept pulling out different tricks. It takes some planning ahead, and its still not the same as dining out without a toddler, but I'd rather be busy with a happy girl than with a crazy, frustrated one!
After dinner I remembered to work on the difference between loud and quiet. Obviously she won't learn it right away, but loved yelling the word "LOUD!!!" and whispering the word "quiet" I plan to continue working with her on these different levels of noise, and keep our dining-out bag hidden and ready for our next big adventure out!