Busy Bag Exchange

My Sister In Law, Lauri, told me about this fabulous idea of a busy bag exchange. I can't believe I have never heard of it, it is all over the blogging and Pintrest world! Using the ideas from these sources, I decided to host my own exchange with a group of mom's and I couldn't be happier with the results! Basically each mom creates an activity for a toddler that has every thing needed in a Ziploc bag. This way I can pull one out at anytime when I need Levi to be busy. They will be perfect for the car and waiting rooms too. Each mom brings enough for each child participating, so I now have 11 different busy bags ready to go! To organize the event, I created a list of activities and links on a Google.doc for everyone to sign up. If you weren't able to come, check it out. There are so many more ideas out there, especially for older toddlers, that I want to do this every 6 months or so. Oh and because they are homemade, it isn't expensive. I ended up doing two different activities and spent less than $1.50 per bag!

I had the mom's come over for a play date to exchange. Here are all the activities laid out! Of course, I forgot to take any pictures of the chaos that was going on in the other room with all the kids. It was a good time!

Levi holding the fishing game I made. It's the first one we opened since he saw me making it.

Already getting the hang of it.

Well, he actually cheats by placing the magnet on the fish with his hand! But it keeps him busy.