Free coffee shop diversions

Ben sent me this coffee shop hack long before I wrote up my little 5ives tribute on the same topic. Leave it to you people to be more clever than me. Apologies to Ben for the order of the posts.

Ever want to sit and have a coffee with a friend only to be interrupted by your bored baby or toddler? Forget all her toys at home? No problem! Your local coffee shop probably has lots of toys... all of them free! Plastic cutlery is always fun (I suggest spoons for younger kids...). There are also straws, swizzle sticks and cups (which make excellent, and relatively quiet, drums), cardboard cup holder sleeves (put 'em on your toddler's arm... Captain Starbucks, anyone?). The possibilities are endless.

Related: Sippy cup stand-in: lidded paper coffee cup

Comments

[Jenny]

Plastic spoons. I've made entire animals out of plastic spoons and a couple of red coffee stirrers.

[AJ]

I used straws and napkins when my daughter was a baby. Inexpensive pocket T-shirts were essential gear. A napkin or scrap of paper towel was always in my chest pocket so it could be "found" while carrying my daughter. Inexpensive shirts were important because my daughter frequently tugged at my neck collar, invariably stretching it.

[John]

Captain Starbucks! I love it!

[Sara]

My current favorite such trick for my 19 month old daughter is the put-the-coffee-stirrer-in-the-big-straw. In and out...great for fine motor skill and eye-hand coordination, too ;)!