No-spill tea parties: fill the teapot with rice

Okay, "no-spill" may be a bit misleading, but sweeping up rice is a lot easier than mopping up liquid. Even better, give the kid a whisk broom and dustpan post-tea, and cleanup becomes part of the fun! From Janie:

Here an alternative to the hack of turning your child's tea set into a bath toy. I too was sick of the mess and constant refilling and clean up of water in the tea set. My aunt recommended putting dry rice into the tea pot for my daughter to pour. If you put a kitchen towel underneath and have the child sit at the kitchen table, the clean up is minimal. My daughter will sit and pour her 'rice tea' for a good half hour.

Another option: have your child host tea parties inside a blow-up kiddie pool!

Related: Under-bed storage box as sandbox (it is related! Check out Tisha's "rice-as-sandbox-alternative" comment!)

Comments

[Magi]

We use multi-grain Cheerios. My daughter (2 1/2) can spend hours pouring them from her tea pot to a cup, from a bowl to a bowl, etc... She "drinks" them from her cup, and the ones that fall on the floor are quickly eaten by the dog.

[veggiewarrior]

Thats a really good idea!

[LeeAnna]

Where did you find a teapot that fits Cheerios? I'd love to use those instead of rice. (Although rice sounds fun!!)