Many thanks to restaurants that supply young diners with crayons and a placemat to draw on, but sometimes kids need a bit more to keep them entertained. Each of the placemats in this pad of twenty-four different designs provides a little more pizzaz. Each page has a food theme. Six pages feature a find the hidden word puzzle (Best Behavior, To the Chef, Courses, etc.). Six have word scrambles, fun quotes, and a lucky fortune. The next six feature mazes, a “would you rather” question, and a short history of a food item (popsicle, maple syrup, ice cream cone, etc.). The last six pages have an empty place setting on which to draw a favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. as well as a grid for tic-tac-toe and a squares game. 

Each sheet provides lots of entertainment for children—and their adults—at the table. In addition to the activities, there are dozens of conversation starters—explaining fun new words and phrases to a young gastronome, for starters (hors d’oeuvres, square meal, merci, effervescent, and more).

To the placemats pad, we’ve added a zippered pen case filled with a set of twelve gel pens, perfect for drawing and writing (black, navy, blue, turquoise, emerald, green, yellow, orange, red, maroon, pink, purple). This is an easy take-along to restaurants, whether you take the entire pad or just a few sheets. 

Age 6+. Note: children younger than six will be able to do the “draw your favorite” plates pages but word scramble might be a bit advanced for six year olds; the mazes and tic-tac-toe and fun words will appeal to all kids, so the pad will span a range of ages. 

13-1/2” x 11”; 24 sheets, 1 pen case, 12 gel pens.