10 Busy Bags To Keep Kids Busy

I have been using busy bags to keep my children occupied since they were babies, they are 10 and 12 now. I still think busy bags would work at restaurants when they get fed up waiting for food or fed up looking at each other. Especially since phones are now a common dinner table activity it is very hard to stop them from touching their devices when every family around us is on them. I think busy bags with table top games would work wonders for those children who are not able to just sit and “people watch”.

But these busy bags are the perfect idea for younger children. I love the bags Powerfulmothering has used as they are easy to see in and quick to grab. If you are looking for busy bags for younger kids then you need to visit her blog and check them all out in this detailed article. You could easily pop these bags together in an hour or less and it will literally give you hours of grab and go activities when you are out and about, travelling or unable to muster the energy to parent.

I just can’t resist sharing a few more Halloween cross stitch patterns when they are as cute and quick to stitch as these!

This boo cross stitch from Luzatolye was the first little Halloween cross stitch pattern to catch my eye. I love the pumpkin Os! At just 23 by 8 stitches and using four colors, you can stitch it up in no time. On 14 count fabric it measures 1.6 by.5 inches, or about 4 by 1.27 cm.

Another cutie from the same designer is this jack o’lantern with a witch hat. Another four-color project, this one is 14 by 18 stitches, which is an inch by just a little more than an inch, or around 3 cm square, worked on 14 count fabric.

If you like your minis a little bit bigger, this jack o’lantern with leaves is from White Protea Art and measures 47 by 28 stitches. That comes out to 3.4 by 2 inches, or 8.5 by 5.1 cm, when stitches on 14 count fabric. It uses nine colors.

Or there’s also this little cutie from that same designer. I love the little leaf on top of the pumpkin. At 33 by 36 stitches, it comes out to 2.4 by 2.6 inches, or 6 by 6.5 cm, when stitched on 14 count fabric. I think it uses around eight colors.

Template Love Create also has two mini jack o’lantern cross stitch patterns that I like (I swear I didn’t plan to do two from each of the same designers, it’s just the whimsy of an Etsy search!). There’s one that is more round and one that’s oblong, which I like because it’s different from most of the pumpkin patterns you see. The pattern listings say both are six colors (though they look like four to me) and 28 by 28 stitches, but I don’t think that can be true. Either way they both fit in a 3 inch hoop and would be a super cute little addition to your Halloween decor.

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