Sunday can be one of the worst days of the week when you have little kids to take to church, unless you have a church bag.
Making a kid sit still for 1-2 hours is probably my least favorite thing in the whole world.
It’s exhausting keeping them entertained.
It’s a must to have a church bag for the kiddos!
We have a backpack that we take every week, and, for the most part, it works great.
The kids are happy, we’re happy, win-win!
Tips for an effective church bag
Now, there are a few things to note in order to make this bag the best it can be!
- Make sure the toys stay in the backpack all week. They only play with them on Sunday. This is because they forget about them, and after a whole week, it’s like it’s a new toy again! It’s magic.
Try keeping the bag in your room during the week or just out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind.
- Don’t bring your whole house. We have a rule that you can only bring 5 things. This includes crayons as one thing and a coloring book as a second thing. Otherwise, it looks like their room sprawled out on the chapel floor for everyone to see.
- Don’t bring anything loud, messy, hard for them to use, or anything they might have to ask for help with. It’s got to be easy, fun, and small.
- Always have a snack….cause, you know, they’re kids and they are hungry 5 minutes after breakfast.
- Lastly, it helps to have new things they haven’t seen in a while, or only play with at church so it’s always exciting. This is where the dollar store comes in handy, you can rotate different things and just go to the dollar store to pick up these simple, cheap, fun, AND effective things!
The Dollar Store Church Bag
Yes, you can buys things online from the Dollar Tree!
I LOOOVEEE the dollar store.
If I want to “get out”, I usually go to the dollar store. Need a snack? Something to organize your home? A toy? A gift? You name it, you can get it there.
AND IT”S ONLY A DOLLAR!
My kids also love the dollar store. I’m pretty sure we bought most of their Christmas gifts there last year.
I hope they grow up to love it as much as I do!
Here are some ideas for your dollar store church bag:
A bag
You got to have a bag to put stuff in. They have great little bags at the dollar store.
In fact, one of my goals this summer to is to buy some bags and make my kids their own church bag. What I mean by make is put their names on the bag and let them decorate it.
This way they can fill more responsible and excited about it. (That’s the expectation I have in my head anyway!)
Right now we use a back pack, which works great too!
If you’re looking for a more sturdy bag, that might last you a little longer, these ones on Amazon are pretty cheap too. I guess that depends on how rough your kids are with it, like mine.
Activity books
There are tons of activity books at the dollar store from crosswords to word searches, depending on how old your kids are.
I wouldn’t get it if your kids are too young for it and you’re having to help them because then you’re missing out on church. Unless that’s what you’re going for, I won’t tell.
Magic coloring books
They have these coloring books that my daughter loves where you have a special “magic” marker that you color with and it changes the paper all different colors.
She colors the whole book in a day.
I couldn’t find them on the Dollar Tree online store, but I have found them in the store. The one above is from Amazon, which is obviously more expensive than a $1.00.
Fuzzies in eggs
(I’m calling them fuzzies, but they’re actually pom-poms) This is great entertainment for toddlers. You buy a bunch of fuzzies and plastic eggs. Which you might have some from Easter, or you might have to wait on this one and make it when they’re selling again.
You just put a bunch of those fuzzy balls in different eggs. You can sort by color or size, or whatever you’d like. This was a huge hit for my kids. It’s quiet, and they love it!
You can also hide things with the fuzzies in the eggs, they like that too!
You could also do a tooth brush case if eggs aren’t on sale.
This kept my toddler entertained for like 30 minutes. I’m serious!
Again, I couldn’t find them on the Dollar Tree online store, but I am 100% certain they are at the dollar store. Here is what I am talking about, though. Also, you can but plastic eggs on Amazon, any time of the year.
Mini Party Umbrellas
In the party favor section, you can buy some mini umbrellas. You know, the ones you put in drinks? These entertain my kids for hours, especially if they haven’t seen them in a while.
Squishy balls
Who doesn’t like squishy balls? I like these! And they’re quiet. But you might have to worry about throwing.
Beads and string
Get some simple beads and string for the kiddos to make a bracelet or necklace. This is good for like 5-6 year olds. They love it, and it’s simple.
Puzzles
The dollar store has great small puzzles for kids.
Bible cards
Try to stay with the theme of the day and get some bible flash cards for the kids to look through. Not the toddler though, or else you’ll be playing 52 card pick up.
Fun pens
I don’t know why, but when I get my little girl a new pen, she can’t stop coloring. It’s just a pen! But, I guess, I kinda do the same thing when I get a new pen. The dollar store sells pens and fun fuzzy pens as well!
You could also get a notebook to go along with it. These are so cute, you won’t believe they’re from the dollar store.
Sticker puzzles
These are the new fad, sticker puzzles. My daughter can do this for hours. She loves a good challenge. Bonus points if it’s bible themed.
Cars
My son loves cars. We have to limit how many cars he can take or he’s lining up the whole pew with cars. The dollar store has cars, and I think we pick one up every time we go.
Coloring book and crayons
Coloring book and crayons. How did you guess this would be on the list?
I would suggest crayons and not markers, cause, you know….kids.
We go through coloring books like crackers, so the dollar store is a great place to get coloring books and crayons!
You can also get good storage containers for markers and crayons.
Jesus book
A good Jesus book is always a nice thing to have in a church bag. They have them at the dollar store.
Stickers
What child doesn’t like stickers? I have actually learned to hate stickers because they get stuck on my car, furniture, walls, and so much more. But church is a good controlled environment. I have them stick them in their coloring book or notebook.
Stickers can be expensive, but you can get like a roll of 100 at the dollar store. Granted they are teacher stickers, but the kids don’t care!
Photo book
We made a photo book one time, (of course I don’t have a picture of it), that had pictures of family members, Jesus, Jesus’s life, etc. that the kids could look at during church.
Dolls/ponies
They have everything at the dollar store. They have dolls and ponies. I mean, they’re cheap, but my kids don’t care. The ponies come with little combs, and the dolls come with little furniture sets. It’s small and simple, and would be easy to put in a church bag.
Dry Erase Boards
Buy little dry erase boards and dry erase markers for them to color on. If you feel like going the extra mile, make little flash cards of things they can draw/copy onto their dry erase board. Otherwise, it’s gonna be, “mommy, what can I draw?”
Clothes pins
My kids love clothes pins.
Decorative Tape Rolls
These can be used like stickers, but they can design something with them. Write out their name, or just stick it somewhere. Although, you might have to help out with the ripping, so take that into consideration.
Cardboard Sewers
I have seen these at some dollar stores.
You know those little cardboard shapes or animals that have holes around them so you can sew through the holes with a shoe string? Those are what I’m talking about. I love playing with these!
Again, I couldn’t find them on the online store, but there are some at Amazon.
Pipe cleaners
Kids and pipe cleaners. I don’t even think they’re used for pipe cleaning anymore. They’re just toys for kids! Get a stack of those!
Snacks
Of course, you have to have snacks, but get the kind that don’t leave a lot of crumbs and aren’t that messy.
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What do you keep in your church bag? I’d love see it!
I wish you happy church day! and Good luck! 🙂
