So it’s that time of year… when everything is busy. Nonstop places to go and things to be done. Holidays are full of excitement, but for little people it’s also a time for lots of boredom. Running store to store, random family members’ houses and road trips. None of this is necessarily stuff they enjoy.

In order to keep my sanity I’ve created a “busy box” to stay in the car, in order to beat the boredom and keep up with the holiday rush.

One of the best storage containers I’ve found is a simple Creative Options 12×12 paper holder. Most of the time this is used for scrapbook paper but it is the perfect size for lots of kid items. Plus it doubles as a writing surface in the car. Here is the one I have… 

To keep Hucklebaby off of the iPad or phone I like to put a lot of variety in the box, because as soon as he’s done with one thing it can easily switch out for another. As you can see nothing is messy too.

A few magazines that are age appropriate and that we can have conversations about, lacing shapes from the Dollar Spot, different notepads with a chunky pencil, an easy to read book that he already knows really well, a dry erase ABC book, a preschool “workbook” and a ColorWorks notepad… The items in this box will last for a while before I need to swap them out with other things. The red pencil bag keeps the ColorWorks markers as well as the large chunky crayons. I don’t take little crayons because they are easier to lose when they roll under the seats.

Everything fits in nice and neatly. You can see through the container to see what is inside and it stays clean. I’ve tried soft bags in the past and I haven’t been as happy with them.

Hucklebaby knows that the busy box is in the car most days and has learned to start looking around in that before he starts complaining about being bored. He also helps me find new things to put into the busy box. The perfect places to look are the Target Dollar Spot, The Dollar Tree or Scholastic Book Orders.