What I made

1) Espresso train

Bliss’ometer: 15 mins
Pros: Kids love trains, enough said!
Cons: Adults will need to get heavily involved

2) Table football

Bliss’ometer: 10min
Pros: Very easy, and great for more than one child
Cons: It can get a bit noisy!

3) Checker board

Bliss’ometer: 10mins
Pros: Great challenge for older kids (7+)
Cons: You need a lot of sticks!

4) Wagon wheel

Bliss’ometer: 5mins
Pros: One for the young children (3+)
Cons: You can’t take it away with you.

5) Baby sick!

Bliss’ometer: 8mins
Pros: You only need a pen…
Cons: …it needs to be a permanent marker

6) Stick house

Bliss’ometer: 10mins
Pros: The perfect starter for older kids (7+)
Cons: Some parent involvement required

I love coffee shops. I have a Latte ‘to go’, most mornings – it’s part of my commuter coping mechanism. At the weekends trips to coffee shops are more of a family affair, the kids are particularly partial to Chocolate Cream (the nearest thing to a milk shake on the Starbucks menu). But as much as the kids enjoy these trips, they become restless before I even get halfway through my Latte. So over the years I have improvised a number of activities to keep them occupied, all of them make use of the materials available in any coffee shop. I hope you find them helpful, or should I say I hope they help you to enjoy your coffee! Good luck.

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