Sitting in Church With Kids: 10 Church Bag Ideas
I carry big bags around with me wherever I go. Big beach totes, hobo bags, over the shoulder bags. Even if my kids aren't with me, I'll search around for fun goodies to tote along. Church is a great place to bring a cute bag. I should be honest about this church bag thing, though. My kids are really edging out of the season where they “need” me bringing one. BUT, I really love carrying around a cute tote containing a few of my favorite things. So, as long as I can get away with it, I’ll continue to prep my stuff each Saturday night. I’ll keep on pinning quiet activities here, and take on whatever challenges pop up during the service. My bag and I are ready!
As of late, these are ten of my favorite church bag things:
- The Bag Itself - Like I said, I have a bit of a collection of mom bags. For church, I tend to select the pretty purple professional tote with a laptop compartment. I use the dividers for books and spots for pencils, leaving the zipped compartments for my own personal effects. The structure helps keep the water bottle upright. Yes, I have over-thought this.
- My Bible - Something for me! I like to have my own Bible for notes during Bible study. It’s my friend, and using another Bible just isn't quite the same.
- Water bottle - The air is dry here in Colorado, so having water on hand minimizes our trips out for drinks. I do ration, otherwise my little ones are frequently out to the restroom.
- Pencils - My oldest is 8 and rarely needs any items from my bag, but if we do have a wiggly day, he underlines words he likes in the bulletin or sketches little drawings of the sanctuary.
- Cute Little Pouch from Thai Village - holds my cute tissue packs, hand sanitizer, and lip balm from Diddles Dairy. I’m ready to handle kid goobers.
- Tiny Plush Animals - These work great for a little comfort item if needed.
- Crayons - I use the same old same old crayon style, some ladies love the twistable crayons for durability.
- Mini Activity Books - These fit great in the bag, and are a little more discreet compared to large coloring books. If discretion is at all needed with coloring books, I don’t know.
- Handmade Felt/Button Snake - Several examples can be found on Pinterest. My kids are a little big for this now, but it was one of my favorites around ages 2 or 3.
- Lift the Flap Bible Books - All the little windows and flaps keep little hands quite busy, also good around ages 2 or 3 or so. When using these, I get tons of questions from the kids about the Bible stories. It seems these books bring out their Sunday School knowledge.
What are your goals and thoughts about activities for little ones in church? Please share your favorite church bag ideas! We'd love to see your church bag photos on Facebook or Instagram. Use #whatsinmychurchbag
For further reading about kids in church, take a look at our other posts in this series -
Sitting in Church with Kids: When We Feel All Eyes Are On Us
Sitting in Church with Kids: 5 Ways to Help the Single Parent
