Spectating Races with the Kids

With hubby and I both racing all summer long ... the kiddos get to bet quite the little professionals at spectating. Though they don't look forward to getting up before dawn on race day, they DO enjoy staying at hotels, seeing new cities, swimming, seeing new parks, snacking and cheering on mom and dad.

As we are currently packing to head down to Chicago for the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon this weekend, I'm getting hubby's "survival bag" together. It's almost as much work for the spouse that is spectating!!!

Here are some things that I like to do to keep us all sane ....

I also like to take a lot of plastic shopping bags along to discard trash. I typically tie one or two to our stroller. When a garbage can isn't handy, it's a great way to get empty wrappers, packaging and such out of site.

Visit the Dollar Store and stock up on cheap toys and treats that will grab their interest. These are super affordable and you won't care if they get distroyed or left behind. Something new will always intrigue them more. You can also scour your bin of McDonald's toys that they haven't played with in awhile and find some rediscovered treasures.

This time I even went so far to take most of the items out of their packaging, so that the parent doesn't need to deal with the junk. I also took a plastic bag and labeled it with each of the kids' names. I put treasures inside for each of them, so that there is no fighting (hopefully!).

Since we will have a few hours of driving on our hands, I visited the local library and got several books that they can read in the car as well as some videos they've never seen. Hopefully this keeps our trip quiet in the minivan.

Snacks, lots and lots of snacks!! They kids seem to snack all morning long while we are spectating races. Here are some of our (mostly healthy) favorites:

• Yogurt
• String Cheese
• Individual bags of Chips and Pretzels
• Premade PB&J Sandwiches
• Berries
• Juice Boxes
• Bottled Water and Crystal Light Packets
• Lunchables
  

Have them cheer you on in style and be your own personal fan club. Have custom fan club shirts made or order some directly from Family Fan Club (HERE). Get the kids their own cowbells and noisemakers, so that they can cheer everyone on. I purchased these noisemakers from the Target Dollar bin over the past few years. When they aren't tossing them in the street, it helps keep them entertained as they watch everyone pass them by and look for you in the crowd.

Some other miscellaneous items I like to bring along:

• Beach towels (blankets tend to be too bulky to tote around)
• Baby wipes and tissue
• Hand santizer
• Extra clothes and jackets (they always get super dirty race morning!)

Race day can be long for everyone ... especially when it's a "big city" race and there isn't a park in site!!! I'm always looking for more ideas.

How do you keep

the kids entertained

on race day??