Next time you’re waiting at the doctor’s office, a restaurant, or the bank, grab a business card off the counter nearby and entertain your child with this simple trick.

When I was a kid, we had a VHS (yep, those were the good ol’ days!) called “101 Things for Kids to Do.” It featured Sheri Lewis and Lamb Chop. Remember that horribly unforgettable song that never ends?…Sorry if it just resurfaced in your mind after being buried for a decade. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, consider yourself lucky and take my advice: DON’T go look it up.

Anyhow, I used to LOVE watching that video. It really did have a bunch of fun ideas of simple games, projects, and experiments that kids could do with little to no adult supervision. I’ve forgotten many of them over the years, but there are a few that have endured, and that I’ve now used with my own kids.

I’m going to share one of these ideas with you today. Why? Because it’s a perfect way to entertain your kids when you’re caught waiting somewhere unexpectedly and your arsenal of mom-activities in your massive diaper bag runs out.

The best part? You only need a business card…which can easily be found in most places I end up waiting with my kids. Doctors’ offices, restaurants, stores, banks…they all have business cards sitting smartly on the counter, just waiting to be used for something fun.

So, the next time you go to a restaurant and the wait is longer than you expected, or when your babysitter falls through and you have to take your child with you to an appointment, try this simple activity.

How to make your own business card creature

AKA – “Chompy”

Materials needed:

• business card (or an index card, or any kind of thicker paper)
• a pen (optional, but more fun)

Directions:

1. Hold your card in the middle of the long edges with your thumb and middle finger.
2. Using the other hand, fold it in half, but DON’T crease it (leave the folded side as a big curve).
3. Press the knuckle of your index finger into the middle of the folded side to create a dent.
4. Squeeze your thumb and middle finger together slightly to watch the “mouth” open and close.
5. If you feel so inclined, draw a face on the outside of the card. Then, PLAY!*Note: If you want to get really fancy and draw a face, you’ll need a pen. Thankfully, most places usually have them sitting right next to the business cards.

   

How to play with your card creature:

1. Start by just showing your child the card creature. You can name it together if you choose…Carl? Constance? Chompy?
2. Have Chompy “eat” (try to pick up) things on the counter.
3. Have Chompy “eat” your child’s fingers, nose, ears, etc.

I’m pretty sure I’ve used this before with my kids, but when I made it for them this week (so I could take pictures to share with you), it was as if they’d never seen it before. And they LOVED it!

I showed it to Little Man first, while Little Brother was napping. Then, when I went to wake up Little Brother from his nap, he brought Chompy along to show his brother. Miracles of miracles…my little boy who has been waking up so grumpy lately, instead woke up laughing. He was SO amused by this simple parlor trick, especially when we used Chompy to pick up things on the table as we ate our snack. Hooray for simple joys.