Placemats...Off topic......

We just bought a new dinette set and want to get rid of the kids highchairs and put them in boosters at the kitchen table..... Trying to have a more family friendly dinner rather then eatting over the sink....... Anyway.... I want to get the kids placemats to put their finger foods on b/c they will throw the plates in the floor..... I went out last night and looked at a few places but mostly what I found was fabric and hard plastic which will be just as bad as a plate... im looking for a vinyl like one that is a bit heavier and not as slippery...

Any help would be great.

TIA!!

 

PetsMart has great placemats [if you don't mind the animal theme] that are heavy vinyl and come in a variety of sizes.

 

We just use the trays on their boosters as plates. That way they can't throw them away. They have actually gotten much better lately about using plates and they no longer play with them.

 

I found this site...I know they are a bit more expensive, but you can personalize them too.

http://www.olivekids.com/p_placemats.html

 

This might not be what you're talking about but here is something that worked really well when my DD was younger.

We bought some of those cheap, clear/decorative mats from WalMart and then cut them in half (they were really big). We kept them in her diaper bag to use when we went out to eat. If you put a dab of water down on the table and put the placemat on top of it, it creates a suction to hold it in place on the table. She couldn't throw it off that way and we had a clean surface to put her finger foods on (she did not agree with plates at all).

 

Also, they have these at WalMart that have built in suction cups.

Placemats

 

I think the ones we have came from the dollar store... AND they have Dora on them!

 

If you are feeling crafty, you can make your own. Get some white posterboard and cut it to size. Have the kiddos decorate it however they want. Laminate it using clear shelf paper.

 

I love the suction cup Idea and I will def. be picking them up for when were out and about and the water drop idea is great too...... Im going to check out the $$ store to see what we can find too..... Im going to be having the placemats on top of a table cloth to prevent scratches to the new table and such so the water drop and suction cup idea wont work for at home.......

 

quote:
Originally posted by kcole:
Also, they have these at WalMart that have built in suction cups.

Placemats


I just used those for the first time today and the worked great. I took the girls to DH's office for lunch and we put them on the lunchroom table. They stayed put and the girls didn't try to pull them up till they were done eating.

 

We have some from Pottery Barn Kids.

If your kids are throwing plates, chances are they will throw the placemats too (our kids had a hard time learning to use the placemats). So I would recommend the Tiny Diner by Kiddopatomus. We had some of those for restaurants (kept in our diaper bag) and they work really well. They have the suction cups on them and a little tray to catch the food that falls.

 

I saw these today at Babies R Us and I was wondering how well they worked. Maybe someone here has tried them?


Placemat

Sharon

 

quote:
I saw these today at Babies R Us and I was wondering how well they worked. Maybe someone here has tried them?


Placemat



I have the ones that Sharon just posted the link to. That is what I would recommend. They stick to the table, clean up easily (except for spaghetti sauce will stain them a bit) and they have a little pocket thing to catch spills from natural causes (at our dinner table most "spills" are NOT from natural causes, but rather from flying food). I got mine at Babies R Us and they were less than $10 a piece, if I remember correctly. My kids loved them but they did figure out how to pull them off the table but then they outgrew that urge.

 

We have the Tiny Diners, too, and LOVE them. They are kind of a pain to clean but worth the effort. The catch "tray" on the front is such a blessing and the rubber material they are made of is great for keeping bowls from slipping.

I highly recommend them!