How to Keep Kids Busy While Packing for a Move

Packing up an entire house for a more is not only time consuming, it can also be very stressful. Adding to that stress can be young children who must be kept busy and entertained during the process. It can be a real challenge to keep those little ones happy and engaged while also keeping them from getting underfoot every few minutes. Here are some fun ways to entertain small children while preparing to move.

Let the Kids Decorate the Moving Boxes. Set up boxes in an area away from the room you are currently packing and allow them to draw on the boxes with magic markers or crayons. Be sure to first label the box with the room of the house the box will need to go to and then let the kids decorate the boxes to their hearts' content. I employed this tip when my oldest daughter was just a toddler and it definitely allowed me the time I needed to peacefully pack several moving boxes at a time.

Have a Moving Treasure Hunt. Write out clues to objects needed to be packed and allow the kids to seek and find those items. Have them bring the items to you to ready for packing. Not only does this activity keep the kids busy and using their brains, it also gives you a hand in retrieving household items needing to be packed.

Use Coloring Sheets as Packing Material. Spend some time printing out coloring sheets from the Internet. Tell the kids that these will be special pictures to stuff the moving boxes with. Set them up at the table with the pictures to color and decorate. They can then help you to use the sheets to protect breakables in the moving boxes. Not only will this keep them happily busy for a time while you get things done, they will love having those pictures greet them at your new home.

Play the Color Game While Packing. Give each child a large laundry basket and instruct them to choose a color. Have the children add items of that color to the basket in each room. Be sure to take your children's ages into consideration and instruct them not to handle items that could get broken or potentially injure them. While you may need to take a bit of time to separate and organize the items later, this activity will keep them busy while you take care of the more time consuming aspects of packing.

Relax the Rules a Bit. Restrictions on video game playing and television watching can be lifted a bit while you are packing up your house. Let the kids know that this is a special circumstance and that the rules will be put back in place once the packing is completed. A few extra hours of passive entertainment will not do any harm and will allow you the peace and quiet you need to get all the packing done in record time.