May 5, 2026
Busy bags are one of the easiest ways to keep toddlers engaged when you’re out and about, travelling or just needing a few minutes to yourself at home. The best busy bags are simple, low-prep activities that your little learner can use independently, using items you likely already have at home like pegs, pom poms and play dough.
Over the years, busy bags have been one of those things I always come back to. We use them when we’re heading out for a meal, sitting in waiting rooms, travelling in the car or even just during those moments at home where I need to keep little hands busy while I get something done.
I generally rotate a few at a time and keep them packed in our nappy bag so they’re ready to go when we need them. In fact, we’re heading away for our Term 2 homeschool trip this weekend and I’ve already packed a couple because they’re easy, they don’t take up much space and I know they’ll actually get used!
If you’ve read my other busy bag posts like 8 Simple Busy Bags for Toddlers, you’ll know I like to keep things simple and realistic. Activities don’t need to be complicated to be engaging…they just need to be the right fit.
Today I wanted to share 10 of our current favourites. These are all simple, low-prep busy bag activities that you can set up quickly and use again and again.
And if you’d rather not piece everything together yourself, these are all included in my Aida 14ct Vintage Country Mocha Fat Quarter Zweigart, so you can simply download, print and pop them into your bags.
1. Caterpillar Pom Pom Colour Matching
This is such a simple one but it’s one of my FAVs. Your little learner matches coloured pom poms to the coloured spaces, building their colour recognition and visual discrimination skills while also working those fine motor skills!
All you need is a small handful of coloured pom poms and the printable cards which makes it perfect for throwing into a bag and taking with you.
2. Pom Pom Fish Match
This is one of my favourite activities from my Little Play Club community – simply print off the coloured fish, cut them out and add some matching coloured pom poms. Your little learner matches the coloured pom poms to the blank spaces on the fish.
This one is easy to level up and make a little trickier by adding some tongs or tweezers!
3. Sheep Colour Puzzles
If your toddler loves, the book, ‘Where is the green sheep?’ then they’ll love this busy bag! Featuring pictures of coloured sheep and their matching colour words, your toddler just has to match the pairs.
This activity is great for developing visual discrimination skills too!
4. Pegging Dinosaurs
I love that this activity includes two variations for younger and older children. Print off the coloured dinosaurs and add some matching coloured pegs for younger children to match!
Or choose the numbered dinosaurs and invite your little learner to identify the number and peg that many pegs onto their dinosaur!
Pegs are such a great, underestimated tool for developing finger strength and the fine motor skills needed to hold a pencil!
5. Insect Play Dough Mats
Who doesn’t love play dough?! It’s so easy to make together or to grab from the supermarket for some easy play on the go…but you can level it up with some thoughtfully designed play dough mats!
Invite your little learner to roll thin snakes or little balls of play dough and press them along the bubbly outlines to complete each insect and flower! Here’s my favourite no-cook play dough recipe.
This activity is wonderful for strengthening hand muscles, developing finger control and supporting early pre-writing skills. It’s also great for developing visual discrimination and early estimation skills as your little learner decides how long to roll their snake to fit within the outlines!
6. Play Dough Hair Mats
We love a play dough mat for play on the go! Print off the mats and laminate then pair with some play dough to create an engaging busy bag for all ages! Here’s my favourite no-cook play dough recipe.
Your little learner can roll thin snakes or little balls and press them into the outlines to complete each hairstyle.
This is a great one for developing finger strength, fine motor control and creativity…it always leads to plenty of giggles and imaginative play! You can also add some loose parts like buttons and beads to level up this activity.
7. Fruit and Veg Colour Puzzles
Print off the colour pieces and cut them out. Pop them into a bag and this activity is ready to go!
This activity supports visual discrimination, colour matching and even early reading skills as your little learner begins noticing colour words in print.
8. Pom Pom Garden
This is one of my favourite, easy busy bags. Just print off the flower templates and matching colour coding cards and add them to a busy bag with matching coloured pom poms.
Invite your little learner to pick a pattern card and look closely at the colour sequence. They’ll then place the pom poms onto the flowers on the mat to recreate the same pattern.
This activity is great for developing visual discrimination, colour matching, early sequencing and early coding skills!
9. Build a Robot Puzzles
We love a flexible busy bag! This one is great because there are a few ways to use the printables.
You can mix and match the robot heads, bodies, arms and legs to create your own robot designs or you can use the reference cards and encourage your little learner to match and recreate specific robots – this is great for building visual discrimination and attention to detail!
10. 2D Shape Snakes
Print off the snake cards and add them to your busy bag with a handful of pegs. Your little learner can look at the picture of the snake and identify which 2D shape it has ‘swallowed.’ They’ll find the matching 2D shape underneath and place a peg over the correct match!
Using pegs for play is such a simple way to build fine motor strength as your little learner squeezes and clips their pegs!
Why These Busy Bags Work
One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that not all busy bags are created equal.
The ones that actually get used are the ones your little learner can come back to again and again without needing constant help. They’re familiar, simple and easy to understand which is what makes them so effective when you’re out or trying to get something done.
That’s why I keep coming back to activities like these. They don’t require a big setup, they don’t rely on new materials every time and they fit easily into real life.
Want These Ready to Go Busy Bags?
If you’re looking at these and thinking you’d love something like this ready to use…I’ve bundled all 10 of these activities into my Alabaster 32ct Linen Fat Quarter Weeks Dye Works
Instead of sourcing and creating each one yourself, you can simply download, print and start using them straight away.
If you’re setting these up, one thing that’s made it so much easier for us is having a simple set of little bags to keep everything organised. I usually just pop each activity into its own pouch so I can grab them quickly when we’re heading out.
We’ve used a few different ones over the years, but I tend to reach for simple zip pouches* or the zip pouches with windows* because they’re easy for little hands to open and hold everything in one place.
Once you’ve made these busy bags once, you can pop a few into your bag, rotate them and you’ll always have something ready when you need it!!
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