5 Tips to Dining Out with Twin Toddlers

Remember those good old days when you could go to the swanky restaurants, show up with no reservation, linger over a bottle of wine, savor your food, and indulge in dessert? Well not with twin toddlers (unless you hire a babysitter) but that doesn't mean dining out is completely off limits!

At 21 months old, we are in the thick of it...in fact, we are probably at that age where we shouldn't be dining out at all. But we still make a commitment to do so every few weeks.

Either way, dining out with a toddler is hard….with twins it’s even harder, but I am adamant against screen time at the table. Gone are the good old days when they would sleep in their car seat while we are.

My top biggest tips:

1. Know what you’re going to order before you arrive - you don’t need to waste time reviewing the menu when you’ve got one (or two) ticking time bombs

2. Come prepared with food for them - no one wants to be around a hangry kid, so come prepared with food, even if you’re planning to order off the menu for them (we arrived with meatballs and carrots in Tupperware that we pulled out to make it until their chicken fingers and fries arrived)

3. Ask for the bill after you get your food - if things are going well and you can stay longer, that’s amazing, but if things head south, the last thing you want to be dealing with is hailing the waiter.

4. Go Early & Make a Reservationr - dining with kids can be a lot and people who are dining out are generally looking for a night "off" (hint: read the first sentence in this post). Early bird special is where it is at, restaurants are generally less busy, and other diners are more generally accommodating.

5. Bring Entertainment - I am adamant against screen time at the table, but I try to pack new books, toys, crayons, etc to keep them entertained while we wait for food.

And remember, it's ok if things take a turn South and you need to remove yourself. We have been out a few times this year where I had to get my food "to go" because someone was fussy.

We always try to clean up any mess we make (hint: food on the floor) and tip our servers well.

Did we survive? Yes. Did I take my dinner to-go because of a meltdown at one of them? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes.