The power of restaurant placemats now at your dinner table

I've long thought about how to channel the power of the restaurant paper placemats in my own home so that we can all enjoy a pleasant meal. In other words, one in which the kids are occupied while I'm busy cutting their food into a billion pieces. Well the folks at Modern Twist have done just that with their super awesome kidz placemats. You won't find the C-list cartoon characters, mazes, and word jumbles of the restaurants' paper mats; on the contrary, you'll find amazing original artwork from some of the coolest indie artists, all silkscreened onto food-grade silicone mats. It even comes beautifully packaged a set of markers so your kids can let their creative coloring juices flow. The placemats are super sturdy and wipe clean easily, so long as your kids didn't use Sharpies and you wipe them soon enough after mealtime. They're not cheap (safe materials have their cost), but they are gorgeous. And fun. And the piece of mind they offer in the form of a relaxed, enjoyable meal, is completely worth it in my mind. Check out all the cool kids' placemats at Modern Twist and find some beautiful placemats for adults, too.