The Value Of Silly: Restaurant Crayons
By Seth on January 28 2009
The last time you were in a restaurant that had crayons available, did you use them? 
I admit to using crayons, markers, pencils, soft rocks, anything to give my fidgeting fingers something creative to do. I'm the first to grab the "forest green" and start planting forests around a basket of rolls.
Restaurants are smart to offer inexpensive things like crayons to keep kids busy. The server who unexpectedly brought extra packs of crayons to my group's table was absolutely brilliant. Napkins were soon covered with colorful animals, funny faces, and Bernie Maddoff in effigy.
We laughed about how silly it was that there we were, a bunch of adults, arguing over who got to use the red crayon next. Is there a reason why restaurants hold back on red crayons? Do people eat them? We couldn't decide. We did agree on one thing: having a childlike delight in creativity and beauty does not mean you are immature.
If you are serious about your work, the results of your effort will speak for themselves. There's no need to be uptight if your work is solid. Draw stick figures on your coffee cup, make paper airplanes, walk backwards, speak in a different accent for an hour. Being silly every so often will break up the mental walls that turn creative people into stodgy sticks. Loosen up!
Your colleagues will thank you for it and your work will be more creative because of it.
Did you eat the red crayons? It's okay if you did. Bernie looked funny with blue lips.
photo credit: Chris Winters
What our readers said
I love using crayons at restaurants… it works out as they always give them out cause our kids are usually always with us.
I LOVE using crayons at restaurants. One time I sulked ( jokingly) as I said, “How come we don’t get crayons like the kids?!?!” We want to have fun while waiting, too!
I always use the crayons, and usually bring Sharpie markers along (which has led to messing up a few tables before starting to put an extra piece of paper underneath a paper tablecloth). I’ve even steered us toward restaurants that are known for being able to draw on the tables. Sometimes it’s to break a creative block. Other times, it’s to get a creative group together to solve a problem. Often it’s just Saturday breakfast with my wife. Whatever the reason, it’s such a freeing time to draw and imagine new and familiar characters!
I always use the crayons – in fact we have a local Garfields restaurant that has the white paper table clothes and is a required location for power lunches or brainstorming lunch sessions. The waitress looks at us funny when we want to take the table cloth with us.. :-)
-Stephen
Crayons remind us to be kids. And when we are reminded of our childhood, we are reminded of our creativity.
@Stephen
That’s the good stuff! It doesn’t matter if somebody looks at you funny. If an activity helps you maximize your creative progress or communication, I say go for it.
You know it’s a good idea when you get angry about somebody spilling ketchup on it! =)
@Seth
Lol – Well I HAVE torn the good piece off the ‘table cloth’ before we made a mess once.
I loved to draw as a kid (and still do) so I guess like Rob Jacobs said it reminds us of younger days but just working an idea out on a blank page still works best for me… even though I am in the technology biz.
-Stephen
Some of the most fun times we have had as a family is playing “Hangman” in living color using the crayons and paper left at our table. Our local Italian restaurant (The Flying Tomato) is the best in the State of Washington, and this is just one more colorful feather in the cap of that accolade.
And our kids are all grownups now!
@Larry:
So it’d be safe to say that finding crayons at any restaurant table now would bring back some great memories for you! Will you have the chance to bring your adult kids back someday for another round? I hope so.
@Stephen
Being in the tech biz doesn’t mean you’ve changed the way you relate to ideas and information! I think Rob and I share the belief that coloring in a restaurant brings us back to the sort of creativity that isn’t afraid. Until there is a generation that grew up using only a stylus on a screen, I think crayons will be around to help our creative sides crack a smile now and again!
Seth
Mike, I’ve done the same with Sharpies before. It’s the unfortunate price of creativity!
And thank you for including the links. You’ve added value to this conversation and I hope readers take a moment to check out the posts you linked to. Good stuff!
I *always* use the crayons. BUT, having washed dishes in many a restaurant, I’d have to say, @Seth, drawing on the coffe cups is not appreciated. ;-)
What’s a polite way to ask for crayons from a server who does not offer?
Bernie Madoff with blue lips… I think that’s how most people would like to see him.
Marc, I hope people don’t take my suggestion to mean that they should draw on regular coffee cups. Disposable cups only! =)
The same way you’d ask for ketchup in a very expensive restaurant. If it’s something you really want, you’ll ask without worrying about the look your server gives you. You tip well, right? =)
Yes, on Madoff, a lot of people are kicking themselves too.
After recently seeing the movie “Timecrimes” my wife and I were at a restaurant that encouraged crayon drawing on the table. It inspired me enough to replicate the movie poster even though I’m a crappy artist:
http://blog.timelypersuasion.com/blog/?attachment_id=401
PS: It’s a very impressive time travel movie.
As a professional web designer and graphic designer (and the father of a 2-year old), I keep crayons in my desk, in my Scion, at home, everywhere. Some of my best work has started out as a crayon sketch on a napkin or receipt! Great post. Kudos, Seth
@ LBDG: The point is to be creative and spontaneous. Your sketch does both…and it’s pretty good, too! If I have an opportunity, I’ll be sure to check out a screening of “Timecrimes”. Thanks for sharing your crayon art! =)
@Chris Robertson: You knew what I meant from the start, then! It’s really great that you make creativity a priority and welcome it in many forms. Rumor has it that 2 year-olds can be quite inspiring to develop new ways to pull your hair out. =) I remain impressed with how quickly you turned out your post after our conversation on Twitter.
If you get a chance to check out Chris Robertson’s post on long-term planning, I think you’ll like it. A positive tone in the midst of all the doom and gloom of today!
Best!
As a purveyor of restaurant crayons and kids coloring sheets, I find this very interesting! Should casual dining restaurants offer doodle pages designed for adults as well?