At "Land Of Nod", (children's online retailer) they offer splat mats for that very thing. They are oilcloth and oh so cute. Might work for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Splat Mats

Put up with chair mats available from a variety of baby places (we used clear plastic but now they're patterned), and thank heaven that this phase shall pass.

Here's a link to some inexpensive ones from Paranoid Parenting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paranoid Parenting floor toppers

Splat mats. They also offer mats that go under kids' art easels. Same concept.

You could get plastic or oilcloth cut from a roll at a fabric or hardware store. If you don't want to be washing it all the time, you could put newspaper on top of the waterproof plastic & dispose of that after a meal.

If a kid is throwing or deliberately dropping food or juice, s/he is not hungry anymore & it should be taken away. It only takes a few times & you shouldn't have the problem anymore.

We went to TAP plastic and had a sheet of plexiglass type material cut to the size we wanted. It was very thin and lightweight, albeit bulky. We used it for years on the hardwood and on carpet. When we were finished it was scratched terribly, but the floor and carpets looked great. I only moved it occasionally for vacuuming. It wouldn't be the type of thing to use if you want to pick it up after every meal. They probably have cuter things now. This was years ago.

Necessity was the Mother of invention for me. I put one of those office chair mats under my grandson's highchair and 2 years later my carpet under his chair shows no sign that an almost 3 year old boy lives here. I just wipe it down and you hardly even know that the mat is there. I found some reasonably priced for hard floors. See the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Floormats

My first thought- get a dog! Nary a crumb or stray cheerio ever touches my wood floor. And I have a messy eater (and a happy dog!)

:)

How about one of those mats that goes under a desk chair so it can roll?

I was going to suggest a small wading pool, but a dog is the most efficient mess catcher I've ever encountered, and the only love money can buy.

B

Here are some disposable floor mats for under the highchair. Dogs really do work best, although at a friends house once the dog parked himself under my son who was swing his feet. The dog got the food scraps ground into his fur.

-Robin

Here is a link that might be useful: Disposable Floor Mats

California-dreamer, you beat me to it! ;-) My first thought, a hungry dog. Around here we call it "floor maintenance." The dogs know what it means, and come running.

Depending on their throwing arms and how much area you need to protect, if you want something easy to fold up after meals, I have seen those old flannel backed table cloths used for that. You can get a small square 52" one, or fold up a larger one. You can replace them easily and cheaply, also. That is only if you want something easy to fold up and put away after each use. The office mats or Plexiglas also sound like good ideas if you want something there all the time. Those splat mats are cute but expensive. I don't know what it would cost, but you might also consider going to HD or Lowes and asking them to cut a small piece of one of those rolls of vinyl flooring they have. They are long, so you could get at least 2 mats from one piece, probably 3. It is less than 6.00 sq yd and you could get a color to match your kitchen. It might take a few days inside with something heavy on the corners or sides to make it nice and flat, but if you put it out in the sun for a little while it might flatten right out in the heat with a weight on it. Give an extra to your daughter. :)

That gives me a good idea. My floor finisher told me today never to roll out my refrigerator onto the wood floor to clean behind it because it will leave tracks, it is too heavy. He said to get a piece of 1/4" plywood to roll it onto when I need to move the refrigerator. I think I might get a piece of that vinyl to use instead. I could roll it up and store it away when I don't need it and it isn't as thick so it won't as hard to get the full refrigerator up onto it. (He said to "just" lift the frige up and put it onto the plywood and then roll it, LOL.)

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Sheet vinyl

Wait a minute, we have good ideas for servicable solutions, I am pretty good at budget solutions, but if you want a really FABULOUS solution, get Igloochic! Then you will have possible solutions from the least noticable (clear plastic/pexiglass) to the most colorful (splat mats) and from the cheapest (flanel backed plastic tablecloth) to the most fabulous and expensive (Igloochic, where are you?)

:)

Sue

Definitely a dog - aka "land shark". :-)