4 Ideas For Indoor Fun With Kids on Crummy Weather Days
If the weatherman is predicting lousy weather for the weekend, why not prep for a fun day indoors and prevent the inevitable whining that will come if your kids are bored.
A bit of planning will keep your children from playing video games all day and will provide for some family bonding time with fun kids activities.
Indoor Camping: Put on your pajamas and pitch a tent with a few sheets for memorable rainy day fun.
You can pretend that the electricity is out and turn on the fireplace or light a few candles to make like a campfire, and sit around with the whole family and look at photographs from years back, or tell stories about favorite family vacations and events.
Dad can grab a flashlight and tell everyone a spooky story or mom can read a great book to the family.
Have some pretzels and hot chocolate handy to snack on, too.
When everyone is tuckered out, you can even grab your pillows and blankets and sleep all night on the living room floor together.
Special Rainy Day Toys: Keeping a stash of toys and games that kids don't have daily access to is a way to keep these items special, and meant only to be pulled out on rainy days.
Having enough on hand, so that it will easily eat up 4 or 5 hours of time is the way to go with this idea.
For example, a game of Twister can easily go for an hour with lots of laughs; Lego's offer a creative outlet where each of your kids can be challenged to build a house or a vehicle.
Keep an inexpensive basket of instruments like plastic flutes, maracas and a harmonica, and have family jamming sessions or a parade where the whole crew can march around the house while wailing out tunes.
Have a party: Dull weather is a great excuse for a party, and it certainly doesn't need to be expensive.
The kids can help you bake a cake topped with icing or make a bowl of popped corn.
Make a batch of fresh squeezed lemonade or iced tea and put on a fun family movie.
Have a singing contest a la American Idol, and mom and dad can judge the singers and give out a prize-like an extra hour of staying up before bedtime.
Scavenger Hunt: This one may require a bit more preparation, but if you plan and are ready, it can provide hours of fun.
Head to the dollar store and buy all sorts of interesting things like a rubber snake, a whistle, a deck of cards and other such bits and pieces.
If you're on a budget or short for time, you can do this with stuff you already have in the house, too.
Create a map of your home and write out a bunchy of hints that will keep the kids guessing as to where to find the goodies.
The first child to find everything or act out all the necessary activities wins a neat prize like an extra special dessert after dinner.
A bit of planning will keep your children from playing video games all day and will provide for some family bonding time with fun kids activities.
Indoor Camping: Put on your pajamas and pitch a tent with a few sheets for memorable rainy day fun.
You can pretend that the electricity is out and turn on the fireplace or light a few candles to make like a campfire, and sit around with the whole family and look at photographs from years back, or tell stories about favorite family vacations and events.
Dad can grab a flashlight and tell everyone a spooky story or mom can read a great book to the family.
Have some pretzels and hot chocolate handy to snack on, too.
When everyone is tuckered out, you can even grab your pillows and blankets and sleep all night on the living room floor together.
Special Rainy Day Toys: Keeping a stash of toys and games that kids don't have daily access to is a way to keep these items special, and meant only to be pulled out on rainy days.
Having enough on hand, so that it will easily eat up 4 or 5 hours of time is the way to go with this idea.
For example, a game of Twister can easily go for an hour with lots of laughs; Lego's offer a creative outlet where each of your kids can be challenged to build a house or a vehicle.
Keep an inexpensive basket of instruments like plastic flutes, maracas and a harmonica, and have family jamming sessions or a parade where the whole crew can march around the house while wailing out tunes.
Have a party: Dull weather is a great excuse for a party, and it certainly doesn't need to be expensive.
The kids can help you bake a cake topped with icing or make a bowl of popped corn.
Make a batch of fresh squeezed lemonade or iced tea and put on a fun family movie.
Have a singing contest a la American Idol, and mom and dad can judge the singers and give out a prize-like an extra hour of staying up before bedtime.
Scavenger Hunt: This one may require a bit more preparation, but if you plan and are ready, it can provide hours of fun.
Head to the dollar store and buy all sorts of interesting things like a rubber snake, a whistle, a deck of cards and other such bits and pieces.
If you're on a budget or short for time, you can do this with stuff you already have in the house, too.
Create a map of your home and write out a bunchy of hints that will keep the kids guessing as to where to find the goodies.
The first child to find everything or act out all the necessary activities wins a neat prize like an extra special dessert after dinner.
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