When it’s really cold outside, indoor days at home are fun but before long, you’ll be looking for ways to beat cabin fever! Try these handy kid ideas for a change:
Have a Snowball Fight — You really don’t need snow to have a snowball fight! You can either use big cotton balls (when you’re playing with little ones) or rolled up socks (when playing with bigger kids). Hide behind your couch or chairs and have at it! Just be sure to play where you’re not going to break anything!
Break out the Board Games — You probably got a new one or two this Christmas, so now’s the time to play them together! And, remember, it’s OK to lose.
Build a Fort — You’ve just finished getting your living room back in shape after the Christmas morning mayhem, and now you can make a mess of it … again. Put the kitchen table chairs in a square in the living room floor and hang sheets and blankets over them. Pile pillows under it and get out the flashlights!
Shadow Puppet Story Time — Speaking of the flashlights, here’s a great chance to teach your kids how to make shadow puppets! You can have your kids read a story and you put on the show. Make it even funnier by switching it up and you read the story and see what they can do with their own shadow puppet skills.
Create an Indoor Snow Family — Purchase white and black clay from an arts and crafts store. Roll snow people out of the white clay and shape hats with the black. Make arms with tiny twigs, scarves from narrow fabric strips, eyes and buttons out of whole pepper, and noses from broken orange colored toothpicks.
Make up Funny Skits, and Put on a Show — Choose household products, and create silly advertisements about them. Make up goofy songs or poems about each product, and dress up for the part. Be sure to record the skits for great family memories.
Hold a Winter Movie Fest — Invite friends over for a lazy day of movie watching. Ask everyone to bring pillows or beanbag chairs, and don’t forget the popcorn and hot chocolate. If you’ve had enough of winter, make it a Hawaiian luau. Choose movies with summery or vacation themes, serve cold drinks with little umbrellas and fruit on top, and don’t forget the beach towels for stretching out.
String a Snowflake Streamer — Make snowflakes by folding white paper several times and trimming different shapes around the edges. Open the snowflakes, string them on a piece of yarn and hang them across the room.
Play Store or Restaurant — Young kids love these games. For store, let the kids create a shop and have other kids “buy” things. Then they can sit down at your pretend restaurant and order a snack off of your child’s hand-made menus.
