Turn off the screen. Here are some fun activities to do with the kids on a cold winter’s day…
“I’m BOARD!” Ugh, I am so sick of hearing this. Many times, my response as a Mom is: “Great! Then you can clean!” I tend to not hear them say that again. Then the good ol’ Mom guilt sinks in and I think about how they are growing up so fast and I will someday (far, far away) miss them telling me they are bored. So, I dig into my bag of tricks (my brain) and pull out something for them to do. Sometimes with and sometimes without me, just depends on how much work or laundry I have piled up.
I know it is hard to think on the spot of something free or cheap to do on that cold winter indoor day. So, I thought I would make a nice handy dandy list for you and for myself to refer back to. We go out and do activities sometimes but it adds up and we can’t always be spending money on movies, roller skating, trampoline parks, etc., etc., and sometimes the roads are bad too.
Here is a list of cold day, or any day, activities for the kids.
1. Color – use one of the thousand coloring books we have collected over the years. Or blank paper. We can mail something to a grandparent.
2. Play dough or Kinetic Sand – Use what you have or make your own. I know it is a pain to get out and clean up but it can be hours (or 45 minutes) of entertainment! Pretend it’s a pizza or an ice cream shop and you are the customer.
3. Puzzles – Have a puzzle marathon and see how many you can get done.
4. Read – Get out a good book or more and read aloud or let them read in their head. I hear Fairy-Tailed is a good one, wink wink. LOL
5. Build a Fort – Blanket forts are amazing and should be a requirement of childhood in my opinion. You could always build one to read in.
6. Dance Party – Crank up the tunes and get your groove on. Teach them about some different genres of music and some different steps while you’re at it…Teachable Moment here!
7. Hide N’ Seek or Sardines – Everyone loves Hide N’ Seek. Sardines is the reverse if you have more than two people playing. You have one person hide and everyone else seeks then hides with the hider and the last person seeking loses.
8. Scavenger Hunt – See my other blog post for more details here.
9. Dress-Up Time – You can do this if you have dress-up clothes or not. Every child loves trying on Mom or Dad’s shoes! Take it a step further and paint nails too.
10. Crafts – Make a paper chain to count down to Spring, bead a necklace, paint, and look online for simple crafts for your age child.
11. Paper Airplanes – Always fun, see what different styles will go farthest.
12. Tubby Time – Who says bath time has to be at night? Take a daytime bath just to mix it up. Put on some music or read a book or just let them play.
13. Card Time – Most people have a deck of cards laying around. Let’s go old school and play.
a. Solitaire
b. War
c. Go Fish
d. Memory
e. Build a Card House
f. Rumi
g. Look online for more card games
14. Board Games – Remember all those games you have lying around. Time to play one!
15. Bake – Mmmm…Cookies or any other delicious treat. That is a memory and an activity and a learning experience all wrapped in one. Teaching a child how to use items in the kitchen is priceless (but not as priceless as quality time with you).
16. Cardboard box – Do you have a box laying around? Great! Give it to them along with some crayons and ask them what they want it to be. This will give you time to work or do the laundry. A simple box will provide hours of entertainment. It can be a train, a car, a plane, a rocket ship, and so much more.
17. Get Outside – Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean they can’t go out. They can sled, build a snowman, and run around. I use a little bribe called “Hot Coco.” Ain’t no shame in my game! If they go play when they come in they get hot cocoa.
Have more ideas? Please share them with me on Twitter @Fairy_Tailed or on Facebook @FairyTailedWish
Just remember you can have fun with your children without going crazy and feeling trapped in the house. You can also provide memorable moments and experiences without spending all your hard-earned money. Creating a childhood where they learn and grow into well-rounded good people does not have to cost a fortune.