How to Create Sanity-Saving Cold Weather/Rainy Day Activities for your Kids

Ah sun, glorious sun. And how we tend to miss it when it decides to go missing behind a rain cloud for a day or two! Whether it's a rainy day, or cold, dreary fall/winter day, gloomy weather weekends are tough. Bickering, squawking, nit-picking, and that doesn't even count the kids! I personally think weekdays are worse! We get home from our daily grind, only to be faced with a pack of hungry, restless wild raccoons that have been cooped all day. Did I mention they are usually also BORED, hungry, restless wild raccoons? And thanks to cold temps and lack of sun, they are now under your feet from the moment you hit the front door to the moment they go to bed. Just keeping them occupied is a monumental task. Keeping in mind that the evenings are short and Mom and Dad’s energy is low, here are some simple, cheap, family friendly activities that won’t break your budget or test your patience. I’ve even rated them on how-much-work/mess-does-this-create-for-Mom-and-Dad scale of 1-10 (1 being easy, fun and painless, to a 10 which is a save-it-for-a-day-when-you-have-LOTS-of-time). Enjoy!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A giant Cardboard box
• Old movies
• Play-Doh or Board games
• Tents or blankets thrown over chairs to make tents
• Beach toys

1. 1. The Beloved Cardboard Box Fort: Who couldn’t love this? The last time we did this, I think Daddy had more fun than the kids! Find a store that has large cardboard boxes and ask them to save one for you (furniture or appliance places would be best). Carefully flatten your box, trot it home and let your little wild raccoons get creative with markers, tape, glue, and crayons (designate an older child “user of the scissors”). Good for at least a week of fun or until you get tired of looking at it, at which point you simply fold it up and toss it in the recycle bin.
   Mess/Work rating: 2
2. 2. Designated “Snuggle Nights”. These are the nights we all get home, immediately change into our jammies, scrounge up every pillow and blankie in the house, and just CHILL. Supper needs to be super simple (frozen pizza or grilled cheese is a winners in my house) so the clean up and prep are nil. Then settle in and do nothing but snuggle under blankets. This a good time to tell stories (real or made-up) or pull out old family photos. The idea is to do as little as possible and get in some good family time, preferably without the TV.
   Mess/Work rating: 3
3. 3. Old-is-New Again Movie Night. Most of us have amazing amounts of Videos or DVDs in our home. Many of which have been shoved to the back of the movie cupboard never to be seen again. Dig out those back-of-the-closet videos and have nice night of revisiting the once former favs and remember again why you once thought Wiggles were corny or how Babe the Pig made you tear up.
   Mess/Work rating: 2
4. 4. Board Games and Puzzles! There is something downright therapeutic about putting together a 20-piece Elmo puzzle with your 4 year old. They love it, it’s not too difficult for them and it forces everyone to slow down and have some quiet time. Board games can be a lot of fun too depending on the age of your child. Pick something simple like Candy Land and set a timer if you think interest will wane. Pop up some popcorn or break out the Goldfish crackers to add to the fun.
   Mess/Work rating: 2
5. 5. Indoor Beach Party! Fill the tub, pull out the beach towels, snorkels, and sand toys and let your kids “swim” in the tub for a while. They will get clean and the novel idea of pretend deep sea diving in the tub will keep ‘em busy and happy. Add to the beach theme by serving up a mock picnic supper of hotdogs, fruit salad and maybe even ice cream for dessert. This one’s a little more work for Mom and Dad (digging out all the beach stuff and then putting it away again can be a bit tedious) but while your little sea creatures are swimming up a storm you are guaranteed at least 30 minutes of quiet time!
   Mess/Work rating: 5
6. 6. Camping In The House: Along the same theme of the Beach Party, pull out the Pup Tent, sleeping bags, any camping equipment you don’t mind the kids messing with, and pack a picnic lunch! Your “little raccoons” will delight in having cave all their own and mess will be minimal. My kids even made a pretend campfire out of Lincoln Logs and we told age appropriate ghost stories around our makeshift campsite. Mess/Work rating: 5

Tips & Warnings

• Have old catalogs lying around? With child-safe scissors, let your youngsters cut out the people figures, glue to cardstock and create their own modern day paper dolls! For an extra touch, round up a discarded cardboard box and home accents catalog and create some cozy digs for their new paper dolls!
• Ever notice you can't play Play-Doh and be crabby at the same time? Invest in some of the wonderful gooey stuff. Your kids will love it and it is magically therapeutic for jangled Mommy nerves!