How to Create Mini-Games at Home

Whether you're forced to stay home because of a bad cold, school's closed by snow, or it's just too cold and wet to do anything outside, you need to find something to do inside the house. Sure, there are those stacks of movies and video games, or you could dust off those old board games. But if you're bored with all of those, there are plenty of fun "mini-games" you can find around the house that should keep you occupied and make the day go by quickly.

Instructions

1. Find interesting names in the phone book. Search for famous names like Demi Moore, Tom Cruise or Lizzie McGuire. Look for funny names like B. Flatt, Matilda Trout or anything beginning with Seymour. The newspaper can add to this game, as you can check the obituaries and cross those names out in the phone book.

2. Call people you know early in the morning while you still have "morning voice" (or if your voice is affected from being sick). Talk to them using a foreign accent and see how long you can fool them.

3. Leave a message on someone's voice mail, timing it so the biggest part of the message is cut off by the beep. Tell them they've won some big prize, maybe 10 million dollars, then have it beep just as you're giving them the number to call. Call the person's landline phone since or use caller ID block so the gag isn't ruined.

4. Turn the TV on and mute the volume. Make up your own dialogue to go along with the visual images. The midday news and soap operas are great fodder for this.

5. Pull out all the pots, pans and other kitchen utensils and use them as musical instruments. It's fun and might just bring the musician out of you.

6. Wax any hardwood floors you have in the house. Then slide across the room in your sweat socks (or on your rear end in flannel pajamas). Make sure you won't slide into anything hard and hurt yourself before you do this.

7. Try on all those clothes you get from relatives for Christmas but never wear. Pose in the mirror and laugh at how dorky you look in the puppy dog sweater and knit cap. If it turns out you look good in these clothes, don't let anyone else know.