Sure - we live in the city, we are used to the cold, the rain, the wind, and the snow, but that doesn't mean we need to be outside in it more than necessary. Here are some of our personal favorite ideas you can do to fight the "Bad Weather Blues" and avoid getting sucked into a screen all day:
Here are 26 ideas to have indoor fun as a family:
- Play charades
- Make your own playdough (you can use this recipe as a starting point)
- Build a tent and go camping inside
- Create a 2020 Bucket List
- Write letters to family & friends
- Create a story together! One of our favorite story starters is "Once upon a time I was walking through (blank) when I turned around and...." that's when you point to another family member to add their idea to the evolving tale.
- Have a paper airplane flying contest
- Try to build a house out of playing cards
- Create a map of your neighborhood
- Create your own town/city out of empty boxes before they get added to the recycling bin
- Create a family, or shared journal and take turns writing in it as a family.
- Practice sewing with a needle and thread, or teach older kids to sew a button
- Create a car wash (or toy wash) by letting the kids drive cars through a bin of shaving cream, a bin of soapy water and then clean water - add in a sponge and toothbrush for extra scrubbing fun
- Make masks out of paper plates
- Create homemade Valentines
- Have an indoor carnival and toss bean bags (or socks) into buckets, knock down a pyramid of bottles, bob for apples, pin the tail on the donkey, etc
- Go on a scavenger hunt by giving everyone a basket and calling out different items to find. Find something red, something you can make music with, something with wheels, etc - this is a great way to make cleaning up fun too!
- Do yoga together
- Play Book Bingo - similar to a scavenger hunt but instead of varied objects you search for books with specific characteristics. Find a book that is also a movie, a book with a bear in it, a fairytale, etc and then snuggle up and read the books discovered
- Have a dance party or play Freeze Dance
- Make it a spa day with a midday bubble bath
- Use tape to create hopscotch or roads for toy cars
- Open arts and crafts time by pulling out all of the supplies you have on hand and letting the kids create on their own masterpieces
- Make puppets and put on a puppet show
- Bake cookies
- Have a picnic and invite your favorite stuffed animals
What are some of your favorite indoor activities to play?
