Don’t get me wrong, I love the winter. I love the freezing temperatures and the endless snow and the hoar frost (I particularly love saying HOAR frost and then giggling). I even love that the four seasons in Idaho are early winter, winter, still winter, and road construction (ha!). I don’t mind brushing off my car, driving in the snow, or even that my nostril hairs freeze as soon as I step outside (just me?).
However.
Small children in the extreme cold can be a challenge! I’m super motivated about taking them outside before and during the Christmas break, but I seem to falter once January rolls around. It takes so long to get them in their outdoor outfits (snow pants and snow boots and extra sweaters and giant puffy coats and waterproof gloves over knitted gloves and hats that never stay on) and then, once we’ve finally waddled outside, the 1-year-old falls over within minutes and gets a face full of snow and decides she hates everything so we have to go back in. There are many great indoor play places in and around Idaho Falls, but sometimes I don’t want to drive anywhere. That kind of thing takes planning, and on a weekend I’m just not always up to the task.
So I’ve come up with some ideas for activities to do inside that don’t require planning ahead to help reduce (yes, I said reduce – not eliminate!) the amount of TV you end up watching when the cabin fever hits.
Build a Fort!
Oh my goodness, I think this is my kids’ favorite. My son (3) will always pick this over going outside if I give him the choice! I take off all of the sofa cushions and build a giant fort over one of the sofas with the cushions and two large blankets. I then give them cookies to eat inside the fort. My kids aren’t usually allowed to pull cushions off the sofa OR eat cookies in the living room, so this activity includes a great deal of illicit fun. I can vouch that it has kept them entertained for long enough for me to drink an entire cup of tea all-in-one-go in the kitchen without a single MOOOOOMMMMMMM hollering from the living room. After we’re done playing in the fort, I pile all of the cushions and blankets in the middle of the floor and let them jump on them (sometimes I take this opportunity to vacuum the gross from under the cushions, sometimes I don’t). We’ve also hung blankets around the lower bunk in the kids’ bedroom and strung Christmas lights across the roof, and we’ve put up tents in the living room and filled them with blankets and toys. Anything you can do to create novelty by mixing up your surroundings is great!
Make Cookies
I have never been much of a baker (or a cook), but something has come over me this season! We’ve baked a TON of cookies, from frosted Christmas sugar and gingerbread cookies to Nutella-filled chocolate cookies and jellybean-topped almond cookies. The almond sugar cookies (with or without jellybeans) are a great one to make with little kids – my 3 yo helps mix ingredients and roll the balls, while my 1 yo is mostly content to play with measuring cups and some of the dough. It doesn’t include any exotic ingredients, either, so you don’t usually have to plan ahead. We’ve made these three times so far this winter, and the last time we dyed them pink for a bit of variety! I would recommend doubling or tripling the recipe, and bonus tip – if you triple it, use the leftover egg whites to make meringues for some extra sugary goodness. I tried this recipe, but just spooned the plain white mixture onto parchment paper and ditched the vanilla, food coloring, pastry bag, and gold leaf, since I am not fancy. They were still delicious.
Have a Dance Party
Okay, the fort-building might be my son’s favorite, but this one is mine. Simple, free, and requires no preparation. Put on some music (I personally recommend 90s pop), turn up the volume, and get down with your silly dancing. Bring out the instruments if you have them, or pots and pans and wooden spoons if you don’t. Wear costumes or silly hats. We like to do this in the kitchen, often while I’m prepping food or cleaning up. The important component with this one, I think, is that you’re joining in, too.
Create a Scavenger Hunt
Think Easter Egg Hunt only inside and not with eggs. You can use anything you have a lot of – playing cards, building blocks, action figures, etc. The evening before or while they are napping/watching TV/otherwise distracted, hide them all over the house. Then give your kid a bucket or a bag or whatever and task them to find them! If they find them all, they get a treat. If they are old enough to know numbers, tell them how many they need to find. Provide clues – we often find that telling my son to look for something that is a particular color is a great way to get him started. Don’t expect toddlers to leave you alone while they are doing this, but it definitely gets them moving around the house.
Other ideas…
- Get out the Play-Doh and cookie cutters.
- Play hide and seek.
- Have the kids help you clean.
- Use baby bottles and/or plastic kids cups as pins and set up a mini bowling alley.
- Mix up your crafting by covering the kitchen floor with taped paper or cardboard and get out all your paint and coloring supplies. Use the back of wrapping paper for maximum surface area.
I’ll be honest, we still watch a lot of TV on the weekend when it’s below freezing outside. But I try to do at least one thing every day that either burns some energy or inspires some creativity. I find it helps to wake me up, too, if I’ve fallen into a lethargic slump! This has always been a problem for me on Saturdays after a week at work – even before I had kids! – so forcing everyone to get up and do something fun is good for all of us.
What do you do to keep the kids entertained when you’re trapped inside?
