11 Things To Do with Your Kids Inside

I cannot actually recommend staying indoors in the winter, but I really do hate the cold. Getting outdoors more often will improve your mood and boost your immune system. That being said, when I took my kids to school today it was 18 degrees, which I can only stand for about an hour. When you’re all feeling cooped up, and perhaps read my post on how bad too much screen time is for your child, or at least for my child, here are some ideas to spark some indoor activity.

• Have a scavenger hunt. Sneak in one item that you’ve been looking for for a while.
• Play hide and seek. It is still surprisingly fun, even at my age. Find a really good spot and you can take a nap.
• Break out all your old board games, see what still has all the pieces and play. These days, we are into Connect 4, Robot Faces, and Star Wars Clue.
• Teach your child a card game. Gin Rummy is our go to. Or keep their minds busy with some great riddles.
• Do a puzzle. Order now, Amazon will have it to you by tomorrow. The ones with lots of different sections, like candy, cereal, sites in a city seem to work the best for all my kids ages.
• Play loud music. Have everyone pick their favorite song and explain why Who knows what this will lead to.
• Play Chopped. You are the judge, they are the cooks. I guarantee your pantry or fridge has some interesting ingredient combinations. Beware, your kitchen will be a mess, but it will kill hours of the day, and at the end of it, you may not have to cook. (In case you’ve never seen it, t is a Food Network show. Chefs compete. They get 3 baskets of ingredients. One for appetizer round. One for main course. And one for dessert. Each basket has 3 or 4 ingredients they must use, and then they can substitute with any other ingredients in the kitchen. They are judged on taste, presentation, creativity and use of basket ingredients.)
• Make cookies and a card for someone who needs them and then, deliver them personally.
• Build a fort. Santa brought this cool fort making kit for the boys, and it has provided hours of entertainment and creativity.
• Do you have a fondue pot? Use it.
• Move. Do anything that gets the blood flowing. Dance. Have a catch in the basement. Play keep it up with a balloon. Have a push up contest. Some outdoor games like spike ball and corn hole can be played indoors with just a little bit of space.

On a day when I know boredom and inactivity are bound to set in, we’ll collectively make a list of all the things we want to do that day, and it almost always turns a dull day into a great, family fun one.