February Break in New England is upon us. Long cold days and fidgety kids are looming. Trying to balance fun activities while not destroying your home, or sanity, is an art form. Here are some of my family’s favorite indoor activities to help the vacation go smoother… hopefully.
1) Bubble Wrap Run- Great for busy feet to stomp on and little hands to crawl on. Bubble wrap can also be used as a stamp for a fun art project.
2) DIY Laser maze – Some streamer paper and tape and the kids can make their own obstacle course
3) Laundry Basket Skee-Ball– I may be more excited for this one than the kids are. Super easy to put together with things you probably have (most of) on hand.
4) Indoor snow- We live in New England and snow is inevitable, but so is your kid telling you they have to pee as soon as their snow gear is on. Solution to the problem: bring the snow indoors. A plastic bin with snow and some beach toys or trucks is a tried and true hit.
5)Snow Ice Cream- This is an easy way to incorporate counting and following a recipe into a fun winter activity
6) Scavenger hunt- this one takes a bit more planning but if you know an indoor day is in the forecast, a simple version for the smaller crowd is perfect! Something red, something shiny. For the older kids you could really go wild with riddles or clues that play off their favorite movies.
7) Struggling to find something to do with the big kids while the littles nap? Snowflakes are a great quiet time activity. Pinterest has tons of great ‘how to’ patterns or they could design their own. It’s also a great way to decorate the house. They also make great gifts for the kids to give to the special grown-ups in their lives.
8) Salad Spinner Painting– If you’re like me and your salad spinner is just taking up space this is a great way to give it a new life.
9) A favorite of my oldest is stringing cranberry garland. It’s a great activity for dexterity. Cranberries can be a bit hard to pierce but this link has some great options to make a fun bird-friendly garland for your yard.
10) Wax Paper Crayon Art– This is a fun way to use up all those random crayon pieces that we all seem to amass over time. While most ‘recipes’ call for using a pencil sharpener to break them down I’ve found that a plastic bag and a rolling pin goes a long way to break down small pieces.
There you have it; indoor, (relatively) mess-free activities to help you ride out the next few months. What are some of your family favorites? Your go-to’s that help you make the most of the ‘too cold to be in the real world’ days? We’d love to hear your suggestions!
