Need ideas to get through the winter blahs with children?

United States
February 24, 2007 1:23pm CST
I'm just wondering what types of things you do with your children to get through the winter and being "cooped" up all the time. We've done things like making forts out of the livingroom furniture and blankets, we've made a new game called "Christmas Presents" ... we took a large box (we just bought a humidifer) and put our kids toys in it and put a blanket over the top and they can open their "presents". Then they do it for mom and dad and we fake our excitement at receiving their fruit snack wrapper! They love it and it's actually really fun to see the excitement on their faces when they "surprise" us! I also put toys in sweater boxes and rotate them in and out so that when they start getting bored with some, I'll bring out "new" ones. We also sing and dance and watch movies, but I try to stay away from watching too much TV. Anyway, what are your ideas? What do you do to make winter a little more exciting, especially when it's too cold to go outside?
7 people like this
17 responses
24 Feb 07
My girls love craft activities. I often let them play with playdough. They also like cutting up and glueing which doesn't need too much supervision especially if you cut up the bits beforehand. I also put newspaper on the floor with a bit piece of paper of and give them a colour of paint each with a brush and let them paint me a picture together. We also make cards, do stencils, chalk pictures, paperfolding, anything that comes to mind really.
4 people like this
• United States
24 Feb 07
I babysit my nephew everyday and when he is with me and the weather is bad i try to involve him in everything i do.It teaches him,he has fun,and we can spend time together.Things such as doing dishes he stands on his little stand and dips his hands in the water,doing the laundry he loves to help stack clothes.Putting his toys away as we play with them.Its a fun process and although it slows things down he still has a great time gets a little excercise and a little something gets done at the end.Kids are so easily entertained its sad alot of people use the tv to babysit kids for them.
4 people like this
@wmg2006 (5381)
• United States
25 Feb 07
Oh when I kept children we would do all kinds of things. Puzzles are always a lot of fun and takes hours. Not sure the ages of your kids, but even for the little ones puzzles are great fun and entertainment. Another thing was get some kind of big book like a toys R us, Walmart, any kind of book that has toys in it, let them cut put the toys they want more than anything else. This takes a lot of time, because they can't cut out bunches, they have to really, really think about which ONE toy they want over all the others. If they can't cut them out you can cut them for them, but it helps them to try. Then you let them glue this to a wish board, which is just a piece of any kind of board, like a side of a box can make a board or post board if you have it. Alos hold contest for the best picture drawn, the best animal made with play doh. these activities are fun and keeps them occupied for a long time.
3 people like this
@kathy77 (7486)
• Australia
25 Feb 07
When my children were young and the weather was miserable, we used to play cards, do puzzles, and many board games that we play together, so I hope that you will find some of these suggestions good for your children to play when they cannot go outside.
3 people like this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
24 Feb 07
If you have done the fort with the kitchen table, you may have already done this but something that my kids always loved was to to on a picnic under the kitchen table with a flashlight. I made Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and koolade for them. They would stay in there for hours and play and eat and talk. They made the animals with their hands in the light from the flashlight.
3 people like this
@apky12 (769)
• United States
25 Feb 07
We do arts and crafts and color. We also fingerpaint and play with play doh. You have to watch it though that they don't eat it. It's not toxic but not great for them either. I go to the gym a lot and they have childcare there so it helps with about an hour of the day. Also, there is free play at a recreation area near us where you can take the kids. Try looking into that. We also have joined a funfit class for an hour each week. That's fun forthem.
3 people like this
@nancygibson (3736)
• France
25 Feb 07
Cooking together is always a good idea, even the tiniest child can help put teh fruit into a flapjack mix or decorate a cake. Dressing up is also fun, especialy if you spend all day making masks then put on a 'show' in the evening for the rest of the family. An assault course made with blankets draped over chairs etc is great fun too, make a different challenge for every part, so for example they have to wriggle under a duvet then do startjumps whilst singing a nursery rhyme, then they can move on to the next obstacle, maybe walking on 'islands' made of cushions to reach some 'treasure'. Make pirate maps! Play hunt the thimble. Make cards for reatives birthdays. Paint pictures to send to older relatives who don't live nearby. I love being stuck indoors with small children on a wet day, there is so much you can do!
• United States
25 Feb 07
Wow, you are doing a lot. How about making cookies, or play dough? Playing puzzels. Use the big boxes to make a house by cutting a door, and painting flowers on it and cutting windows. Make a pretend car out of boxes, or a train. Play telephone with a long yarn between two cans. Pray together and read stories.
2 people like this
• United States
25 Feb 07
My husband just made them a cardboard house. It's big enough for all three of them and he cut all sorts of elaborate windows ... it has a peaked roof and he's going to install shelves today! When he's done with his fun then we're going to let them color it. They love it!
1 person likes this
@creematee (2810)
• United States
26 Feb 07
That sounds like fun!! Can I come to your house and play??? LOL!
• United States
26 Feb 07
Sure, but only if you change diapers! LOL.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
25 Feb 07
My kids like helping me bake. Even the littest ones try their best to help. And they are so into throwing away the eggs shells, watching the cookie rise in the oven with the light on, and then having the reward of eating them when they are done! :) Besides that, we have made salt dough and made things out of them. It is better than play dough because you can dry them out and then let them pain them. Then they have things that can give away as presents. I have even made plaques of their hands and given them away to teachers.
2 people like this
• United States
25 Feb 07
We used to make salt dough when we were kids, but my mom long ago lost it! I'm sure that I could go online to get it, but I always forget! Do you still have the recipe? Oh, my 2 and 3 year old like to help with baking too ... we just have to make sure that we hold the bowl under the measuring cups of that the two year old has. They especially like to make no-bake cookies, they're easy and they get virtually an instant reward!
1 person likes this
@Marie2473 (8512)
• Sweden
25 Feb 07
Family games are always phone, like monopoly or things like that - also handcraft - like making stuff out of playdough or other dough. maybe you can bake something together and after enjoy it with some hit coco =)
2 people like this
• United States
25 Feb 07
My girls and I like to do things like: making houses or animals out of popcicle sticks. We will save all of the sticks for weeks and I have even bought some at the dollar store a few times and then we sit down with the glue and card board. They get real creative with this. We have also made some clay and done their handprints and made animals. I then let them paint them. We have started this years Christmas gifts with this one. My girls and son have always like making jewelery out of beads and they are real cheap to buy. Most of the time I was able to pick them up by the jar fulls at the thrift stores and have bought some from the dollar store or ebay. I am real big on getting started for Christmas early so we are always making gifts or decorations for the coming holidays.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
25 Feb 07
Well you didn't say how old your kids are. Sounds like they are young though. My daughter and I do alot of crafts! Painting wood cut-outs (cheap at craft stores).. we even buy books and trace our own wood patterns to make- then paint- This takes longer but who cares when you're stuck inside. We also do latchhook. We read alot together-- This helps her be a better reader and she loves to read to me. Play tons of games- I think we have at least 50 games (board) here at the house-- so we keep switching them out. My daughter is 10-- so usually we bundle up really good and head outside- We both love to sled, tube, build snowmen, make snow angels...etc. then when we get chilly we come inside- strip back down to sweats and have hot cocoa and watch a movie!
• United States
25 Feb 07
My kiddos are all toddlers, 3 1/2 and down.
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Feb 07
I recently discovered that my 19 month old loves to color! Luckily I'm like a big kid and I have a TON of crayons already and these giant sized coloring books so we've been laying on the floor coloring together a lot lately. You could also try playing with some play dough or for a change of scenery you could take them some place that has an indoor play area, like a gymboree or something. There are various free crafting sites as another poster suggested that you could try. I remember when I was younger my mother got an Experiment Book for younger kids and we use to do a lot of the neat stuff in there.
@JillyBnt (15)
• United States
25 Feb 07
I can't believe I'm telling you this but my husband and I went and bought one of those big giant balls for the kids and we clear out the living room. We all sit in an area of the living room and we hit the ball back and forth to each other. It sounds really silly but my kids absolutely love it and we get a lot of laughs out of it. They always ask when we're going to play house volleyball again. The things we do to amuse ourselves and our children, it's crazy!
2 people like this
@SnIcKasS (1375)
• Israel
25 Feb 07
I will recommand craft activities. my little brother likes them alot... and It's very nice.
@cwilson26 (2735)
• United States
25 Feb 07
I don't have any kids but I do get my niece a lot on the weekends and we play a lot of boardgames together. We also play card games and we watch cartoons and movies together. There really isn't much else to do around here in the winter time but we have a lot of fun with the games we play. It sounds like you and your kids have a lot of fun together. :)
2 people like this
@imsilver (1665)
• Canada
27 Feb 07
My kids and I scrapbook together. We each just took an old hardcover book and turned it into a scrapbook. We just use construction paper and cut out pictures from magazines and create pages in the book on our lazy afternoons. It's alot of fun and I can't wait until their books are done. I'm going to put them away and haul them out when my kids have kids of their own. It's great.