4 indoor family activities for winter

Winter has always made me a bit stir crazy, something that has only gotten worse since having kids. There are so many things that we do during nice weather that all the sudden is off-limits during these cold months — and their underlying energy to go, go, go? It goes nowhere, leaving us in need of something engaging to keep them occupied.

Luckily there are several things you can do when time outside is not in the cards (on those days you don’t want to, or perhaps don’t have the option to, leave the house). Below are some activities to stash and pull out, as needed, to help get you through those rough months. And, before you know it, playground time will be back in the mix.

Get to baking, with a seasonal slant. Sugar cookies are an easy and fun way to start if your little one is intrigued by what exactly it is you do when you’re working in the kitchen. Sugar cookies aren’t hard but do take some time to work your way through to get to the finished product. That works perfectly though when you have some time to burn! This sugar cookie recipe is one that’s led to great results for me. Set up a decoration station and let the kids get creative! (Of course, plan to pace our consumption of the end result to avoid meltdowns.)

Bust out the old school games. Though it will take some time for them to learn the rules, it doesn’t hurt to introduce your kids early to fun staples like checkers, tic tac toe and Connect Four. If your kids are older, options like Life and Monopoly are fun and then the whole family can get in on the action!

Get crafty. If your child is in daycare, they likely come home with all sorts of things they’ve made with popsicle sticks or pipe-cleaners or drawings and cutouts of all sorts, decorated by crayons, markers or paintbrushes. Why shouldn’t we do the same thing with them on the weekend? All of the big stores carry age-appropriate craft options you can buy or pull together your own. We’ve learned recently, for example, our son is content with plain white paper and scissors. We worked with him to make snowflakes one afternoon. It was a huge hit and super inexpensive!

Plan a museum or aquarium day. If you haven’t caught on yet, we love encouraging some educational options for our little ones that are also fun. Aquariums can take some time to go through and always feel like you’re missing out on a nice warm day when you go — making them a perfect winter outing. Same for museums, depending on what options you have close by. Grab a nice breakfast nearby first and then visit for an extra treat.

Have a cleaning party. I never would have thought this could be an option until we had kids! Our son is so intrigued by all the various things we do around the house, especially cleaning. He loves to help! This kids cleaning set from Melissa & Doug is perfect for this. Turn on some music to make it extra fun for them! Have the kids help organize their clothes and choose some unused clothes and toys to donate for an added later to the “party”.

Have another activity that’s a winner with your family? Share it in the comments.