Snow days are basically the best thing ever for kids. What’s not to love about a random day off from school? For parents, though, seeing their child’s school scroll by on the list of closures during the morning news isn’t always such an exciting experience. Having the kids home on short notice can be stressful for lots of reasons. For some parents, arranging childcare is a huge challenge. Even for stay-at-home parents, having the little ones home unexpectedly isn’t always easy. Don’t let the next snow day get you down. Prepare yourself by checking out these snow day activities to keep your kids entertained.
After a heavy snow, your kids will likely want to spend their morning sled riding or building snowmen. Once the chill sets in and they get tired of being outside, though, you can expect to listen to a chorus of “I’m bored” all afternoon. That is, unless you plan ahead and come up with some indoor activities in advance.
Activities for Snow Days
Bake Up Some Tasty Treats
Baking is always a fun way to warm up and pass the time when you are stuck indoors. Most kids love helping in the kitchen, and with proper supervision, baking is an activity that is fun (and rewarding) for kids of all ages.
There are all sorts of kid-friendly recipes for things like cookies, breads, cupcakes, etc. Pick out a few options and stock up on the supplies necessary to make them. Keep everything on hand and you’ll be prepared for the next snow day.
Baking with your kids is a great way to work on your holiday gift list, too. If a snow day falls prior to the holidays, spend the day making cookies and other goodies to share with your loved ones. The kids will have fun and you’ll get to check something off your holiday to-do list. Talk about a win-win!
Customize Clothing
Arts and crafts projects are the standard go-to when it comes to keeping kids entertained when they are stuck indoors. If you want to try something a bit different from the usual drawing, painting or stringing beads activities, though, consider stocking up on wholesale clothing. There are many ways to customize blank t-shirts and other apparel, and kids of all ages enjoy making their own wearable art.
Wholesale kids’ t-shirts are the perfect foundation for tie-dyeing, drawing, painting and much, much more. You can dye cotton t-shirts with food, use readily available dye kits, customize them with iron-on decals… The options are virtually endless.
Older tweens and teens can also use blank t-shirts and sweatshirts to make entirely new garments and accessories. They can transform t-shirts into purses, skirts, headbands and all sorts of other fun things. There are plenty of ways to give sweatshirts a makeover, too.
Build a Fort
Sometimes, the best activities are the tried and true classics. Chances are, you have your own happy memories of building a fort in your living room or bedroom when you were a kid. Why not help create those memories for your little ones, too?
You can keep things old school by building a fort by draping blankets over chairs and tables or making one out of a large cardboard box for a nostalgic feel. Or, if you want to be a bit more modern, there are now fort building kits that make things much easier. Whichever option you prefer, you and your kids will have a great time building and playing in a fort. You’ll also have a blast getting to see your little one’s imagination at work as they design their creation.
Read a Book Together
When the weather is cold and snowy and you are trapped indoors, you can escape to a place where the weather is a lot more pleasant (or simply doesn’t matter) by getting lost in a book. Consider picking up a few adventure books and tucking them away for the next snow day. Any genre works, but adventure books are great when you want to help your kids mentally escape for a little while.
Cuddle up on the couch with a soft, cozy blanket and read together. Put on your best performance to help your child feel like they are really in the story rather than just listening to it. You may find yourself getting lost in the book, too!
Have a Treasure Hunt
Keep a special toy or treat on hand to surprise your child with when they are home on a snow day. Hide it and then create clues that they need to follow in order to solve it. Riddles are great for older kids. For younger kids, each clue can be something simple, like a picture of where they need to go next.
Putting together this type of scavenger hunt does take a bit of time and planning. If you are running short on time, you can make it a simple game of “hot” and “cold” instead. Tell your child that you have hidden a surprise, and when they are getting closer to it, tell them that they’re getting “warmer.” Tell them they’re getting “colder” if they move farther away from it.
If you have older and younger kids, ask your older child to hide the prize and draw a map that their sibling will then use to find it. As you can tell, there are all sorts of ways to have an indoor treasure hunt. Get creative with it!
The Bottom Line
Keeping your kids entertained when they are stuck at home doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little bit of creativity, you can come up with all sorts of snow day activities that will pass the time and keep you from having to listen to whining, arguing, etc. Look at a snow day as an opportunity for making family memories instead of as a burden. Changing your perspective will make it way easier to have fun with these unexpected days off rather than dreading them.
Recommended:
Games for Kids from Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos
Cool Snow Day Activities from Amazon
Fishy Crafts from Adventures of Kids Creative Chaos
