As a resident of the beautiful – but often soggy – Pacific NW; I am quite familiar with trying to come up with fun and creative ways to keep my kids busy on rainy days. I am incredibly happy to say that I have found some really wonderful – low cost or no cost – activities that you can do with your kids, when wet weather strikes. Here are eight rainy day activities for kids that are sure to cure the dreary-day doldrums.

1. Channel your inner chef – There is nothing better than comfort food on a blustery day, so why not whip up something delicious with your kids? Cooking is not only fun but very educational as well (shhhh…don’t worry, I won’t tell). Kids love to help out and no matter what age they are, there is always something they can do. For example, little kids can dump pre-measured ingredients into the bowl, stir things around, frost cupcakes, & lick beaters. Just watch your child’s face light up as you pull out their finished masterpiece. I promise that the look you will see makes all the spilled flour and broken eggs so worth it! Check out www.kids-cooking-activities.com to find recipes, cooking videos, and food facts, as well as fun craft and science recipes.

2. Can you build it? Yes you can! – Fort building is a family favorite in our house. We strip off the couch cushions, gather all the pillows and blankets we can carry, and then we start creating. If you use your imagination; you can make a fort out of just about any space in your home. Our boys have bunk beds; so I just put blankets up to enclose the bottom bunk and poof instant fort in no time flat! Forts are a great place for your kids to embark on all kinds of amazing adventures.

3. Lights, Camera, Action – Reading is a fantastic rainy day activity for kids but you can kick it up a notch by reading then acting out your children’s favorite stories. You can make it as simple or elaborate as you would like. It’s fun getting dressed up and using props but even just acting out the story can be quite entertaining as well. This is a great activity and you can really make some fantastic (and many times silly) memories in the process.

4. Let’s play dress-up – Playing dress up is a genuine two thumbs up, kid approved rainy day activity — guaranteed! Not only will your kids have hours of fun becoming princesses, superheroes, pirates, doctors, nurses, ballerinas, and moms, and dads; you’ll be happy that you didn’t have to spend a fortune for them to do it. All you have to do is raid your closets and after that — check out the second hand stores, where you can buy costumes and some really fancy duds at super low prices. Parents should get in on the act too, in fact I encourage it.

5. Take a walk down memory lane – Rainy days are the perfect time to pop some popcorn, snuggle up on the couch and look at old photos and watch old home movies. Kids love seeing old photos of themselves and hearing stories about when they were younger. This can even stir up some memories that you may have forgotten about. This is not only a great rainy day activity; it is also fantastic bonding time for you and your kids.

6. Get Crafty- That’s right parents, get out the glue, markers, paints, pens, and glitter; then let your kids make something craftastic! There are so many wonderful things that your kids can create. Just put some things out for them and let ‘em go. Fall is also a great time to get started on homemade gifts for Christmas. Some of my favorite web sites to glean ideas from are www.amazingmoms.com, www.familyfun.com, and www.freekidcrafts.com. Once you have enough art pieces assembled; you can invite grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends over for dinner and have an art exhibit. Your kids will love it!

7. Get the heck out of dodge – Before you all go stir crazy; pack everyone up and head over to your local library. There is almost always something fun (and free) going on there and if not, you can still find lots of great books to read. Many libraries have story times, craft times, and other fun activities for kids. Trust me when I say, this is a sanity saver on rainy days. If you are looking for something else to do, call some of your friends with kids and take turns hosting play dates. This will get you some nice adult conversation and the kids will enjoy playing with their friends.

8. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em – Go puddle jumping! Slap on your galoshes and rain coat, grab an umbrella and get outside. This is probably – by far – my kids’ favorite rainy day activity! They have a fabulous time getting wet and muddy and when all the fun has been had; you all can head inside, get everyone in warm dry clothes and have some hot chocolate.

Whatever you decide to do when bad weather stikes – have fun and enjoy your kids.

Christie




Living in the northeast and having to deal with the cold and snow, spring is more than welcomed. The kids are getting antsy and this isn’t helping mom any! The boys want to ride their bikes and of course that is not going to happen on the ice and snow, so I needed a project. We are going to plant seeds and bulbs.

This project is not expensive at all and you will need the following:

  • Egg trays
  • Potting soil
  • Newspaper
  • Seeds or bulbs
  • Spoons

To start this project it is easier to get the potting soil moistened BEFORE the kids put it in the egg trays. I learned the hard way that the soil doesn’t always absorb the water and well it can be extremely messy.

Next you will want to lay down newspaper or something to protect where you and the kids are working. Then let them fill the egg “cups” with the soil. Usually about halfway up the eggcup is enough.

After this is done then you help them plant the seeds or bulbs and put them in a sunny location and watch for sprouts! The kids so enjoy doing this and I am a plant lover myself.

Make sure to keep the soil moistened but not flooded. When watering it is best to watch closely if the little ones are doing it so you do not end up with swimming seeds.

The potting soil does not need to be expense nor do the seeds. A trip to the local “dollar store” will yield great rewards. I have bough the potting soil and seeds at the local dollar store and had great results.

After the seedlings are a good size and it is warm outside you can transplant into the ground. Not only do the kids enjoy this project it makes spring seem a little bit closer. Although KidsAin’tCheap they sure can be fun!




Okay – before we go any further – I just have something I need tell you all; I am not a super-duper, craft-tastic, Mom. You might be saying, “Come on Christie, you can do crafts! Anyone can be crafty if they really set their mind to it.” Ha! Not true — and here is a quick example to illustrate my point.

When I was pregnant with our boys, I was on bed rest for 3 months. So, I thought maybe I would try to learn how to crochet. My Mom is great and it, and so was my Grandma — so naturally I had to be great at it too, right? Wrong!

My Mom brought me lots of yarn, a few books on crocheting, and spent some time tutoring me on how to make a baby blanket. You would think that someone with 3 months to spare; someone whose day consisted of watching “Little House on the Prairie,” court room dramas, and eating peanut butter toast, would be able to carve out a few hours each day to really perfect the art of crocheting.

Nope! Not me. I made two blanket-ish looking things, but even the dog was too embarrassed to use them. I can’t say that I blame her.

I’ve tried scrap booking, needle point, and sewing; none of which turned out well.

I’m fine with that. I have other talents. I don’t need to be crafty to be complete; but kids love crafts — so I’ve had to bite the bullet and figure out how to do some of these things.

My point is this, if I tell you I have crafts to share, crafts which are simple and easy; you’d better believe they are. I really dislike doing a search for simple crafts; only to  discover I need 20 items, oodles of time (and patience), and there is about a 99% chance our dog will end up with glitter and paint all over her.

So here are 4 crafts for you, which are simple and not too terribly messy. I promise!

Christmas Tree Ornament:

What you need:

  • Craft Sticks
  • Glue gun
  • Green felt or construction paper
  • Markers
  • pipe cleaner/ribbon/yarn
  • foam stickers

Now — you can make this as simple or elaborate as you would like. I have two 3yr olds so we go the simple route.

Directions:

  1. I let the boys color the crafts sticks with green markers.
  2. Then I hot glued the sticks together to make a triangle and attached green felt to the back.
  3. I had some wonderful winter themed foam stickers that a friend gave me and just let the boys put them on as they would like.
  4. Finally, I glued a pipe cleaner on the back so we could hang the ornament up.

See? Simple! If you have older kids, they can use craft glue and they might like to decorate the tree with buttons, glitter glue, puff paint, uncooked pasta, paints, or whatever else you can think of.

We also did some Snowflake Ornaments which consist of the same materials. These are just craft sticks, hot glue, paint, glitter puff paint, and a pipe cleaner. Here’s a photo:

 

Salt Dough Ornaments

I loved making these because I love to cook. The boys enjoyed cutting out the shapes and decorating them.

What you need:

  • 1 Cup Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Cookie cutters
  • Paint
  • Glitter Spray (optional — but totally cool)
  • Black Marker
  • Ribbon/yarn/string

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
  2. Combine flour, salt and water. Knead and flour dough until it isn’t sticky anymore
  3. Roll out dough until about 1/4 inch thick
  4. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters (if you don’t have cookie cutters handy you can cut into squares or triangles and things like that)
  5. Cook for 2 hours
  6. Let cool
  7. Let the kids paint and decorate. We painted one day and the next they decorated with markers
  8. Give ornaments a little spritz with glitter spray and you are good to go!

Hang them on the tree, tie them on packages, or let the kids wrap them up to give to grandparents.

Foam Sticker Collage

This one is so simple; I’m almost embarrassed to include it – but my kids were quiet for a long time doing this project and they were really proud of their work.

What you need:

  • Construction Paper
  • Foam Stickers

Directions:

  1. Get out the paper
  2. Get out the stickers
  3. Let the kids go crazy creating!

These are simple and the biggest mess you’ll have to clean up, are the backings from the stickers and whatever stickers fall on the floor. That’s it!

The kids get to have fun and I don’t have to stress about the mess. It’s a win, win for all!

If you have a simple craft idea you’d like to share – please do! I’d love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading!

~Christie




For some reason, my children always wait until the moment that I am overwhelmed with things to do before saying those awful words: “I’m bored.”  In my household, “I’m bored,” means “Please stop the very important things you are doing and hang out with me.”

It would be wonderful if they asked me when I didn’t have ten thousand things to do. What a dream world, where every time your children want your attention you can simply set down what you are doing and play with them.

Keeping a list of “I’m Bored” activities is a great way to occupy your children when you can’t stop and play with them at the moment. These activities should keep them busy long enough for you to finish dinner or washing the dishes.

To start gathering ideas, brainstorm using different objects in your home. What afghan would work best as a cape? What cooking pot would make the best base drum? Or, think about objects that are pretty easy to obtain. Cardboard boxes could be a castle or a fort. Keep a couple of boxes in the back of a closet.

Here are a two more ideas to jumpstart your list:

  • Hide Things. This is a very easy game that you can do while you are doing other things. Get a few things that are all the same: like pieces of green construction paper or black socks. Have your children sit on the couch and cover their eyes while you hide ten or fifteen around the house. Then, they are in charge of finding them. Make it a competition or see if they can find them all in a set amount of time.
  • Scavenger Hunt. Similar to “hide things,” a scavenger hunt sends your children all over the house looking for things. Instead of finding objects that you have hidden, have them bring things to you that have a certain quality: things that are green, things that are round, things that are soft. You might have a pile of things to put away when the game is over, but it keeps them busy and can be a lot of fun. If you are really creative you can play this game in such a way that it actually helps you do your work: try “bring all the clothes to the hamper” or “all the dirty dishes to the sink.”




Fun and inexpensive outings with the kids are not hard to find if you know where to look. With the prices of pretty much everything on the rise an outing can become very expensive if we are not careful. Of course doing new things with the kids that will not break the bank can be just as fun.

Using your imagination and being creative can find a lot of fun. Many times at the end of the most inexpensive outings the family will have spent quality time together and probably learned a few new things along the way.

Enjoy the Outdoors

Enjoying the outdoors is one of the things that many families enjoy and the wonders that can be found by a child’s eyes are endless. Nature walks can be a very rewarding outing. Enjoying the trails with the family and actually getting away from the rush of everyday life can be relaxing. Watching the little ones marvel at things they find along the trail can sometimes make us adults see things like they are new again. A child picking up a leaves and actually studying it is amazing. As adults we are often so busy that we miss a lot.

Visit the Library

The local library is also a great place to bring our children. Many libraries hold classes for the kids that are free of charge. Although the class may be once a week and only last an hour it is worth it. If your child is older the class is done without the parent. Again, it may only be an hour but an hour of free time at the library can be worth it for Mom and Dad!

To the Beach!

For those families that live near beaches but do not want to pay the parking or costs to enter the best time to go is at dusk. The beach is nearly empty and there is no charge to get in. Pack sandwiches and snacks and you are ready for a beach almost all to yourself.

Bus Station

Little boys (and some girls) love buses and trucks or pretty much any type of transportation for that matter. Imagine the little ones face when you roll into a bus station and go to see the buses. Pure delight, cost free.

Build Something Fun

Anyone have a builder on his or her hands? Many of the home improvement stores have free classes for the tikes and for the parents too (hate to have Dad feel left out). The classes may be held mainly on the weekends but again the cost can’t be beat.

Quality time with our families does not have to be expensive. The things that cost the least can be the best and smiles are flowing freely. How we spend our time with our children is not how much money we spend to have fun with them. Childhood memories are not made of how much money parents spent occupying us. Childhood memories consist of loving moments that were spent together knowing we were and are cherished.




More and more parents are having to work harder to make that extra buck so not only is saving money a concern but also making sure the time you have to spend with your family is maximized. As a parent, I am constantly challenged to find  interesting and cost-effective ways to have fun with the kids.  This can be tough considering how technology makes it tempting to spend and use expensive outlets for fun.  All is not lost though as there are still lots of ways to spend qulity time with the kids and save at the same time

Here are some year-round activities you can engage in that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

For the indoors:

1.  You can build your kids’ creativity and imagination by creating an art wall that can display artwork made all times of the year. First, allocate a part of the wall in your kids room for this. Mark it off by sticking letter cut-outs  of thier names. You can make this from old magazines or use stencils to cut out handy art paper.  Have your kids join the fun by having them sitck their names themselves. This can be educational too! Next, have them draw anything they want to display on the wall. It can be a drawing of your family, a cartoon character, a lesson in school, the ideas are limitless. And you can recycle these works of art to keep it fresh.

2.  Have a rewards chart that you can make a household activity fun and a lesson at the same time.  You can use old cardboard and markers to create a billboard that you can prop on the side, hang on the wall, or stick near your art center. Take a photo of each child and place it on the top and bottom or left and right side of the chart. Decorate the chart sides to match the personalityes of each child. You can again use handy art material or old magazines. Every day, set aside times where you have them do easy chores like fixing their toys, or cleaning their room. Activities done successfully can be rewarded by a star or a picture tacked to the chart. At the end of the week you will have collected a number of markers.  Set a limit and make this limit rewardable with a fdavorite snack or a favorite show or a favorite outdoor activity.  Your kids learn how to be responsible, you have fun with them while doing chores, and you save money.

For the outdoors:

You can extend the rewrads to the outside and make these money saving activities as well by choosing the places you visit.

1.  You can have a picnic in the park on nice, sunny days. You have full control over what food you bring and the kids have access to a free playground.

2.  You can visit the bookstore and take advantage of the kids secton which allows free reading of kids books.

3.  You can go to the local indoor pool for cold and overcast days and have a small swimming party.

4.  And, if you really want to keep it simple, and multi-purpose, you can go grocery shopping and make it an adventure by having your kids help choose your grocery items.  They will learn all about “good” food and how to budget as well. My kids love our Saturday afternoon grocery trips.

Remember that kids don’t mind simple activities as long as they are able to spend  fun, quality-time with you. So saving and being with your kids need not be opposing activities.

Make the most of the simple things offered out there and you can’t go wrong!

Vicki