I love winter! January brings fresh starts, that feeling of being on top of the world, accomplished, not breaking any of those resolutions yet, and for me love, joy and pride since my first was born on January 2nd. But being in Michigan the winter brings something I’m not in love with…the bitter biting cold they call the Polar Vortex.
Being a mom of 2 younger kiddos (6 & 3) and being in a smallish 2 bedroom condo finding cheap or even better {FREE} activities to entertain my little monsters, err munchkins ☺ That being said I needed to find some winter themed since my oldest is a snow bunny and I don’t want her to lose a finger to frost bite under my watch!
So being the fun, kind and {Giving} person I am I compiled a list of some of our personal favorite activities to help beat that cabin fever of the never ending winter!
1) Scented Homemade Play Dough
Honestly what kid doesn’t love squishing play dough thru their fingers? Okay maybe a few… But I recently learned a new trick! In addition to the basic homemade recipe I love, I’ve added some essential oils to it and let me tell you I, err my kiddos adore it! Seriously these smell terrific and shh don’t tell anyone but you can customize the scents to help with an array of things. For example I made a wonderful lavender playdough to whip out before bedtime or when the kiddos needed a little chill time and wow! Talk about Zen body and mind! That one 2 bird’s one stone, Mommy win!
2) Snow Ice Cream
This is an uber fun {And} yummy activity and treat for everyone involved! Now first you need {clean} snow! Some milk, sugar and vanilla! That’s it! Add in some fun toppings and a few egger hungry kiddos and it’s a party! This one has many variations so get creative and have some fun with it! You could even do theme days with different flavored and colored snow ice cream! Get wild with it!
3) Indoor Snow Fun
This one is free, yes I said {FREE} The only things you need is some mittens, a bin or tub, some snow and some ready kiddos! After last years never ending winter and countless snow/cold days my little snow bunny was getting antsy! She just wanted to play in the snow! So I grabbed a Rubbermaid some clean snow and let them have fun! My little man Had to have mittens and only lasted a short time, but princess snow bunny played for what felt like hours, or until it was melted!
4) Theme Baths
This one I found during one of my {many} Pinterest sessions. Once you start searching this there are so many ideas, who knew!! Seriously the ideas are endless! So far we’ve tried a glow bath (neon nontoxic paints and a black light). Just be sure you haven’t recently sprayed down your bathroom with a bleach cleaner or it {May} look like a gruesome scene from CSI , just don’t ask how I know that! 😉 Besides the “crime scene” incident the kiddos love it and we’ve repeated it a few times! Another favorite has been a rainbow bath, also with nontoxic paints or color themed bath and kids help choose color appropriate things to add!
5) Good ‘ol Fashioned Board Games
I know crazy right! How do we forget the classics so easily? After an {Extra} long winter break last year I was at a loss! Movie’d out and tired of the kids wanting to veg out I went into my catch all closet and looked for {Something, Anything} to do and there it was staring me in the face, Board games! They were all in a pretty stack brand new from the recent holiday, so I grabbed a couple, put my phone up turned off the tv and before we knew it an hour and a half had flown by! We spent half the afternoon laughing playing and learning sans electronics, without fights, and without spending a dime! Now I know not everyone has board games lying around anymore, but don’t fret! They are super easy to come by and for little to no money!
First up thrift stores and resale shops are great to pick up some games and puzzles, and most under $2! Garage and mom2mom sales are another great source for inexpensive finds. But my {Fave} happens to be free! Raid the grandparents/parents game closet or borrow from friends and neighbors! I even know of some neighbors who’ve set up a trade system with games, books & toys!
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Hope these few quick and easy ideas are helpful & inspiring. This is really only a handful of many, many ideas I’ve had to bust the winter blues. So maybe in the future I will add some to our list. I love to hear feedback and your ideas or ways you’ve used ours with yourself and families. So bundle up, stay warm and have some {Frugal} fun with those kids this winter!
