The snow begins to fall, the roads become slippery, it’s freezing outside, and school is canceled. While the first snow day is fun and relaxing, there are those long stretches of no school where everyone starts to go a bit stir crazy. Try these 101 ideas to beat snow day boredom:
- Bake cookies (or brownies or cake).
- Drink hot cocoa; bonus points for making it homemade.
- Play outside in the snow.
- Build a fort.
- Have a movie marathon with popcorn and candy.
- Get out the LEGOs and blocks and build.
- Play with Play-Doh (if you don’t have any store-bought, there are plenty of simple recipes using flour and salt).
- Work on a puzzle together as a family.
- Play flashlight tag in the basement.
- Go sledding.
- Get out the family socks and see who can put the most on in two minutes.
- Blow up balloons and try to keep them from touching the ground.
- Have a dance party.
- Look at old family albums.
- Make up a story and have each person add to it.
- Clean a closet.
- Play dress-up.
- Play hide-and-seek.
- Do a science experiment (Pinterest is full of super simple ideas).
- Play a board game.
- Play keep-away.
- Write a letter to someone special and mail it.
- Paint a picture.
- Have a picnic lunch in your living room.
- Have a family slumber party.
- Play school.
- Get out toys you haven’t played with for a long time.
- Color in coloring books.
- Make bead necklaces.
- Make a photo booth with hats, masks, and costumes.
- Make sock puppets or lunch sack puppets and put on a show.
- Fingerpaint.
- Play Simon Says.
- Write thank-you cards to soldiers.
- Make a pile of clothes and toys to donate to a shelter or charity.
- Use a large box to make a slide on the stairs (not for the overly cautious parent).
- Clear the cars out of the garage and ride bikes in circles or jump rope.
- Match all those socks you have been letting pile up.
- Give each other pedicures.
- Use painter’s tape to make a racetrack on the floor.
- Make a pretend beauty parlor and do everyone’s hair and makeup.
- Melt old crayons in muffin tins.
- Make a homemade volcano with baking soda and vinegar.
- Eat breakfast for lunch or dinner.
- Use items from the recycle bin to make “inventions” or “art.”
- Start a journal.
- Tackle the junk drawer you have been ignoring.
- Call a friend you haven’t talked to in forever.
- Binge-watch Netflix.
- Read a book.
- Make ice cream out of snow.
- Mop the floor.
- Wear your PJs all day and call it a party.
- Clean your oven.
- Wash the curtains.
- Wash the sheets.
- Flip the mattresses.
- Light the fireplace and make s’mores or cook them in the microwave.
- Tell the kids stories from your childhood.
- Build a snowman.
- Make a photo album or scrapbook.
- Take a bath.
- Have a snowball fight.
- Make homemade pizza.
- Dare to venture out and go to a movie.
- Do some karaoke (YouTube has songs with the lyrics).
- Take naps.
- Learn something new—check out YouTube for tutorials on anything from how to crochet to how to fix a washing machine.
- Play Sudoku or do a crossword puzzle.
- Do some snuggling with the kids, your significant other, or your pets.
- Dust, vacuum, and get that house clean.
- Make snow paint with food coloring, water, and squirt bottles.
- Use washable markers and draw on windows or mirrors.
- Do some gymnastics.
- Create an obstacle course.
- Play house.
- Set up a restaurant.
- Set up a tent in the living room.
- Set up the old train set.
- Print coloring sheets from the Internet and make each kid a special coloring book.
- Use toothpicks and marshmallows to make a sculpture.
- Make masks out of paper plates.
- Make instruments out of stuff you have around the house and create a marching band (a tambourine from paper plates, a toilet paper tube and wax paper flute, a coffee can drum).
- Make silly faces in the mirror.
- Make soup. Who doesn’t love soup on a cold day?
- Make homemade bread to go with your soup.
- Look up random facts on the Internet.
- Get out the waffle maker, quesadilla maker, donut maker, or whatever other appliance you rarely use.
- Do the dishes.
- Play 20 questions.
- Put on swimsuits, lay out beach towels, and pretend you are at the beach.
- Clean the pantry and fill a sack of food to donate.
- Have a lip-syncing contest.
- Have an indoor Easter egg hunt.
- Teach the kids how to do laundry.
- Clean the coat closet and donate extras to charity.
- Write that book you always talk about writing.
- Work out.
- Play video games.
- Make root beer floats.
- Make silly lists of things to do on your next snow day.
