Too cold to go outside? 31 fun ideas for kids when you are stuck in the house.

It's cold! According to my phone weather app it is 11 degrees. When you wake up tomorrow it will be -5 degrees! Stay warm, stay safe, and have fun! 

T.O.H.P. Burnham Library in Essex, MA. 1/6/18.

1. Stay warm by putting on Halloween costumes or playing dress-up.

2. Dance Party! Turn your house into a disco. Dance the day away. 

3. Get out your sleeping bags and camp in the living room.

4. Play library. Pull out all of your child's favorite books and organize them, talk about them, and read them! Make homemade library cards and pretend to borrow books. 

5. Make homemade play-doh. 

6. Spread art supplies out on the kitchen table and make a huge mess. 

7. Bake. Baking and cooking are great ways to teach children about science (counting, measuring, mixing). 

8. Play board games. 

9. Make a board game out of a cardboard box. Think along the lines of Candy Land but as a map of your house. 

10. Recycled materials build. Trash and recycling pick-up has been delayed in many towns. Think of it as an opportunity to build. 

11. Keep building. Build a fort using pillows and blankets. Hide inside and tell stories by flashlight. 

12. Put on a play or concert in your living room. 

13. Drink hot cocoa and watch a movie. 

14. Have a snowball fight using tissues. 

15. Skate on paper plates. Works best on carpet. Step on plates and slide across the floor. It’s a good work out, too. 

16. Make a maze or a hopscotch out of masking tape.

17. Build a ring toss out of a paper towel tube and the outside ring of a paper plate. Paint or color them to extend the activity. 

18. Create an obstacle course using pillows and stuffed animals. Line the floor with tape. Hang streamers. 

19. Make paper airplanes.

20. Go bowling. Make a bowling alley using masking tape, empty water bottles, and a beach ball. 

21. Make lacing cards using cereal boxes or paper plates. Thread with yarn or twine. 

22. Play basketball. Roll up newspaper and toss into a bucket or through a hula hoop. 

23. Sort toys by color or type. Make it a movement activity by placing red toys in the kitchen. Stuffed bears in the living room. 

24. Ice Sun Catchers. Take a pie tin and fill it with water, leaves, pine cones, and yarn so it can hang. Then put it outside and let it freeze. When it is frozen, take it out and hang it on a tree.

25. Scavenger hunt! 

26. Make a balance beam using masking or painters tape. 

27. Indoor snow ball toss. Get snow from outside. Make small snow balls and toss into paper cups. You could also use cotton balls.

28. Make paper bag or sock puppets.

29. Play cards. 

30. Play I-Spy.

31. Make a time capsule to open up next winter or snow day. 

Enjoy these activities! And, if you find yourself feeling stressed out and you need someone to talk to, you can always call or visit the Parents Helping Parents Parental Stress Hotline. 

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