Whether it’s snowing or not, sometimes those frigid temperatures outside leave you feeling less than enthusiastic about going, well, anywhere in the middle of the winter. But that doesn’t mean your family should plop down on the couch and spend the day glued to the TV. Your kids will have a blast with any of these games.
Laundry Basket Skee Ball
1. Turn a Costco diaper box or similar sized box into a basic ramp that launches the balls into the air. To make the ramp, cut off the top and one end from the box. Then use a couple of cereal boxes to create a curved ramp and tape it in place with duct tape.
2. To play the game, simply roll balls up the ramp and launch them into the laundry baskets. You can use two baskets, with the closer one labeled 50 points and the farther one labeled 100 points, or you can add more baskets for higher point values.
From FrugalFun4Boys.com
Balloon Tennis
1. Gather plastic spoons, paint stirrers, or oversized popsicle sticks; painter’s tape; paper plates and balloons.
2.Tape the stick to the plate.
3. Hit the ball back and forth or balance on the plate as you run across the room.
— Courtesy of Toddler Approved.
Pool Noodle Basketball
1. Slit a toilet paper tube along the side and roll it tighter to fit inside the noodle, slipping each end over half of it. Then use duct tape to secure the noodle ends together. The TP tube just helps give it stability and not come apart so easily.
2. Use a beach ball to play basketball.
3. Tape the noodles horizontally or vertically.
From everneveragain.blogspot.ca
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Classic Game Ideas
Check out this page from Momjunction.com featuring a bunch of old favorites that you might have forgotten all about!
Snow Traffic Jam
1. Scoop up snow from outside.
2. Lay it out on baking sheets.
3. Use toy cars and trucks (especially those with plows and scoops) to create your traffic jam.
— Courtesy of What We Do All Day
Paper Plane Target Practice
1. Get a large piece of drawing paper, or tape a few pieces of oak tag together.
2. Cut various circles of different sizes, assigning each a point value. The larger and lower circles should have lower point values, and the smaller and higher circles should have a higher point value.
3. Teach your children how to fold a paper airplane. Each child can create their own. You can use different-colored paper for each child.
4. Have the kids stand a few feet away from the “target” and toss their airplanes. The person with the most points at the end wins! Play as many rounds as you want.
— Courtesy of Sewing Mama Raeanna
Toilet Paper Roll Dinosaur Skeleton
1. Start collecting toilet paper and paper towel rolls. Wrapping paper rolls would work as well. Collect as many as you can.
2. Do an internet search of dinosaur skeletons and select one to use as your model.
3. Draw or trace the dinosaur head on a piece of paper and cut it out.
4. Make sure you take a picture to always remember your homemade prehistoric pal!
— Courtesy of Your Modern Family
Color Wheel Scavenger Hunt
1. Choose seven or eight different colors, then get a piece of construction paper for each color.
2. Tape the colored construction paper on the floor in a large circle, creating a color wheel of colored boxes.
3. Instruct your children to locate various toys or objects for each color.
4. Have them race around and place the objects on their coordinating color boxes and see how many objects they can find for each.
— Courtesy of Toddler Approved
Indoor Snowball Kit
1. Find a white storage bin for the kit, which can be purchased at the dollar store. You can also use a white sand pail.
2. Cut snowman face shapes from craft foam or black construction paper.
3. Glue them to the bin.
4. Grab a bunch of white socks and roll them tightly into balls.
5. Start your snowball fight!
— Courtesy of Growing a Jeweled Rose
Marshmallow Sculptures
1. You will need a large bag of mini-marshmallows and a package of toothpicks.
2. Set up the marshmallows and toothpicks on plates on the table.
3. Have kids pierce each end of the toothpick with the marshmallows, and then repeat with other toothpicks. The sculptures can be as large or small as they want.
— Courtesy of The Mother Huddle
Water Bottle Bowling
1. Collect ten empty bottled water or other empty bottle, preferably at least 16 ounce-size, to use as bowling pins.
2. Decorate your bottles any way you like. You can glue numbers on with felt as shown in the picture, or you can cover the bottles with bunch of silly socks. Or you can just leave them plain, if you’re not the crafty type!
3. Find a ball to use. Try using a small NERF basketball, or any type of softer ball that accompanies a sports set for young kids.
4. Ready, set, bowl!
— Courtesy of Mandee Made
Indoor Beach Party
1. Fill an inflatable pool with brightly colored balls.
2. Lay out beach towels and open a beach umbrella.
3. Dig out your sand pails, shovels, and other beach toys.
4. Play beach themed games like a hula-hoop contest, indoor beach volleyball (use balloons!), and limbo.
5. Make summery dishes like fruit kebobs and popsicles.
6. Crank up the heat and break out the bathing suits, sunglasses, and flip flops.
— Courtesy of How Does She?
Hallway Laser Maze
1. Get some red crepe paper and some tape.
2. This can be done with painter’s tape as well, but you’ll need to tape the sides together to avoid stickiness.
2. You can create it for the kids or have them help with the process. Tape it high, tape it low and all ways in between. Be sure to spread the paper apart enough for everyone to fit through. You want it to be slightly difficult but not impossible.
3. Have your little ninjas and spies navigate the laser maze. You may have to do some adjusting as they go along. Have fun!
— Courtesy of Brassy Apple
Ball Toss
1. You will need at least five buckets, preferably of the same size. You can use toy storage bins. They do not have to match or be the same color.
2. Line up the buckets in a row.
3. Write “10”, “20”, “30”, 40″, and “50” and tape a sheet to the inside of each bucket, placing them in ascending numerical order.
4. Put several balls (use any small, soft balls you have around the house- handballs, small Nerf balls, etc.) in a sand pail.
5. Have your children take turns tossing the balls into the buckets, earning the amount of points indicated on each bucket. The one with the highest score at the end wins!
— Courtesy of Catch My Party
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