10 Ways to Have Fun Indoors
Some days you just don’t want to leave the comfort of your own aircon. Or maybe your wallet isn’t as thick as it was before yesterday’s spa day. Yet your darling demons are screaming (again) about sommmmething unintelligible and you’ve no energy to step outside the door. We’ve got your back, Honey! Avoid cabin fever while providing your pint-sized punters the perfect pastime underneath your own roof, all within your budget, here in our guide to 10 ways to have fun indoors.
1. Your Own Personal Science Fair.
It’s educational; it’s fun, and most of all, its affordable. Most kid friendly science experiments use simple ingredients you can find at home. For example, a home-made volcano only needs food colouring, baking soda and vinegar. You can even make your own lava lamp.
2. Film Festivals ‘R’ Us
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Organize your own film festival with the kids! Let them pick their favourite movie, which would most likely be animated, so the grown-ups can choose classics like “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”, or “Jurassic Park”. Oh, and remember to make popcorn!
3. Jackson Pollock Wannabe.
Let the kids be messy for once! Take a large sheet of paper or canvas (layer larger plastic sheets underneath if you’re indoors) and have the kids drip or splatter paint over it. Or set the sheet up against the wall (with plastic on the floor), fill water bombs with paint, and let it rip à la the Princess Diaries. They might end up becoming the next Jackson Pollock.
4. Home Spa
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Going to a spa ain’t cheap, so why not do it at home? Let your kids paint your nails and do your hair, and do theirs in turn. We guarantee the littlies, even the boys, will be fascinated by nail art.
5. Set Up Your Own Restaurant
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Decide on a three-course meal (let the little tykes have some input here!) and ask them to create proper menus with prices. Allow them to assist in the cooking process – or not, depending on the recipes selected. The kids can set the table and show dad (who should be extremely pleased) to his seat when he returns from work!
6. Family Scrapbook
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Grab paper, pens, scissors, glue, and reusable materials like old magazines, to make a family scrapbook. The most important things are, of course, photographs of everyone in the family. Let the kids write about the various people that appear in the scrapbook. This makes an incredible memento for the future.
7. Origami Frenzy.
The timeless traditional art of paper folding is, well, timeless. While the best-known origami model is the Japanese paper crane, it’s possible to look up other origami models online with the kids and try them out.
8. Go on a Scavenger Hunt.
Type up a scavenger list and print a copy for each of the your tots. Have a little competition by allowing them to read over the list once, and time the hunt so they only have 15 minutes .You could also attach points to different items on the list, where the easy to find things would have a lower point value. At the end of the time limit, whoever has the most points wins! The prize for the winner is up to you.
9. Home Disco Party.
Let the kids choose a selection of upbeat tunes, draw the curtains, and dig out the disco ball! If you don’t have one, well-positioned torches will do the trick too. It’s a fantastic way to burn off some energy, and don’t be afraid to choose songs from your One Direction/Justin Bieber secret obsession playlist! P.S.: the little tykes won’t judge.
10. Themed country days
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Let your tot select a country on the world atlas and spend the day learning about it. For example, if they choose France, accompany onion soup with a crusty baguette, cheeses and paté for tea. Look up iconic landmarks in France, like the Eiffel Tower, perfect your double-kiss and teach them simple French lingo like bonjour and merci. Don’t forget the berets and double kiss-kiss!
Image credits: iStockPhoto, Getty Images, Thinkstock.