Fun Ways to keep the kids busy during winter
I’m not sure about you, but here in Ohio we have been experiencing a lot of very cold weather which has made entertaining my kids a little bit tricky. We LOVE bundling up and getting outdoors and playing in the snow, but this winter we have had a lot of very cold weather without a lot of snow, or even with the snow it has been unbearably cold (I’m talking almost in the negatives!).
This has forced me to get a bit creative in terms of keeping the kids busy, but we have made some pretty fun memories this winter by finding some new fun and engaging ways to keep entertained indoors!
Here are some of our favorite ways to pass the time on those extra cold days!
Anything underlined is a shoppable link.
Play Couch with panels
We LOVE our nugget couch for a variety of reasons, its easy to clean, there are so many different ways to build- truly the possibilities are endless with this thing, and it makes building forts for creative play fun and easy. We like to take it to the next level with these incredible panels that can transform your nugget into a vet office, coffee shop, lemonade stand, ice cream stand, and MORE! This is one of our favorite ways to encourage imaginative play and have some screen free time!
2. Air Fort
We love forts around here, and this fort is one that I know ALL children will LOVE. We have given these out as gifts to many of Maren’s friends after they fell in love playing with it at our home. These forts blow up to quite a good size and work very easily with a box fan to stay up the entire time your child is playing! One of our favorite parts about these amazing forts is that they are not only decorated on the outside, but they are also decorated on the inside which makes this a perfect way to keep the imaginative play going for hours! They even have a glow in the dark fort that shows the constellations, and a United States Space Shuttle- both of these are definitely on our list to get in the near future. These forts are easy to put up and take down (which keeps the mess to a minimum) and store very easily.
We LOVE to bring other toys into our fort, and even make it extra cozy by bringing the nugget and other pillows and blankets inside!
3. Projector
We recently purchased a projector which has become one of our FAVORITE purchases ever. We LOVE our outdoor projector in the summer for movie nights by the fire, or for watching football in the fall. This sent me on a journey to find a projector to enjoy inside in the colder months too and WOW, I am SO glad I did! The kids, my husband and I have gotten to enjoy so many fun movie nights with this incredible 4k smart projector. Despite its small, compact size (one of the many reasons I LOVE this thing), this projector is INCREDIBLE. It has a really cool feature that allows you to put it basically anywhere and it adjusts itself to give you the perfectly square screen from anywhere! It also offers obstacle avoidance, has ChromeCast built in and has the Google play store which allows you to access Netflix and other streaming services quickly and easily, and the picture is crystal clear and has an amazing sound.
To add even a little more fun and magic to our movie nights, we LOVE using our SnowCone machine to provide a “movie theatre” experience right from the comfort of our own home! We even found these incredible “clean” syrups which is perfect since we are in the midst of our clean journey (more on that here).
4. Ninja Creami
Alright, I know what you’re thinking, if it’s cold outside, why are you making ice cream? I know it seems a bit contradictory, but I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun we have had with this amazing machine. I originally purchased this for myself as a way to make some yummy protein ice cream to enjoy in the evenings (this helps me increase my protein intake and satisfy my sweet tooth craving!). However, it has been SO fun for the kids to make their own ice cream and play around with different flavors and mix ins, AND it makes the perfect movie night snack for those cozy nights we all snuggle in and enjoy the projector.
5. Bringing outdoor inflatables inside
We absolutely LOVE our outdoor inflatable playhouses outside in the summer months. We truly love and crave time outdoors, so we try to purchase a lot of toys that can grow with the kids and last for summers to come. We love setting up our inflatable houses for parties and I love that these incredible inflatables are often cheaper to purchase for your home than to rent from a company, especially when you purchase them on sale.
One thing I never considered was that these inflatables are actually perfect for indoor use in the winter too! We used to set ours up in basement before it was finished, now we LOVE setting ours up in the living room and admiring all of the snow! These are perfect for making forts or for a fun twist on a cozy movie day or night!
6. Subscriptions
We LOVE monthly subscriptions around here, and they have truly been a LIFE SAVER this winter. Maren LOVES her monthly play doh subscription kit and this truly keeps her busy for hours and days on end.
If you are looking for a way to keep your kids busy and engaged and encourage their creativity, enter Busy Banner! We LOVE our monthly Busy Banner subscription, and I even recently gifted one to be delivered for Maren’s class to enjoy coloring next month. If your kids love coloring like mine do, this is a great way to keep them busy for hours, and is another great screen free option!
We have also loved and enjoyed Lovevery Play Kits! The quality of the toys is absolutely INCREDIBLE and I love that they are made specifically for your child’s age, and are made to encourage learning through play!
I hope you are all enjoying this winter so far. Please be sure to let us know some of your favorite ways to keep busy while being cooped up indoors. We love trying out new suggestions!
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Our favorite inflatable to put up in our living room!