Winter blues catching up to you and your family? Feeling stir crazy inside the house while staying toasty warm? We’ve got the remedy for those winter blues with these indoor activities! 

Build Forts

Remember when you were little and you’d spread out bedsheets over furniture, creating your own “world”? Well, it’s time to break open the linen closet! Building blanket forts is a fun activity for any age, and gets the creative juices flowing. Whether you want to keep the fort building to only a few rooms is up to you, but gather up as many sheets, blankets and pillows as you can and let your kids’ imaginations run wild! Once they’ve created their fort, serve some light snacks and drinks to keep their energy going for when the fort needs to come down! You can even leave the fort up for a little while longer, and play board or card games later on. 

Baking Day

If you want to keep your brains and hands busy while also warming your home, you can get to baking! This is a great way to spend some time with your kids as they can help with picking what to make, and with the prep! No matter how old they are, there’s always something they can do in the kitchen. You can bake cakes, desserts, cookies, cupcakes, breads, muffins, and more! You can even take some extras to your neighbors or prep the sweet treats for upcoming holidays. 

Reading Day

If your children are avid readers, have a book a day challenge! Make some apple cider, hot cocoa, tea, or any other warm beverage and get out the cozy blankets! Have your child pick a book and try to read it in one day. Of course, younger children are going to have an easier time with this as most kid’s books aren’t very long. And some young adult books are quite lengthy, which may make your teen feel pressured, but just let them read as much or as little as they want! Everyone can pick a room of the house they want to relax in, and let the words come right off the page! When they’re ready for a break or have finished, give them an opportunity to tell you what the story was about and whether they liked it or not. Depending on the story and how involved it is, you can even have your kids try to re-enact scenes! 

No matter how bored your kids might be from the cold, there’s always something to do indoors besides be on their phone!

Katie Kyzivat