Rainy Day activities that don’t cost a cent
With 2013 proving to be a financially challenging year for most, us moms may be entering the rainy season with a familiar feeling of dread. We are also probably asking ourselves the same worrying question, “How are we going to keep the kids busy during those rainy days, without breaking the bank?” Rainy day activities that don’t cost a cent may be the best option for some of us.
If your kids are anything like mine, within approximately two minutes of waking up, they’re already declaring themselves to be “bored” and demanding to be taken to an astronomically expensive theme park, where they will insist on you buying them poor quality food and toys that you would need a bank loan to afford.
It doesn’t need to be this way. There are a multitude of free, fun and exciting activities that can provide hours of fun, without even stepping outside of the door. Finding fun, free and educational activities is something that communities like the Bruderhof do on a regular basis. Here are three of their favorite suggestions:
Make a Den
Your kids will love this. It’s just like going camping, but you get to stay warm and dry and use your own bathroom! Make a den that covers the entire family room or living room using sheets, blankets, old curtains, and whatever else you can lay your hands on. Create a cozy nest by adding soft pillows and blankets inside. (see picture above)
Take this idea one step further by allowing your kids to sleep in the den overnight. There will be lots of giggling and probably not much sleeping, but it is something they will remember and talk about for years to come.
Grow Cress Hair
This isn’t something that will happen overnight, but it is a perfect rainy day activity. It takes a few days or sometimes even weeks, but think of it as a fun science experiment!
Making them couldn’t be easier; next time you have boiled eggs for breakfast, carefully peel the eggs and save the shells. Give them a very gentle rinse to make sure all traces of egg have been removed. Then get your children to draw funny faces onto the empty egg shells, using pens, paints and stickers. Give them the empty egg carton to support the egg shells.
Once the eggs have been decorated, fill the insides with some damp cotton wool, and then sprinkle a fine layer of cress seed over this. Place the egg people onto a warm window ledge and watch their hair grow over the next couple of days. Your children will love giving them a ‘hair cut’ once the cress has grown to a decent length.
Make Play dough
All kids (and some adults. I plead the fifth) love play dough. Even though you’ll be picking bits of neon paste from the carpet for several days afterwards, play dough is an easy crowd pleaser that can be whipped up with ingredients from your own pantry. I always lay some newspaper down or an old blanket. Here’s an awesome play dough recipe that I use:
- 3 cups of flour
- 1.5 cups of salt
- 6 tsp cream of tartar
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 cups of water
- Food colouring (optional)
- Vanilla or peppermint essence (optional)
Put all ingredients into a large, sturdy saucepan. Stir continuously over a medium heat until dough forms. Remove from the pan and knead until the consistency is play-dough like. Let cool before giving it to the kids. I also have cookie cutters on hand so that we can cut some fun shapes. Sometimes we even let them dry and use them as figurines to decorate with.
What are some of your rainy day activities on a budget?
Related Posts
Child Guilt: I Love Them, But I Want My Own ~ Because Prompts Are Fun
Losing Weight, Quitting Smoking, and Nutrisystem ~ Week 15
An Infertile’s Mother’s Day Wish
Infertility and April Fool’s Day: Sucks For Me
The Truth About Frozen Foods
Living Earth Conscious with the Conscious Box ~ Giveaway **CLOSED**
Good ideas! I’ve wanted to make a blanket fort. I loved those as kids.
We have at home Movie Nights. Sometimes we rent or use Netflix or just record things we find on tv to watch later. Eat our own candy and make popcorn plus we have blankets and couches.
laura recently posted…Strawberry Whoopie Pies
Wish the forts I made as a child looked like the one in the photo (they did in my head, lol)! Great ideas for those not-so-fun rainy days, thanks!
Stacey W. recently posted…February anonyMRS Contributors
Something that I’ve been doing since my babysitting days is to make up a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt with clues for the kids to follow – it helps them practice reading and problem solving skills and gets them moving in the house… plus with the scavenger hunt you can slip in a list of a few things that might be missing – a sock that’s probably under their bed or whatever they tend to lose…
Heather ~ Acting Balanced recently posted…Blogger Interview with… Martha from A Southern Transplant
That cress hair one is really interesting. I don’t think I have ever even heard of that.
Dawn
Dawn recently posted…Deadlines Fast Approaching To Spend Your FSA Funds @FSAstore #flexspending #ad
Building a fort aka tent was and is still big on our to-do list. The children commandeer every pillow, blanket and available cloths pin they can find.
Bonnie recently posted…Ryobi 18V Tools Come In Handy for a DIY Project exp 3/17 #undertherainbow
What a great list – my girls LOVE when we throw a blanket over something and make a “princess castle”!
Lindsey G recently posted…Mineral Makeup from Mia Mariu
We just like playing a lot of games indoors. My son also likes to build forts.
Erica recently posted…Recipe: Strawberry Lemon Mousse Parfait
We build a lot of forts in our house. Painters tape is a cheap way to keep kids entertained inside if you have the room. We make hopscotch boards and line tag games in our living room. It sticks to the carpet and pulls up without a problem.
Brandy Myers recently posted…Phone Dump Friday – Swim Lessons 101
My kids love making tents! They can play in their all day.
We make blanket forts all the time! It’s one of my son’s favorite activities.
Emily recently posted…Menu Plan Monday – Week 9
Great ideas! It’s always so much fun to make tents from blankets and sheets for a little indoor camping!
Angela recently posted…Pretty Pastel Deviled Eggs for Easter
My little girl loves to build tents inside the house. My husband builds awesome tents, brings me back to being a kid again, love it. Great tips, thanks.
Tiffany C. recently posted…Easy Chicken Carbonara Served with Minute® Ready Rice
So much fun, and great ideas for us on snow days!
My son used to love to build a fort! Reading books, and drawing are a couple more of his favorites when he was younger.
Linette recently posted…Hot Air Balloon Window Craft
I’d have to say puzzles, painting and crafts
Love the den idea tho’!
Marina recently posted…Wordless Wednesday – Sunrise
Such wonderful ideas! Thanks!
I like doing puzzels, board games and just ‘playing’ – love the idea of homemade play dough!
Tazim recently posted…Time to Boss this Blog Around! Being a Blog Boss
We used to love making forts in the bedroom! What amazing memories that brings back. Thank you!
Ellen Christian recently posted…What’s Cooking Wednesday