8 Ways To Beat The Winter Blues From Home | Winter In Columbus | 614 Mom

The cold weather has hit us and while we may not want to admit it, winter is quickly approaching and there are going to be days that even the best indoor spots in Columbus won’t be able to get us out of our house.  Personally, I can’t think of anything better on a cold day than snuggling up in comfy clothes, making some hot chocolate, and hanging out around my house, but you're going to need to do something to keep those kiddos busy.  

Having a stash of new and exciting things to do is always so helpful in those winter months.  Last year I bought a dinosaur making kit and a castle kit at Target that the kids could decorate and then get inside to play, I stashed them in a closet and pulled them out when we had the winter blues. It pulled my kids out of their “give me the tv funk” and we all had an amazing day.

This year, I thought it would be fun to share some ways to stay busy inside without having to leave your home.  There is still time to head to the store and gather materials now, to put in a winter fun bin. Pull out a few items when you really need them and enjoy! :)

Arts & Crafts 

Having a stash of construction paper, colored pencils, markers, stickers, glue, scissors, and crayons is always a good idea in the winter months, you can also add in craft sticks, sticker pads, and paint to make it really fun.   Art Kits have saved my sanity on numerous occasions. If you're not familiar, these kits are small projects that include everything you need for the project.  From butterfly wings to jewelry making to car kits, there are so many out there and they are a perfect thing to pull out in a pinch.  I buy kits of all sizes and price ranges because you just never know when you’ll need to pull one out.  You can find a lot of art kits at Learning Express and Picadilly as well as Target. 

Puzzles

Puzzles are great for any age, and depending on the difficulty can keep kids busy for hours.  We like to buy a harder puzzle and then do it as a family.  The kids will start on it, go play, come back to it, and so on. It’s fun to work together to complete one common goal.  

Games

Board games and card games are perfect to have hidden away in a closet ready to pull out at any moment.  Some of our favorites include Sequence, Uno, Monopoly, Pie Face, and Candyland.  We love trying new games too so if you have a favorite share it in the comments!

Make Believe 

Some of my favorite memories as a kid involve me dressing up like a teacher and bossing my cousins around. Haha! Kidding, I was a nice make believe teacher. :-)  You can make super hero capes out of bed sheets, masks out of construction paper, build a rocket or a house out of boxes (thanks Amazon delivery).  The opportunities are endless.  My son and I made a rocket out of boxes the other day and it was so fun. We didn't even need a lot of materials just, Star Wars wrapping paper, aluminum foil, and gorilla tape.  He plays in it daily pretending to be blasting off to space, or fighting Darth Vader, it's pretty adorable.  
 

Baking

Get out the flour and the sugar and have some fun! Both of my kids love to bake so we do this a lot, from pumpkin biscuits, cookies, muffins, and cakes - we try a little bit of everything. This fall/winter they want to learn how to make scones and pies, so I’m sure you’ll see that a lot on Instagram.  Also, I know it’s not baking - but a fun thing kids can do in the kitchen with little supervision is making trail mix.  I set out a lot of ingredients like pretzels, popcorn, raisns, chocolate chips, etc and they create whatever combo they want.  Every single time they make me walk away so they can surprise me with the end result. This is a super fun way to give them some independence in the kitchen.

LEGOS/Magna-Tiles/Blocks

There are many LEGO kits that you can buy in the $5-$15 range, and they are a great way to keep busy.  You can also just pull out a large bin of legos and the results are the same. Endless entertainment. Magnatiles are also a huge hit and worth every single penny.  

Obstacle Course

Painters Tape Obstacle Course - There are going to be days the kids will need to burn off some of that energy and an easy way to get them active during a blizzard is an indoor obstacle course. You can use your furniture if you’d like, or you can simply buy the blue painters tape at any Home Depot/Target, etc. and draw some fun activities on the floor.  Some easy games include hopscotch, a lava pit (don’t touch the hot lava), etc.

Indoor Camping 

Another fun idea would be to build a fort with pillows, blankets, chairs, your couch, and whatever else you can find and camp out, eat snacks, tell stories, and just hang out together creating memories and leaving behind the screens. 

All photos are by Amy Miller from Beloved Photography, LLC  - I highly recommend her for a day in the life session just like the one we had.