Rainy days can make you feel so dull, and when you look out, everything looks bleak. You may begin to wonder how you will make it through the day. Add to this scenario, your kids tugging on your clothes, demanding your attention, or just whining about being bored and wanting to play. You will need to get things under control; otherwise, all the screaming will drive you insane with all the arguing, shouting, and fighting that is bound to follow. However, believe it or not, it can still feel as fun as a sunny day. Here are a few tips on what to do on rainy days as a stay at home mom.
1. Watch Movies
Watch a movie with your children. By this, we mean let your children select the movie, one they have been wanting to watch, and ask them what snacks they would like. Make popcorn too, and then you can all relax and enjoy the movie. They certainly will love the attention you are giving them, and this should kill some time.
You can also have your film festival and do a marathon of movies. So, in this case, you will also choose what you want to watch; you as well as the kids. Make a ginormous bowl of popcorn and snuggle together; get real cozy.
2. Make Crafts
Make handmade crafts either to decorate your home or to make some practical items you might need in your home. Your children can help out with some of these. Nothing makes for a quality time more than teamwork with your children to do projects together. Another advantage of making crafts is that you get to show your creative side. You also get to challenge your children and get them to apply their creativity.
There are several easy-to-make crafts. For example, you could make placements. Most of the kid-friendly placements we buy rarely go well with our décor. The good news is you can make your own using fabrics of your own choice. A simple way to do this is to cut up the fabric of your choice into rectangles. Cut off from vinyl sheets two rectangles. On each side of the placements, iron the rectangular-shaped vinyl you cut and then trim off the edges. You can also make a necklace using beads, or dried beans, pasta shells, or whatever you fancy.
3. Make a Fort
If you have a toddler, a fort will excite them during rainy days. So, while they are sleeping, arrange some cushions on the floor as if to make a house. You can use some chairs to support the cushions to make the “house” firm. Then, for the roof, throw over a bedsheet or a light blanket. Bring in some toys, stuffed animals, and dolls. Your toddler will be pleasantly surprised, and they will love it. This is sure to keep them entertained for hours.
Another way to go about it is to have a camp indoors using something similar to the fort we described above. For the tents, throw bedsheets or light blankets over the couch. Make the camping just as ‘campy’ as you would if it were outdoors. Bring in pillows and sleeping bags and, of course, your children’s favorite toys. Let them choose what toys they would like to bring. Also, you can make it even more exciting with a picnic.
4. Make Popsicles or Ice-Cream Sundaes
Come rain or shine; children love popsicles and sundaes. Sundaes are easy to make. This is an activity almost any child can take part in. Take out all the different toppings you have, and let your children enjoy building one whichever way they like.
For the ice popsicles, if you have a preschooler or older child, they can enjoy helping you make the ice popsicles with you. Allow them to select the flavors. This is also an excellent opportunity to begin to teach them to make healthy choices by using healthy flavors. So, avoid using things like sodas and opt for fresh fruit juice, yogurt, fruit purees, etc. Also, use sugar substitutes such as honey.
If you do not have molds, have no worries. You can improvise by using cups. Just pour your mixture into cups, and then wrap it up with foil. Poke gently with an ice popsicle stick and let this sit in the freezer for about 2 hours. Remove the foil, and you have your popsicles.
5. Play Indoor Games
There are several games you can play indoors with your children. Here are a few.
Scavenger hunt
In this game, you will list some things that your child can search for all over the house until they find them.
Treasure hunt
Write a list of clues. Place the clues in different hidden areas of your house. Each clue should lead your children to the next clue and eventually to the treasure. Remember to keep the clues sealed in envelopes and indicate the clue number so that they can easily keep track of the clues. You and your children go around searching for the hidden treasure. Challenge them to solve the clues and find the treasure, and whoever does this first wins. Be sure to make the treasure something they will be interested in finding— e.g., candy, chocolate, a toy, etc. You can also have them play as one team where they get to solve it together.
Tea party
This is an activity especially ideal for little girls, but a boy can also take part in it! In this activity, your children get to act out that they are throwing a tea party. Have them dress up. Make a fuss about it by using your good china and even setting the table. Be very formal; sip your tea in a very ladylike and gentlemanly manner, and act like you have all indeed been to finishing school. Your kids get to decide who attends the tea party, and by this, we mean their favorite furry friends, stuffed animals, or dolls. You can all have a blast too, by wearing fake accents.
6. Bake
This is another activity you can enjoy with your child during the rainy days. You can bake a cake, brownies, or cookies. Whatever you choose to bake, let your child choose the flavors they like and allow them to help you mix. If you have a toddler, don’t worry. Here is how to have them involved without losing your mind:
Clear an area on your counter or table, so you don’t knock things or work around things. Since for sure, there will be a mess because your toddler will miss the bowl, and things will spill onto the surface, clean the area thoroughly. They are bound to spill ingredients onto the floor, too, but wait until the end to clean it up. Wear aprons, both of you, so your clothes stay clean. Also, keep the ingredients safely out of their reach until you are ready to use them. You must be prepared for lots of dishes to clean. Well, more than you normally would have if you were baking alone.
7. Pamper Yourself
Have a little spa treatment of your own and pamper yourself with any of the following:
Homemade scrub
To make the scrub, grind some oatmeal, about 300 grams. Add some brown sugar and coffee grounds; just a handful or two. Stir in some honey and ginger and Noni extract. Oatmeal soothes the skin, and the honey is a skin nourisher. You can use this every day, and when you feel like your skin is dry, add some olive oil to this mixture. You will find that it is gentle on your skin, soothes your skin, and smells great. Store it in the refrigerator.
Hair-conditioning treatment
You can also deep-condition your hair. Perhaps you have been putting off doing this or getting to the store or the salon. You can make use of rainy days by deep-conditioning your hair at home using mayonnaise. Coat the strands of your hair with mayonnaise. Make sure you start from the scalp and to the tips. After 15 to 20 minutes, rinse your hair thoroughly. There are several homemade hair-conditioning treatments that you can make yourself at home. Make a few so that you can alternate each time you deep-condition your hair.
Bubble bath
You can make your bubble bath using your own choice of moisturizing soap. Mix ½ cup of your favorite hand or body soap, one tablespoon of honey, one egg-white, and pour in the mixture to your bath. Because it is a humectant, honey attracts and retains the moisture in our skin. The egg-whites make the bubbles last longer, enabling you to enjoy a fluffy bath. However, for very dry skin, add a tablespoon of almond oil.
8. Invent Games
Here are a few games you can play with your children on rainy days.
One-word story
Begin with “once upon a time” and, one by one, have everyone add to the story a single word. It is best if you decide beforehand the genre you want to go by— i.e., fairy tale, action, etc.
Improvised poetry
In this game, one person recites just a line of a poem, and then the next person must come up with a rhyming line. Let your children start and recite one line, then all of you can follow one by one saying the next line.
Imaginary monster
Invent a monster of your imagination and have each child adding something new to the initial monster. Have every addition to the initial monster begin with “Yes, and…” then continue adding on to what has already been said.
9. Make a Family Recipe Book
This is a project you can do with your children during rainy days. It is sure to allow you to bond with your children, and also get them to apply their creativity.
Write out your recipes on cards, and bring out any photos you have of your family enjoying a meal. You will need the following items, too: Adhesive, ribbon, ruler, shiny or shimmery alphabet stickers, and wine labels.
To make the recipe book, put together all of the memorabilia in the order of a theme that you like. It could be time, season, holidays, etc. Fix the items onto the journal. Put a title using the shimmery stickers. Use a ruler to put the stickers neatly. Then put the ribbon.
10. Plan a Family Vacation Together
On rainy days, when everything seems to appear so drab, you still can dream, can you not? So, go ahead and dream of your beautiful sunny escape. Better yet, you can make an enjoyable activity out of it. Get a map and let your kids pick out their ideal holiday locations, both national and international. This is a fun-filled and educational activity because your children get to do some research on the locations they pick. They must find out details about the budget, i.e., the cost of plane tickets, accommodation, etc. Ask them to also find out about the places to visit, such as museums, art galleries, sites, etc. Let them even have a debate and reach a unanimous agreement on the best place out of all the places they like.
There is much planning needed when you want to plan a vacation, and this way, you get to have so much information on destinations that your children would like to go. Therefore, you do not have to rely solely on your travel agent or any advertising on ideal places to visit. You will already know beforehand a lot of what to expect, plus, you all do some learning about new places. Who knows, this might help you decide on where you get to go on vacation next time round. But keep it to yourself and do not let them in on the fact that you are planning a vacation for real. For them, let it be just a game.
We’re wishing for a rainy day to come now to try out these ideas! Comment below if you’ve tried any of these 10 ideas, or share your photos on our Facebook and inspire some other mamas!
Thanks for reading with us today! Want some additional inspirations for this whole “mom” thing? Check out these Smart Money Mom articles: Best Strollers When You’re on a Budget, 14 Ways to Help Your Kids Overcome Fear of the Dentist, and 13 Best Board Games to Play with your Kids!
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