We’ve all been there. With the weather steadily dropping into uncomfortable temperatures, typical New England on-again-off-again snow, and your kids home for the multiple holiday and winter breaks, you and your kids both might be starting to feel the pangs of being stir crazy. While being tucked away inside by a fire during the cold months is cozy, it also can cause kids to complain of boredom. Here are 6 creative ways to keep the kids busy and keep you sane!

1. An Indoor Treasure Hunt

With the help of these free, pre-made treasure hunt clues from iMom (link: http://www.imom.com/10-treasure-hunt-clues-for-around-the-house/#.W_7k45NKigQ) you can keep the kids entertained with this fun indoor treasure hunt. Gather a few goodies to hide along with each clue or one fun treasure for the end of the hunt!

2. Write And Illustrate A Story Book

Bring your children’s creativity to light by helping them write and illustrate a story! Take 5-6 pieces of printer paper or card stock, staple them along one edge and fold along the same edge, then let their imaginations run wild!

3. Good Ol’ Fashioned Board Games

Being in the digital age, we sometimes forget about the good, old fashioned board game. Gather up some of your old childhood favorites and teach the kids! Life, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders…the classics are classics for a reason!

4. Create An Indoor Fort

This activity is fun for all ages, if we’re being honest (besides the cleanup, of course).  You can make these as elaborate as you’d like and have your kids help with the process. Here’s how to build 25 different indoor forts from Kids Activity Blog. link: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/77762/indoor-forts-for-kids

5. Make Snow Slime

I’m unsure when slime became a huge trend among our children, but at some point, it did. So, spend some time one day making some awesome, stretchy, blue snow slime. Here’s the creative recipe for this fun craft from Good HouseKeeping. link: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/craft-ideas/a42621/diy-snow-slime/

6. Craft Cookie Cutter Bird Feeders

I remember making one of these myself quite a few years ago (don’t ask me exactly how many…I won’t tell you anyways). These adorable, earth-friendly crafts are great for keeping kids entertained while making them, and then when they get to watch birds feed on them after! You can even play a game with them where they try to guess the types of birds they see. Here’s a great recipe for these bird feeds by Kitchen Counter Chronicle. link: https://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com/how-to-make-a-cookie-cutter-bird-feeder/