The dreaded 5am robo-call wakes you up out of a sound sleep…school is CLOSED today. The kids are ecstatic. Mom and Dad – not so much. Snow days somehow lose their excitement value somewhere between high school and adulthood.
So now that you’re housebound with the kids all day, what can you do to maintain your sanity? First things first, let them sleep late. There’s no sense in waking them up to go nowhere, and it will give you a little time to enjoy your coffee in peace while you ponder the day’s activities.
Once they’re up, get them dressed and send them outside to make snowmen and snow angels and have snowball fights. Make some hot chocolate for them to warm their little fingers and toes when they come in.
Now that they’re all worn out and warmed up, you can do some relaxing indoor activities. It’s a great time to bake cookies or do a kid-friendly craft. Browse Pinterest for ideas of fun things to do with ingredients you already have in your house. Have you seen some of those really cool science projects on there? They use household items, they’re a blast, and the kids are still learning even though they’re not in school.
You can make it a cleaning day. Encourage the kids to go through their toys and make a pile of things that you can sell online or at a garage sale. Tell them they can have the profits, and they’ll be more than willing to part with the things they haven’t touched in years. The same goes for closets. Snow days are great closet cleaning out days.
Call or Skype loved ones far away. If grandparents live far away, they’ll be happy to hear from the kids, and since they’re not all cranky and tired from school, it will be a nice treat for everyone.
Stream a movie on Netflix or Amazon. There are tons of movies that you can watch for free. Pop some popcorn and sit down and watch some family movies together. If you’ve got a few extra dollars, you can even rent one of the newer ones on Amazon or buy it so that you can watch it again whenever you want to.
Let the kids decide what to have for dinner and have them help you make it. It keeps them busy and even the littlest kids can help out with some things. They’ll be proud of themselves, and while they’re busy preparing food, they’ll be learning how to cook for themselves and making memories.
Before you know it, the day will be over, and you’ll all be back to your regular routines in the morning. In many parts of the country, snow days are inevitable, but if you make the most of them, they can be some of the best days of the year.
