Indoor Rainy Day or Snowy Day Fun with Kids

Looking at the forecast for the next week I am struck by the Seattle rain storm and the entire Northeast being covered with snow. Winter is here. I thought it might be fun to reflect upon some fun rainy day and snow day activities for kids that will save their parents from going batty while making delightful memories. To say the least: being pro-active can combat the constant battles that emerge from stir-crazy kiddos.

 Go ahead and make your home an Indoor Playground with these snappy ideas...

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10. Make Forts: Get out all of those blankets, pillows, chairs, and tablecloths. Forts are a great and creative way to go “camping” indoors. It is a wonderful creativity tool and a make believe world. By making forts kids use their building imagination to make their dreams come true. Sleeping in the forts that night is even better. (As long as they go to sleep, anyway!)

9. Read Books: Pile the books high in front of you and read one after another. Don’t get up for as long as you can. Use crazy voices and accents, and point to the pictures. Get into it and talk about them. Get excited about books and love them along side your kids. Reading is practically becoming a lost art, with the idiot-screen (including video games, movies, television) taking over for most kids – so take the opportunity to buck that trend and dive into those children’s books.

8. Bath-time fun: Get those kids in the bath with lots of toys. Shaving cream is a great bath-time toy. They can paint it on the walls and put it in the water. Also, get those summer-time bubbles out and blow them at the kids in the bath. They will love to grab at them and see them land in the water.

7. Pull out the play-dough bin: Make homemade play dough if you need to. It is fun to sit at the kitchen table and create sculptures, snowballs, and bricks. Getting those cookie cutters and rolling pins out of the kitchen drawers to add to the fun. The kids love to bring their ideas to life.

6. Clean your closet: Kids enjoy trying on high-heeled shoes, sandals, and fancy scarves. They can find treasures in your closet while you take inventory and re-organize and de-clutter things. It is just so cute to see them stumble around the house all gussied up with nowhere to go.

5. Bake: Make something yummy. Start with the ingredients that you have at hand and go from there. Don’t let the fancy cookie recipes make you think that you have to go to the store. Use what you have. Stay home and be creative; try something new, and get the kids involved. Pancakes are a great way for kids to practice cracking eggs. Cookies are a yummy wet weather treat. And when your spouse comes home, they will be stoked!

4. Craft Centers: Raid the craft closet and get out those craft supplies that you save for a rainy/snowy day. Put them on the kitchen table and use them (let the kids use them, that is). It is great to spend time creating something and using the supplies at hand. It can also be fun to get out the recycle bin and use the supplies in there to make new and exciting things – milk cartons, cardboard boxes, and newspaper make for creative materials.

3. Play with your pet: Make a snuggly bed for your dog, a raisin trail for your bunny to follow, toys arranged in a square to make a new play yard for your guinea pig, decorate the fish tank, or grab some yarn and tease the cat. It is fun to engage with those furry friends in a new way. The kids can see how fun their pets really are.

2. For those techie kids: make a short video. Use your cell phone to do the video recording. (If the kids are old enough to use it themselves – probably age 2, right? – let them be the videographers, too.) They can act out something or describe something like a news reporter. They can watch themselves when they are done with their show.

1. Have a dance party: Bust out the 80’s dance tunes…or some more current pop/dance stuff that’s appropriate for the kids…and crank it up to 11! Be sure to dance with the kids – they love seeing their parents jump around with them. Bonus: This burns off a lot of the kids’ energy, and it’s good exercise for you, too!

-1. Go outside and get really wet in the rain or play in the snow. The great thing about a bad weather day is that going outside and jumping in puddles or playing in the snow can burn off a lot of cooped up energy. It is fun for the kids to have a rainy day or snow day fort so they can be outside in the bad weather and be under cover. If the kids do get wet, dirty, or cold you can easily fix that in a jiffy.

Then you can come in and do all of the numbers 1-10. Embracing the indoor lifestyle can be a lot of fun for kids and adults on those gloomy, blustery, or frigid days!

Leavenworth, it's "worth" your time!

Just in case you like SNOW in the winter, savory bratwursts, a touch of Bavaria, lazy days, and endless hiking in the summer - meet Leavenworth. After a recent visit there, I think it is "worth" your time:)

East of Seattle about 115 miles on U.S Highway 2, deep in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest, lies the town of Leavenworth. It is a mountain town, on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, along the Wenatchee River. I didn’t know what to expect when going to Leavenworth. At first glance one will feel like they stepped off the plane – or out of the car – right into Bavaria. If you don’t know, Bavaria is a region in the south east of Germany. This is all new to me as I had never been there – Leavenworth, that is. Bavaria is a place of happy memories for me from a trip many moons ago. Right off the bat I thought it was a fun combination: deep in the woods, a Bavarian town, and the outdoor lifestyle at its best.

Leavenworth is a great place for families and people with plans for year-round adventure. 

We visited in the winter, which fits our family ethos well: we love sliding on the snow. Fortunately, there are many places in Leavenworth to go sledding – from little tot slopes right in downtown, to larger slopes just a few blocks away. We spent hours on the ragged edge of disaster sledding on the steep hill at Enchantment Park. The whole family got into the fun. We caught air, crashed into trees, videoed, made new friends, and cheered each other on. We had forgotten how fun sledding truly is! One odd side note: When we left Enchantment Park we saw a sign that said “no sledding.” And yet, everywhere we looked people were sledding! Note to Leavenworth community – what is up with that? More on snow sliding adventures later.

Eating is a major part of Leavenworth. We had a great time at a classic Bavarian Brat House called “Munchen Haus.” It is a bratwurst paradise – for those who love them. We ordered the curry brat, jalapeno-cheddar brat, and the Big Bob Brat, in addition to some really great hot dogs. They had more flavors of mustard than I could count. We stood in line for 20 minutes in well-below-freezing weather to order. Brrr! As if we weren’t cold enough: once we got the food we barely found seats outside – the restaurant is all outdoors! In a mountain town! (They do have a plethora of propane heaters over the tables and chairs.) So we sat outside and gobbled those yummy brats and dogs down in the freezing cold. They were very good – definitely worth it – and warmed my happy traveler heart. It was a memorable meal and a must-do in Leavenworth. The meal was easily topped off with a Bavarian classic: The super-big pretzel.

The town was decked out in Christmas lights when we were there. It was beautiful. The trees were all lit up in town. Lights like that warm your heart and soften the cold and reflect the snow. It’s a beautiful town by night. So not only were the stores and restaurants lit up, but also the town park with huge trees were covered in lights. 

One of the great things about Leavenworth is that it is just 45 minutes from Stevens Pass Ski Resort. Steven’s Pass is a great all-around mountain. It has great runs for beginners, fast cruising runs for intermediates, several terrain parks for those who want to practice their aerial jumps and rail slides, and really challenging terrain for those who want to ski the steep stuff. I was already a fan of Stevens Pass going into this trip and am glad that the powder hounds got their fill on the way there and on the way home. Leavenworth makes for a great home-base for a ski vacation to Stevens. (And just a couple miles out of town there’s a local, old-school, rope-tow ski area, too!) For those not so into sliding down the hills on snow – be it downhill skiing or sledding – there are plenty of outdoors things to do around town including a plethora of pathways and trails for walks and cross-country skiing (many along the gorgeous Wenatchee River), and snowshoe trails are just outside of town. And as you would expect, summer brings it’s own outdoors activities.

After my recent visit, I encourage folks to make it to Leavenworth in Summer or Winter. Why not enjoy the great outdoors and eat some tasty Brats? Also, never fear because Starbucks is here! Yes, a Bavarian Starbucks awaits you in the midst of the forest, around the bend. I am so thankful for my visit to Leavenworth. It provided a lot of laughs, great food, stunning beauty, and quality family time. Looking ahead: I look forward to visiting this little Bavarian destination in the mountains again!