During these long winter months it can be hard to keep things fun and interesting for your toddler, especially when the weather is too bad for any outdoor fun.  Toddlers can get bored (and so can we stay-at-home moms!!) so it is important to have a few tricks up your sleeve.  The idea is to keep your child interest in what you are doing, making it fun and educational, and of course not too expensive.

So, while you are sitting around playing yet another game of peek-a-boo or singing the ABCs again, or building a block tower for the millionth time this week consider some of these fun, toddler (and mom) friendly activities that will help those winter days fly by and keep you both having fun and laughing.

• Swimming in the bathtub.  Throw on your bathing suits, grab a few pool toys and go for a dip.  Your kid will love playing in the water, especially since it doesn’t involve any washing up  For something a little extra you could even use food coloring or those bathtub colors to change the color of the water or add lots of bubbles.
• Art class at home with things like: finger painting, cut and paste, markers and stencils or stamps.  This can be messy so you’ll need to make sure you are prepared with lots of paper to put down, maybe an old shirt for both of you to wear and a place to clean up when you are done.  You can then display your child’s art projects around the house.
• Play-doh creations.  My daughter discovered play-doh last week when Santa left her some in her stocking and she just loves it.  It is amazing how quickly time flies when you are making creations with play-doh.
• Make up a winter-day bag of special toys, books, crayons, etc (similar to the rainy-day bag I’ve talked about before).  This can be your go to trick when things get really rough.  Your child will love exploring the new items you have stowed away.
• Play dress up.  When you are putting clothes away for donation consider keeping a few for a fun dress up day, old Halloween costumes work well too.  Get all dressed up and create little stories.
• Take a trip to your local library.  Many libraries offer story time for toddlers and preschoolers.  This can be a great way to get out of the house, meet up with some other kids and parents and enjoy a nice, warm, free activity.
• Take swim lessons or a gymnastics class at your local YMCA or recreational center.  Although these will cost you some money they are usually fairly inexpensive and, again, a great way to get out of the house and interact with other kids and parents.
• Set up a scavenger hunt around your house.  This can be great if you have kids of varying ages.  Hide some things around the house, make lists for the kids (picture lists work best if your child can’t read) and set out to find the treasures together.  This can be a great way to teach kids new vocabulary words and help them perfect their ability to follow directions.
• Have a movie day.  Rent a couple of movies (or borrow some from the library), make a big bowl of popcorn, and cuddle under warm blankets together.
• Have a pajama party.  Pick a day and spend the whole day in your jammies.  Let the kids pick out which jammies they want to wear and plan some fun activities that will make it feel like a slumber party.
• When it isn’t too cold head outside and get some fresh air. Fresh air is always good for making us feel better.

Your children will love having some new activities to enjoy.  When things feel too monotonous or you just can’t think of what to do on a freezing cold, stuck inside day give of the above activities a try and see what your kids think.

What do you do with your kids when the days get long and you feel like you’ve been stuck inside forever?