Rainy Family Fun

For those of you on the east coast, it's been a rainy day that's just the start of a rainy weekend! I was inspired by this guest post on MoneySavingMom about Frugal Family Fun to post about some rainy frugal family fun for those of you with restless little ones. 

A few months ago I decided to make a "Rainy Day Fun Jar". I wrote down several different activities with little pictures on pieces of paper and then folded them up and put them into a jar. Now, whenever it's a rainy day or there is another reason we can't play outside (or even if we're just bored and want something to do!) I let one of the kids reach into the jar and pick out something fun for us to do. 

Here are a few of the ideas:

- Color

- Paint

- Do a craft project (I've started saving empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes for these)

- Play a game (Candyland and Chutes and Ladders are great for little ones, or you can just make up your own game)

- Build a fort (chairs, pillows, blankets- you get the idea)

- Dance party

- Play Horse Jumping (I am an equestrian so this is one of my favorite games to play with the kids- we set up "jumps" and we each pretend we're on a horse and we jump over them- it's great fun and exercise!)

- Read stories

- Bake cookies

- Treasure hunt (like an easter egg hunt- I'll use some colored blocks and hide them around the house, then the kids each get a bag and try to find them, and when we're done we separate them into piles by color, practice counting them, etc.- fun and educational!)

- Make cards (we have family far away, so we have fun making cards and getting them ready to mail)

- Build with blocks

- Play store (we have a shopping cart and some fake groceries, and one person arranges the "groceries" all over the room, then the other person walks around and puts them in the cart and takes them to the checkout, and someone else can bag them; you can even make your own groceries using empty boxes and cans)

- Bean bag toss (use a bean bag or a small stuffed animal and practice throwing it into a basket- you can use different sizes, shapes, and distances to mix it up)

- Put on a play (my kids are still a little too young for this, but it would be fun)

Those are just a few ideas that are fairly easy to do on the fly. I'm sure that all of you have lots more great ideas- do share! Post a comment and tell us what you like to do for fun on a rainy day!