While the year is still very new, we have already witnessed snowfall and a storm. For those used to the highly changeable Irish weather, it may be no big deal getting through the yellow, orange, and (on occasion) red alerts without making it all seem like a big deal. Just in case a bad weather day catches you off guard, it’s a good idea to look up some fun family activities in advance. Let these next fun and creative ideas inspire you for when you decide to stay indoors and do something all together.
Board Game Extravaganza
Sure there’s many family favourites among that stack of board games on your shelf. Blow the dust off the box of Scrabble, Munchkin, or Monopoly – whichever one gets your competitive juices flowing. In case of overly competitive family members, though, you may want to stock up on consolation prizes for the losers. And top it off with a nice active game of charades to blow off any excess steam.
Cosy Bake
Are you familiar with the new trend from Scandinavia, called “hygge”? That is when everybody gets together to enjoy cosy activities, such as baking (and later of course, eating all the pastries). Honour the trend by getting the whole family involved in whipping up a batch of cinnamon buns or Danish pastries, and get a lot of enjoyment from the results. Learning to bake is a teachable moment for the younger ones, while adding spiced wine according to Scandinavian tradition, can be a fun extra touch for the adults.
Stories by Candlelight
Try this: dim the lights, light some candles, and get everyone to sit around in a circle. If there’s a creative streak in your family, take turns to tell each other ghost stories or play a song on the guitar. Otherwise, you can read out loud from your favourite short story book or share a favourite poem. This is great fun, and also a great opportunity to get to know and share your family’s favourite stories.
Spring Clean for Sports
Cleaning for fun? While it may seem like this is the least appealing activity on a day off, we all realise it’s necessary and might as well have some fun getting it done. Organise a race with prizes for the best and fastest cleaners in your family. Shoot hoops with trash, roll the dice to pick out tasks, and make up small rewards for each task completed. At the end, give our a prize for the person who completed the most tasks overall. In fact, you don’t have to limit this activity to bad weather days: as long as it’s fun and competitive, your family may just start to see cleaning as their new favourite pastime! Well, it’s always good to dream, anyway.
Colouring Challenge
All you need for this is a large picture in black and white, and a box of colouring pencils or crayons. If anyone in your family can draw, you can get them to do the picture. Next, get all your family members together and spend some time colouring in the picture whichever way they like. Remember, the goal isn’t to have a perfect-looking result, but to have some fun and be creative.
