What to Do When Rain Changes Your Plans: How to Spend Rainy Days Together as a Family

What do you do on rainy days as a family? Do your kids mope around the house or spend their time on technology like gaming consoles or hand-held devices? What about trying some of these ideas?

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Board Games and Card Games

One way for the whole family to have fun together is to play games. Our family has a few favorites that range from ones we can all play (littles included) to ones where just the teen joins us.

Hoot Owl Hoot - A fun, cooperative game that even our 2-year-old can play

Raccoon Rumpus - Perfect for ages 3+

  

Munchkin - A fun game for ages 10+ where you enter dungeons and defeat monsters to collect their loot. There are a variety of expansions, add-ons, and different versions for fans of science fiction, zombies, vampires, etc.

Red Dragon Inn - A card-based game where players take on the persona of various adventurers who have joined together in the Inn to share stories of daring deeds, drink, and gamble. This game is best for ages 14+ with your discretion as a parent.

Movies and Television Watching 

There are so many movies and television shows from the youth of both my husband and myself that we can share with our children. When it is cold or raining outside, we can all sit together in the living room and watch movies like Tron, Star Wars, or The Muppet Movie.  Or – even better – we can share some of our favorite cartoons like Jem and the Holograms, She-Ra, or Dungeons and Dragons.

Arts and Crafts 

When we can't play outside, creating new artwork or working on projects together is a fantastic way to spend the day. We love to take out supplies like Magic Stix Markers or Kwik Stix paints and design new sun catchers for the windows for when Mr. Sunshine rears his bright face again.

Reading 

Another good way to spend the day is reading – whether everyone gathers together for a read-aloud of The Chronicles of Narnia or The Wizard of Oz - or each person picks their own story to read independently. Sitting in the same room while reading together is a great way to pass the time.

Dance Party 

With two younger children in the house, a fun way to spend an afternoon is cranking up the music and holding a dance party. Whether we are singing and dancing to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's closing theme, Veggie Tales Silly Songs, or some of our favorites from Huey Lewis and the News or Electric Light Orchestra, we can have so much fun. What are your favorite songs to dance to?

Baking 

A house of cookies or cupcakes baking in the oven on a rainy day smells so scrumptious! And what a better way to teach life skills than have one's children help with the recipe and preparation? (Because we know they will help with the eating!)

How does your family spend rainy days together? Do you share any of the same activities as our family?



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